Modern Love and 2000 Gushes

Unicorn Universe Necklace

Top: Vylette, Kohl's

Skirt: Tinseltown, Kohl's

Bag: B&B

Shoes: Betseyville, Macy's

Belt: Marshalls

Barrettes: The Tote Trove

Tricolor and green spike bracelets: Amrita Singh, Zulily

Neon green bracelet: Cloud Nine

Rainbow, yellow, and pink bracelets: So, Kohl's

This post isn't about David Bowie.  But "Modern Love" is my favorite Bowie song (I know, I thought it would be "Ziggy Stardust," too), and it kind of fits here.  Even if I am using "love" loosely to cover both the romantic and sisterly kinds.

But upward and onward.  

What would Louisa May Alcott's Little Women be like if Jo was a journalist-turned-food-blogger in lust with a world-famous chef?  Or if Beth had lived and was an aspiring country singer?  Or if Pa March finally got his comeuppance for leaving Ma and his girls all alone?  Virginia Kantra answers these questions and others in Meg & Jo, a "contemporary retelling of Little Women" (just like it says on the cover).  

Set in modern-day North Carolina instead of Civil War Massachusetts, Meg & Jo showcases the timelessness of Alcott's treasured tour de force.  Because the more things change, the more they stay the same.  The story is still about the social dynamics at work among sisters, the little alliances and rivalries that bind and separate.  Due to birth order, Meg and Jo are besties, as are Beth and Amy.  But Jo references how Beth is her baby and how Amy is Meg's, revealing other alliances.  Finally, there's the friction between Jo and Amy.  On the surface, it seems to stem from them being so different -- Jo is the tomboy, Amy the porcelain doll -- or from vying for the affections of the boy next store.  But their issue is that they're too much alike.  They're both headstrong, passionate artists -- Jo a writer, Amy a designer -- who are (despite said boy) more interested in their own dreams than furthering men's.

But I don't mean to woman-splain Little Women to you.  You already know all of this. 

The main conflict in Meg & Jo is a big blow-up between Jo and her chef, which occurs when she posts his mother's pierogi recipe.  She hasn't told him about her blog because she doesn't want him to see her as an "idiot hipster food blogger."  But her secret is outed when her readers spot the tattoos on his arm in a picture, forcing her to confront her feelings.

"He thought I was using him.  Which . . . Okay, I had.  He'd served up his big heart on a plate, and I'd taken his passion to feed my own.  But I put myself out there, too, in my words, on my blog.  When I wrote about him, I revealed a piece of my heart.  And he didn't see.  Or maybe he didn't care.  He'd belittled my blog.  And that made me feel small.  I couldn't forgive that."  (267)

Kantra gives us the Jo that Alcott created: the tough girl with the gushy heart.  And although I don't think of myself as tough and am one of the girliest girls that I know, this is why Jo is my favorite.  To her, stories are everything.  She's guarded and prickly in person, but vulnerable where it counts -- on the page.  The man who understands and respects that is the one who gets to be in her life. 

Meg & Jo blends romance and feminism and wraps it up in that age-old theme of following your heart.  It both stands on its own and parallels its predecessor, making for textured reading.  I look forward to Kantra's sequel, Beth & Amy.

And now for a craft project report.  This Unicorn Universe Necklace has little to do with Meg & Jo or Little Women.  But its black unicorn head is a cross between edgy and enchanting, serving as a subtle reminder that being girly doesn't mean not being strong.  Also, unicorns, mythical though they may be, are supposed to be pretty powerful.

Just like the one in that Squatty Potty ad.  I bet they wish they had that in Little Women.