So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix by Bethany C. Morrow - Sheaf & Ink

“Brilliantly crafted and meticulously researched, So Many Beginnings is a book that reexamines our nations history through the familial bonds of sisterhood and Black lives. Morrow’s celebration of the March sisters while reimagining this devastating period is utterly breathtaking to see the resilience, strength, and joy in each of the characters Morrow brings to life.”
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The Story

From the Publisher:

Four young Black sisters come of age during the American Civil War in So Many Beginnings, a warm and powerful YA remix of the classic novel Little Women by national bestselling author Bethany C. Morrow.

North Carolina, 1863. As the American Civil War rages on, the Freedmen’s Colony of Roanoke Island is blossoming, a haven for the recently emancipated. Black people have begun building a community of their own, a refuge from the shadow of the old life. It is where the March family has finally been able to safely put down roots with four young daughters:

Meg, a teacher who longs to find love and start a family of her own.

Jo, a writer whose words are too powerful to be contained.

Beth, a talented seamstress searching for a higher purpose.

Amy, a dancer eager to explore life outside her family’s home.

As the four March sisters come into their own as independent young women, they will face first love, health struggles, heartbreak, and new horizons. But they will face it all together.

My Review: So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix

Have you ever wanted to thank an author for their book?

After finishing So Many Beginnings I needed to take a moment to fully take in what I experienced. To remember each character, their pain, their love, their entirety.

Friends, this book is exceptional. There is so much Marrow weaves together with concise and poignant words. Wit. Truth. And most importantly love.

And not just romantic love, because one character I thought was so profound in Marrow’s remix is Jo. I never liked the ending of Louisa May Alcott’s choice for Jo. Granted, I’m going off the 1990’s and recent adaptation films, but I believe those ending always rang false. It never sat well with me because Lorie always felt like Jo’s. Their relationship always reflected a deep connection that didn’t need explaining. Where they knew each other so deeply that there was no coming back from that first meeting. No explanation to deter the other. It just is. As though they are magnetically connected, their relationship as bright and brilliant as the birth of a star.

Favorite Quotes: So Many Beginnings: A little Women Remix

“I’m Joanna. Jo.” “Jo,” he repeated. “The sister who makes her melodies with words.”
Bethany C. Morrow, So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix

Photo by Franciszek Augustyniak on Unsplash

“Wherever my daughters are brave enough to go,” Mammy said, eyes closed as though in prayer, “I will surely follow.”
Bethany C. Morrow, So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix

“When Jo marveled at her younger sister’s artistry, the whole family insisted that her own words likewise tranformed naked and unremarkable paper.”
Bethany C. Morrow, So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix

“Sometimes the old life intruded into her new one in a way she was beginning to suspect it always might, while she had to be so close to white people. While she still had to ask them for things, or depend on what they considered their generosity.”
Bethany C. Morrow, So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix

“It seemed there was no age or gender among white folk that made them take care with Black people, or understand when they were causing them pain.”
Bethany C. Morrow, So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix

A Few More Thoughts

For that reason, and many others, thank you Bethany C. Morrow. How you took your pen and wrote a book for the world to view the injustices of American history towards Black lives, while painting a new and fuller picture of the March sister’s story that readers across the globe will appreciate.

It’s not only a story about sisters who are Black women, but also mothers.

As a mother myself, this struck a cord. One certainty, like death and taxes, is how much these young women are loved by their mother. What she wouldn’t do to make sure they felt every inch of her love. That they were seen and understood to the best of her abilities. Even with the injustices and brutality of enslavement, Margaret March would do everything she could to ensure they knew they were loved.

You will feel every emotion as you experience these women’s stories. The sting of fresh tears at the memories of being enslaved, the instant joy upon a fated meeting, and the wonder of Marrow’s narrative in bringing So Many Beginnings to a close.

So Many Beginnings is a September read you won’t want to miss.

Happy Reading ̴ Cece

RATING: – Exceptionally Inked