Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (A book that makes you nostalgic)

I can't tell you how old I was when Mom gave me this book to read, but it's been on my bookshelf for as long as I can remember. I even have two copies: one is the battered blue book that has seen far better days, but I can't get rid of because it's been so well-loved by me, and the other copy is a hard cover that I broke down and bought after realizing how beat-up my original copy was.

Reading this book again made me remember the days of innocent youth: summer mornings, reading in the front yard on our hammock swing while everyone else slept, snow days spent curled up on the couch reading, car rides to visit family spent buried in a book. Those were easier times. 

And even though now I'm older, slightly wiser, and a bit more worn down, reading Little Women made me feel like a care-free child. 

I think part of me was always drawn to the idea of four sisters who liked to spend time together. I have three brothers, and we didn't exactly have the same tastes, nor did we get along very well. The idea of four sisters (even a sister was and is such a foreign concept to me) who played together, worked together, planned together, shopped together was amazing to me. 

I was also drawn to the character of Jo, who was and is still my favorite. I envied her independent nature. She wasn't afraid to go out on her own, while for me, shopping by myself is still very intimidating. She did what she wanted, and while the opinions of others mattered very much, she didn't let that stop her from becoming exactly who she wanted to be. And she makes it seem very easy to become an accomplished writer, which I also envy. 

I love this book for all that it makes me think and feel. This isn't much of a review, but I think this is as far as I'll go with reviewing it. It makes me feel, remember, and dream. It makes me laugh and cry. It makes me nostalgic for a time when life was simpler.