Welcome to Day 8 of #12booksofchristmas. In case you have missed any, below is the list of the ones so far

• Day 1 - Winter Solstice by Elin Hildebrand
• Day 2 - Murder After Christmas by Rupert Latimer
• Day 3 - Under the Christmas Tree by Heidi Swain
• Day 4 - Miracle on Ebeneezer Street by Catherine Doyle
• Day 5 - Keeping a Christmas Promise by Jo Thomas
• Day 6 - I Wish it Could be Christmas Every Day by Milly Johnson
• Day 7 - Christmas is Murder by Val McDermid

Today's book is a proper children's classic. I had a yearning to read this, and also to watch the excellent 1994 movie with Winona Ryder and Susan Sarandon. It is of course Little Women.

The Plot

Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy manage to lead interesting lives despite Father's absence as war and the family's lack of money. Whether they are putting on a play, or forming a secret society, their sense of fun is infectious, and even Laurie next door is swept up in their enthusiasm. Written from Louisa M.Alcott's own experiences, Little Women is the first story about the lively and good-natured March girls.

My Thoughts

It has been years since I first read Little Women, and this year instead of racing through the novel decided to take it slowly and savour the reading out of respect to this wonderful book. First of all, this feels super Christmassy, we start with the famous first line 'Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents' and from there we are singing Carols in front of the piano with the March sisters, making our Christmas presents or enjoying a snowball fight.

The novel deals beautifully with the them of Sisterhood and it was interesting the learn how the author was brought up in a household where women were encouraged and nurtured to be creative free-thinkers. The 4 sisters are all very different, Jo is headstrong with a (slight) temper, Meg is more concerned about propriety, Beth is gentle, good and kind and Amy is more concerned with appearances and having a dainty nose!. Relationships are touching, I especially loved the one between Laurie and Jo, and Beth and Laurie's grandfather.

But it is the relationships between the sisters that is close and joyous. They support, argue, cry, laugh and celebrate their most important life matters together. It made me want to hug my sister tighter just reading this.

The March girls' mother, is there to provide a loving home, spiritual succour and gentle guidance. With Laurie, we have an outsider's perspective on the 4 sisters, they open their home and hearts to him and he becomes a surrogate brother.

This is heartwarming, joyous and will leave you all aglow inside.