Jo's Boys

By Louisa May Alcott

The Third Book in the Little Women Series by Louisa May Alcott

"Better lose your life than your soul…" — Louisa May Alcott, Jo's Boys

Jo's Boys is one of a series of books by Louisa May Alcott. Jo's Boys is a continuation of Little Men. It takes place ten years after Little Men. Jo's Boys is about the Plumfield boys and where their life has gone and the people around them.
This Xist Classics edition has been professionally formatted for e-readers with a linked table of contents. This eBook also contains a bonus book club leadership guide and discussion questions. We hope you’ll share this book with your friends, neighbors and colleagues and can’t wait to hear what you have to say about it.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Xist Publishing
• Release date: Jun 8, 2015
• ISBN: 9781681951409

Louisa May Alcott

Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) was a prolific American author known for her novel, Little Women, and its sequels, Little Men and Jo's Boys. She received instruction from several famous authors, including Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Nathaniel Hawthorne, and she is commonly considered to be the foremost female novelist of the Gilded Age.

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Reviews for Jo's Boys

[nx74defiant · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The story of the boys as they grow up. They fall in love, have adventures. Some of the stories were a little too much a "lesson."

[maiadeb · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Loved being privy to the lives of the boys as they grew. Since I was the age of the boys in Little Men when I first read the book it left a lasting impression on me at the freedom young men appeared to have with the reminder that all may not be as it appears. The challenges, tribulations and victories of the young men and of Jo too may appear simpler than our challenges today but the lessons are still timely.

[arelenriel · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Really good book

[jennyelizabeth-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In the final book of the Annals of the March family, all of the jolly lads Jo teaches grow up and go their separate ways and have adventures. I really love that Louisa gives true to life endings for her characters instead of romanticizing them.

I'm not gonna lie, Dan is my favourite, I would run away to Montana and marry him in a moment, temper and all.

It makes me long for the good ole days, though I know we can make those days ourselves with our own hard work, pure hearts, and cheerfulness. Louisa, you are an inspiration :)

[midkid88 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A sequel to Little Men that followed the boys after leaving Jo's house. It wasn't my favorite of the three, but I did like knowing what happened to the boys. Most of the stories were happy but some were almost sad.

[victrola_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

For some reason I put this book off for a good fifteen years after first reading and loving Little Women. I think that is just as well - it seems to me that there may be less here to interest a child than in the first two. But it really was sweet, and featured more of the March family than Little Men did, which I loved - and I think it was less preachy than Little Men, although that lecture to George and Dolly did seem to go on forever. All in all I liked it and I think anyone who loves Little Women will enjoy this on some level. I am happy to have finally experienced it.

[etxgardener · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is the last book in Louisa May Alcott's series about the sisters we first met in Little Women. In this last volume the boys we met in Little Men are nearing adulthood and are starting to strike out into their own lives and stating their own families. It is not nearly as preachy as Little Men, but still does not come near to having the appeal of the initial book about the March sisters.

[swampygirl-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very well done conclusion to a very enjoyable series.

[abigailadams26 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Alcott's multi-generational saga of the March family, begun in Little Women and continued in Little Men, is concluded in this third and final volume. Mrs. Jo's "little men" have grown up, and this book follows their various and intertwining adventures as adults...Leaving aside a few charming passages in which Mrs. Jo must hide from her adoring fans (a snippet of authorial autobiography?), this book has always been a major disappointment to me. While no one would deny that the earlier works have strong moral overtones, they are (thankfully) never overwhelmed by the sort of preaching to be found in Jo's Boys, nor do they suffer from the cloying sentimentality found therein...I have been haunted, moreover, since first reading this book as a child, by a nagging sense of injustice, as it concerns the story of rebellious Dan and his love. It always struck me as horrendously unfair that Alcott should so piously praise Dan's efforts at reforming himself, claiming that those who better themselves will be rewarded, only to deny him the woman he loves (and who loves him), because of his "sordid" past. "If I were a nineteenth-century ex-convict," reasoned my childhood self, "I wouldn't even bother trying to do better..." Oh well - I suppose that one brilliant, and one marvelous book in this series will have to suffice, and compensate for the less-than-stellar one.As a side note: I read the Illustrated Junior Library edition of Jo's Boys, long out-of-print, and illustrated by Louis Jambor.

[charlie68_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Little women; Classic, I think based on the strength of the main characters, Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy, all likeable in their way. The supporting cast is also very good; Marmee, Lauren et al. Little Men; not as good, too many characters, too episodic not enough overall structure. Jo's Boys; the same thing, some individual stories are very good, riveting accounts. But goes on pedantic asides telling not showing what constitutes good moral character in boys and girls. Not that the advice isn't good, maybe she was running out of ideas or space.

[deltaqueen50 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Jo’s Boys by Louisa May Alcott is the final volume in her saga about the March sisters. In this book we find all the sisters living close together, with Meg having a small home built on the grounds of Plumfield while Amy and Laurie have built themselves a mansion close by. Plumfield is no longer a small school, but the Professor now is the head of a nearby college and runs it according to his liberal views on education.We are updated on the lives of all the former pupils, who have become like a family to the Baer’s, returning for visits and staying in touch no matter how their lives grow and change. I was particularly pleased to see that Nan had grown into a strong willed independent woman who is very devoted to her career.This is a sentimental ending to the story. We see as past characters grown-up, learn life lessons, fall in love, get into trouble and have exciting adventures. At the same time the author gives us a glimpse into her own philosophical leanings, and although Jo’s Boys is very idealistic and a touch too preachy, these flaws are easy for me to overlook as I enjoyed getting closure on these beloved characters.

[aprilbrown_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A childhood favorite re-visited.

Is the story as good as I remember? – Yes

What ages would I recommend it too? – Eight and up.

Length? – A couple of evening's reads.

Characters? – Memorable, several characters, Again, three with almost identical names.

Setting? – Late 1800's, mostly at the boy's school, now a college.

Written approximately? – Late 1870's.

Does the story leave questions in the readers mind? – Ready to read more.

Any issues the author (or a more recent publisher) should cover? Yes.
1. Cost and ease of travel
2. Lack of identification for Dan
3. A little more clarity of communications abilities at the time.

Short storyline: A continuation of "Little Men" about ten years later. Lot's of fun as the boys fall in love, and face many temptations they have never faced before. There's hope they are well prepared for the future of the time.

Notes for the reader:
1. Money and income systems are vastly different than modern days.
2. Communications systems are vastly slower, and less reliable.
3. There is no national system for personal identification.
4. Religion plays a major role in decesion making.

[bookworm12_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is the final one dealing with the March family. Jo and her professor started a school for boys and this is the sequel to Little Men, which chronicles the beginning of that school and the boys who attended. It takes place years after Little Women and the March women’s children are now grown and pursing their own lives. The young residents of the March houses, Parnassus and Plumfield, are all picking careers and falling in love. Nan wants to be a doctor and spurs any romantic advances in lieu of the education she longs for. She and Dan were my two favorite characters. One bucks the social norms and decides to follow her dreams into the field of medicine. The other heads west to the Garden of the Gods and Rockies, longing for a life of adventure and being humbled along the way. It was fun to think about how new and radical both paths were at that time. I made the mistake of reading this one before Little Men. It was published 15 years after that book, but I didn’t realize that when I started it. I really wish I would have read the other one first and will certainly go back and do so, but I went into this one without knowing who many of the characters were. Jo’s Boys reminded me of the later books in the Anne of Green Gables series, like Rainbow Valley, that focus on the next generation. The writing is the same, but you miss spending time with the characters you have grown to love. I really loved one section which talks about Jo becoming a famous author and being hounded by her fans. It seems to be pretty autobiographical and gives the reader a little glimpse into Alcott’s own life after finding success.BOTTOM LINE: A good book, but you definitely need to read Little Women and Little Men first. If you love both of those than you’ll love one last chance to spend time with the March family. It doesn’t give everyone a rosy ending, but that’s not a bad thing. It’s a bit darker and more realistic. “The women of England can vote, and we can't. I'm ashamed of America that she isn't ahead in all good things.” “It adds so much to one's happiness to love the task one does.”“It was curious to see the prejudices melt away as ignorance was enlightened, indifference change to interest, and intelligent minds set thinking, while quick wits and lively tongues added spice to the discussions which inevitably followed.”“Mothers can forgive anything! Tell me all, and be sure that I will never let you go, though the whole world should turn from you.”“Ah, me! It does seem as if life was made of partings, and they get harder as we go on.”