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|| 4.0 stars ||

Oh, what a lovely book this was. It’s a classic, but somehow doesn’t suffer from the same afflictions that would make it a boring, pretentious and drawn-out read like so many other “classics�� are. Is it because this was written by a woman, unlike most other older classics? Well, I won’t say so in fear of sounding a little offensive, but secretly I think: Yes, duhh.

This story really had such pure warmth and feeling with such lovely and tender characters, you truly couldn’t help but love every person that appeared on the page. Everyone had a special little something about them that made them uniquely sweet and endearing; even the characters that were only there for a little while.
I can’t quite explain it, but every person just felt so fleshed out and real, yet better somehow: This book showed quite an idealistic world since I don’t think everyone is quite so fair and good in real life, but it was a very idyllic and peaceful world to reside in for a while!

The sisters were all probably a little too good to be true, but I didn’t mind it too much and just decided to admire them for their sweetness and humbleness:
I couldn’t help but be charmed by Meg’s pretty and calm poise, I couldn’t help but laugh at Jo’s wild and unabashed antics, I couldn’t help but feel affection for Beth’s selflessness and purity, and neither could I help but adore Amy’s charming and graceful nature.
I have to admit to having a secret favourite in Amy, whom I personally thought had the most fun and interesting scenes and personality; she was so funny to me as a child and so perfectly lovely as an adult. Her growth was really nice, and I just loved everything about her.

[SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT]:

I know there’s quite a debate about who Laurie should have ended up with as many people are not happy with the author’s choices, but I personally think all ended as it should have.
Jo and Laurie were never more than friends, and neither do I think they could have successfully been anything more. Their friendship was very brother/sisterly and well-suited in that way, but it never, not once, felt romantic to me.
Opposingly, Laurie’s interactions with Amy always seemed more tender and gentle to me, even when they were young. There were already quite a lot of little scenes that showed how well he cared for her and wanted her to feel good. And of course, when they grew older it became even more apparent that they would make a good match. Especially the way they acted with each other when they were abroad truly settled the matter for me and showed me that Laurie could find no better match for him than Amy. What they had was romantic love, while him and Jo had pure platonic love. It was very obvious to me. And I admire the author for making the right choice, despite knowing it would upset a lot of readers.

However, although an entirely different matter, I did have one big complaint:
I personally think Beth should have died in part 1 instead of part 2. I don’t quite understand why the author let her survive her illness in the first place if she was simply going to ignore Beth’s existence after that, just to kill her anyway, only now when we don’t care as much for sweet little Beth as we used to when we knew her well. It was just an odd choice, since it really limited the emotional impact her death could have had for me.

All in all though, this was a really nice and warm book that I treasured reading. Even if it could be a little preachy and sanctimonious sometimes.