An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott

I used to have a big collection of Louisa May Alcott's books when I was younger--not JUST Little Women and Little Men, but a lot of the other books she wrote as well. After reading Little Women in the fall, I had this desire to revisit some of her other books, and I bought a few that I vaguely remembered based on their titles and brief summaries that I could find online. I finally just re-read this one, An Old-Fashioned Girl, and it felt just like I remembered. It goes right along with Little Women, and The Five Little Peppers, and All-of-a-Kind Family--all of these stories that are about normal life back then, but with an extra dose of sermonizing about how hard work and humility are the best thing that anyone can have. As a kid, I didn't notice or mind those things; as an adult, they stand out a little more (and plus, the characters become more obviously un-real the older I get, because no one is cheerful and happy dealing with their poverty their entire lives). I still love these stories and I happen to agree with Alcott's preaching, even if it doesn't strike me as believable all the time. I do think the principles her characters are embodying are right, even if it's much harder to live them than she makes it seem like (which I think she knew herself, if Jo is any indication). I liked Polly and her sweet romance with Tom in this book, and I liked how Alcott paints the fashionable society as being filled with ennui and boredom. (It always seemed like it would be that way to me.) I really enjoyed this and read it in just over a day.