By Jodene Wylie
Jo: an adaptation of Little Women (sort of) was written and illustrated by cartoonist Kathleen Gros and published on September 22, 2020. This retelling (sort of) of Little Women brings Jo March straight into the modern age and plops her into eighth grade as an aspiring journalist with her band of sisters.
When done right, a retelling breathes new life into familiar stories and Kathleen Gros’ story does just that. Little Women has had a small resurgence lately (thinking of the recent movie starring Saoirse Ronan) and Gros’ novel, aimed at the middle grade reader, re-envisions this narrative for an audience that may otherwise not be that interested in a story first publish in 1868 featuring their older character counterparts and a society starkly different than our own. Part of her success is the form in which this story is published: a graphic novel. This style of book is a known and useful platform to engage new readers as a transitionary text between the younger picture books and the more adult texts. While aimed at the pre-teen reader, the bones of Jo will be familiar to those that have read the original tale and will be pleasantly reminded of the beautiful relationship between the March sisters. For those new to the story, they will enjoy the interactions between family, the stories of early love and lack-of-love, and of following a passion and growing into it. Gros has done an excellent job translating the bones of Little Women into a set of circumstances and characters more appropriate for 2020.
It’s necessary to point out that Gros has made some strong points of turn in the story - and for the better. The story moves characters through a discussion of preferred pronouns which is becoming more common in our current society: she/her, they, he/him, and so forth. Additionally, Gros underpins complete acceptance and love from family and friends towards one’s sexual orientation which is both beautiful to read and positive to imbue into our society via middle grade stories.
Gros, a cartoonist by trade, is also the illustrator behind Jo making her twice as busy in the development of this book. Her design aesthetic is playful in colour with soft lines and a clear distinction between text and image making it easy to follow. The language is simple and perfect for readers who are becoming comfortable to read on their own.
This story is a delight: both for its nod to the original story and for the modernization of characters, setting, and plot. Pick this up for the young reader in your life and if you’re a fan of the original - be sure to read it yourself.