Jo & Laurie

Margaret Stohl · Melissa de la Cruz

Jun 2020 · Penguin Random House Audio · Narrated by Cassandra Campbell

About this audiobook

Bestselling authors Margaret Stohl and Melissa de la Cruz bring us a romantic retelling of Little Women starring Jo March and her best friend, the boy next door, Theodore "Laurie" Laurence.

1869, Concord, Massachusetts: After the publication of her first novel, Jo March is shocked to discover her book of scribbles has become a bestseller, and her publisher and fans demand a sequel. While pressured into coming up with a story, she goes to New York with her dear friend Laurie for a week of inspiration--museums, operas, and even a once-in-a-lifetime reading by Charles Dickens himself!

But Laurie has romance on his mind, and despite her growing feelings, Jo's desire to remain independent leads her to turn down his heartfelt marriage proposal and sends the poor boy off to college heartbroken. When Laurie returns to Concord with a sophisticated new girlfriend, will Jo finally communicate her true heart's desire or lose the love of her life forever?

Ratings and reviews

I have a lot of mixed emotions about this book. On one hand, I don't believe that the audience should get a say in how a story ends. I believe that we should believe Josephine March when she says she does not want to marry Laurie and that she loves him, not in a romantic way, but as a brother (or, more likely, as a sister). I believe that Louisa May Alcott wrote the book as she wrote it for a reason and that we all should accept that Jo knows her own mind and what would make her happy. Shipping is a complicated thing, and if we truly loves these characters and really just want them to be happy, shouldn't they get to determine their own happiness? And isn't Jo's refusal to be someone she's not what we love the most about her? The book purports that love is a risk, and that we must be brave and accept it. One might argue, it is also brave, especially for a woman in the 19th century of little means, to turn down a wealthy suitor, or any suitor, and refusing to settle for what is true. However, any chance I have to revisit these characters and read additional stories of their adventures is a book I must read. And the story was written as such that we can all have our cake and eat it too. So, for that, I am thankful to these women for writing new stories about the March family and writing it in such a way that feels right and true, while also like a fantasy version of a most beloved story. I loved this book like I believe Jo loves Laurie, not quite right, but a dear love all the same.

About the author

Margaret Stohl is a #1 New York Times bestselling nerd, world-builder, video game creator, comic book writer, and festival founder. As an award-winning young adult author, she has been published in fifty countries and thirty-two languages and has sold more than ten million books worldwide. She has published fifteen novels and graphic novels, as well as contributed to several games and countless comics since her debut. Some of her best known works include the Beautiful Creatures series, the Black Widow: Forever Red duology, the ongoing Mighty Captain Marvel comic, and the Life of Captain Marvel miniseries. Learn more at mstohl.com and follow Margie on Twitter @mstohl and on Instagram @margaret_stohl.

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Melissa de la Cruz is the #1 New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and Publishers Weekly internationally bestselling author of many critically acclaimed books for readers of all ages, including the Alex & Eliza trilogy, Disney's Descendants novels, the Blue Bloods series, and the Summer on East End series. Her books have sold over eight million copies, and the Witches of East End series became an hour-long television drama on the Lifetime network. Visit Mel at melissa-delacruz.com and follow her on Twitter @MelissadelaCruz and on Instagram @authormelissadelacruz.