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.