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    Jo's Boys, and How They Turned Out
    Jo's Boys, and How They Turned Out
    Jo's Boys, and How They Turned Out
    Audiobook10 hours

    Jo's Boys, and How They Turned Out

    Written by Louisa May Alcott

    Narrated by Tavia Gilbert

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Taking place ten years after Little Men, Louisa May Alcott's Jo's Boys, and How They Turned Out is the third and final book in the Little Women trilogy. Originally published in 1886, two years before the author's death, Jo's Boys follows the lives of the young men readers came to love and cherish in its prequel. In it, we learn the fates of Jo's sons, Rob and Teddy, along with the other boys at Plumfield Estate School.

    Written in classic Alcott style, we see how the boys struggle to overcome their many flaws, in the end learning life's lessons the hard way. Just as the March girls did, each boy must learn to deal with death, love, heartbreak, and the consequences of their actions. Audiences will feel pain and joy alongside each young man as he completes his life journey and fulfills his dreams in this classic conclusion to one of America's most beloved series.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateDec 20, 2010
    ISBN9781452670744
    Jo's Boys, and How They Turned Out
    Author

    Louisa May Alcott

    Louisa May Alcott was born in Pennsylvania in 1832, the second of four daughters of the philosopher Bronson Alcott. She was educated at home and went on to become a schoolteacher in Boston. Her first book Flower Fables was published when she was twenty-two, but she interrupted her career as a writer to nurse soldiers at a Washington hospital during the civil war. Her most enduring book, Little Women, was published in 1868 and was an instant success. Other books include Little Men and Jo's Boys. Louisa May Alcott died in 1888 at the age of 56.

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    Reviews for Jo's Boys, and How They Turned Out

    4/5

    16 ratings12 reviews

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    • 4/5
      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 :)
    • 4/5
      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.
    • 2/5
      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.
    • 3/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      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.
    • 3/5
      Really good book
    • 3/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      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."
    • 4/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      A very well done conclusion to a very enjoyable series.
    • 4/5
      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.”