Belittled Women

(Paperback)

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Description

Sharp and subversive, this delightfully messy YA rom-com offers a sly wink to the classic Little Women,as teenage Jo Porter rebels against living in the shadow of her literary namesake.

Lits about to hit the fan. Jo Porter has had enough Little Women to last a lifetime. As if being named after the sappiest family in literature wasnt sufficiently humiliating, Jos mom, ahem Marmee, leveled up her Alcott obsession by turning their rambling old house into a sad-sack tourist attraction.

Now Jo, along with her siblings, Meg and Bethamy (yes, thats two March sisters in one), spends all summer acting out sentimental moments at Little Women Live!, where she can feel her soul slowly dying.

So when a famed photojournalist arrives to document the show, Jo seizes on the glimpse of another life: artsy, worldly, and fast-paced. It doesnt hurt that the reporters teenage son is also eager to get up close and personal with Joto the annoyance of her best friend, aka the boy next door (who is definitely not called Laurie). All Jo wants is for someone to see the person behind the prickliness and pinafores.

But when she gets a little too real about her frustration with the family biz, Jo will have to make peace with kitsch and kin before their livelihood suffers a fate worse than Beth.

Reviews

With a little grit and a lot of wit and humor, Amanda Sellet dives deep into what it means for a teen to both live up to and strain against expectations, while navigating the challenges of forging ones own path in life. Jos experiences manage to be delightfully outlandish yet perfectly authentic. Belittled Women is a pitch-perfect homage to the messy-yet-loving chaos of family life. Megan Bannen, author of The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy Belittled Womenis not just for fans ofLittle Womenits also for those of us who love a book featuring a rebellious, smart protagonist, a rustic, charming setting, and prose that makes us literally laugh out loud. Jo is a lovable and hilarious heroine, and readers will also fall in love with her family, her hometown, and her journey to figure out exactly who she is and what she wants. Raquel Vasquez Gilliland, author of Pura Belpr AwardwinningHow Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe If Nora Roberts wrote a YA Little Women retelling, this would be it. Brimming with effortless banter set against a satisfying slow-burn romance, Belittled Women is the very definition of a romantic comedy. Hilarious from page one, Amanda Sellet draws us into Jo Porters waking nightmare: the never-ending carousel of life in a literal Little Women reenactment at her mothers roadside Kansas attraction. Living under the weight of her alternate life portraying Book Jo and her familys expectations, our Jo cant wait to bust free, but whats holding her back might be whats been holding her together all this time. Sarah Henning, author of Throw Like a Girl and It's All in How You Fall I loved this wry, witty, raucous take onLittle Women. Sellet nails the absurdity, love, and occasional brawls of sisterhood. The Porters are a boisterous delight. Jessica Spotswood, authorofGreat or Nothing "More of a what if than a retelling, this novel will interest fans of the original but will also appeal to teens who are looking to be the weavers of their own tales, clobber their bratty sister a bit, and savor the "almost" moments with the cute boy next door. With quick, breezy prose and relatable dialogue, the Porter sisters may not rival the Marches, but they leave their own mark." ALA Booklist

Author Bio

Debut author Amanda Sellet had a previous career in journalism, during which she wrote book reviews for the Washington Post, personal essays for NPR, and music and movie coverage for VH1. These days she lives in Kansas with her archaeologist husband and their daughter.