Reread 2022

3.6/5 stars. Yes Louisa made me cry but maybe (just maybe) crying alone shouldn’t be the only benchmark for how much I love a book. With an older mind and a closer eye this book actually detracts many of its feminist statements it sets up in the beginning, so thanks for nothing, Louisa. We get some good romance though.

Justice for C.C.C.

Plot: 3/5
Characters: 4/5
Pacing: 4/5
Writing: 3/5
Enjoyment: 4/5

__________

4/5 stars

The ridiculously slow pace at which I read this book might seem like evidence to the contrary, but I enjoyed this book so much more than the first! Eight Cousins was cute, it was very sweet and I think it gave a very necessary introduction to the personalities and relationships between the characters of this story, but in retrospect that entire book just feels like a setup for this story to be told.

I think much of what I said in my review for Eight Cousins holds true for this book as well. Rose continued to be a sweet and ambitious heroine as she aged- can I interject to mention that this book takes place MUCH later than I thought from the first, not just a few years but practically a decade!- and I loved her all the more for it. It's easy for some growing young women to be written off as shallow and unintelligent, and I have a great respect for Louisa May Alcott thanks to her handling of characters such as these (particularly considering the time period she was writing in). Just one of the many examples, this one only 10 pages into the book: "...I believe that it is as much a right and a duty for women to do something with their lives as for men, and we are not going to be satisfied with such frivolous parts as you give us." cried Rose, with kindling eyes. "I mean what I say, and you cannot laugh me down... We've got minds and souls as well as hearts; ambition and talents as well as beauty and accomplishments; and we want to live and learn as well as love and be loved. I'm sick of being told that is all a woman is fit for! I won't have anything to do with love till I prove that I am something besides a housekeeper and baby-tender!" Let 'em have it, Rose!

It was so delightful seeing all of her cousins grown up as well. I think Alcott did a beautiful job of staying true to the personalities she assigned them as children while appropriately maturing them (well, some boys more than others). Archie, Charlie, and Mac really pull on my heartstrings, and I love them even more as men than I did as boys.

Spoiler

(Insert obligatory mention of how losing Charlie literally ripped my heart out because it was so shocking and damn Rose I know you didn't really want to marry the guy but could you still be a little more torn up about it?? Like let's just ruminate on this quote about the bracelet he gave her: "...she took out the blue bracelet, feeling that she owed Charlie a tender through in the midst of her new happiness, for of late she had forgotten him. She had worn the trinket hidden under her black sleeve for a long time after his death, with the regretful constancy one sometimes shows in doing some little kindness too late. But her arm had grown too round to hide the ornament, the forget-me-nots had fallen one by one, the clasp had broken, and that autumn she laid the bracelet away, acknowledging that she had outgrown the souvenir as well as the sentiment that gave it." I mean I get it but that made me cry the first time I read it and I'm honestly about to cry again. None of this is meant to take away from Mac, who I still hold dear and think is much more suited for Rose<3)

What was a delightful surprise, however, was how relevant Steve became in this sequel! I not only knew who he was this time around (see my Eight Cousins review) but found myself growing rather fond of him. All those Campbell boys are just so lovable in their own ways, honestly. That goes for Uncle Alec and Uncle Mac too!

Maybe I'm just a romantic, but I think a huge part of my enjoyment increasing is the matured ages of the characters, hence romance plotlines. I love courting and hidden feelings and disapproving elders and semi-love triangles... I just ate it all up! But the good news is that for people who are less interested in those bits, we still get a lot of the kinds of scenes from the first book. Lovely moments in Rose and Phebe's friendship, Rose doing her best to be good and charitable and make Uncle proud, the boys being foolish... it's all still there. I love the messages of self-improvement and selflessness that are always given by Rose and, in this book, often reflected in the boys.

Alright I suppose I'm starting to ramble at this point, so I'll just leave it at this. Rose in Bloom is equally charming as Eight Cousins, but with higher stakes- and for that reason I really loved it.

Louisa May Alcott was always one of my favorites!

A very sweet story continuing the lives of these cousins. Some personality clashes, and an unexpected moment in the middle, but not too surprising for Louisa May Alcott. (I should have seen it coming). Listened to this on librivox.org.

The fantastic follow up to Eight Cousins, this great coming-of-age novel is similar to Jane Austen with the innocence of Anne of Green Gables. Rose in Bloom is as engaging and entertaining as the first novel, and allows readers to settle down again with favorite characters and see them develop into adults, providing readers with a satisfying conclusion. Would definitely recommend this novel, but highly recommend reading Eight Cousins first.

The Bachelorette: Eight Cousins Edition

This book picks up when Rose is twenty years old, returning home after traveling the world with her uncle. IMMEDIATELY there is nothing on anyone's mind but who she will marry. Rose declares that she will NOT marry, and has taken up philanthropy as her honorable profession.

Everybody has a private chuckle over this, which is kind of strange in a meta sense. I, as the reader, am annoyed at everybody who laughs at Rose. She can do what she wants! Not every girl has to marry! But also, this is an entire book about getting married. Just look at the cover of this book. My coworker literally asked me if it was a romance novel. So like, what is the truth?

Also, philanthropy as a profession? I have to laugh.

The other weird thing we have to note is that the Phebe situation, which started off a little odd in the first book, bursts forth in profusions of oddity here. In the first book it was like, We're friends! Sisters, even! Only I sit here and talk all day following you around while you do all the housework! That's what sisters do, right?

Rose and Phebe's relationship really resembles nothing more than Becky and Sara from A Little Princess. It's just so charming and glorious, so long as one remains the main character and the other her devoted servant. As soon as one of the cousins falls in love with Phebe, then it's all WHAT AN UNGRATEFUL LITTLE UPSTART. SHE DOESN'T KNOW HER PLACE. Terrifying, but I guess that's how things were in 1860?

Anyway, the whole crux of the matter is quickly whittled down to the question of MAC VS. CHARLIE, the choice all eligible young heiresses must eventually face. I like how her uncle explicitly says that first cousins marrying is weird, but then everyone in the entire rest of the book just shrugs and moves on. What's a few birth defects as long as we get to keep the cash in the family, after all? I still have no idea what her father even did to make his fortune.

Charlie is a charming loser, who essentially gets struck down by God for his vices. Mac is the nerd who gets the girl. I can't complain, because in my opinion Mac is awesome. It still feels a little strange, though. I'm not sure Rose could have loved Mac while Charlie was still alive, so it's all very convenient that he gets blitzed right off.

Imagine if he lived to be 55 as a dissolute alcoholic. Awkward.

not as good as the first one

I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as [book:Eight Cousins], but it's hard to pass up a sequel, and this one didn't disappoint too much.