This is such a difficult book to give a rating to. I read this for the first time as a 30 year old and I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more had I read this as a child. But then again, as a child I would not have picked up so heavily on the moralistic, preaching attitude of the characters. I really did enjoy reading part 1 "Little Women", and I do relate so much to Jo March in this section, even as a 30 year old! This part was so cozy and warm to read, I loved getting to know the sisters and Laurie. 

But as we move on to part 2 "Good Wives" I began to feel more and more disappointed. The extolling of poverty as a virtue, the "lessons" of being a good wife and loving God were quite heavy handed, not in a way I could so easily put out of mind. And while I completely understand that LMA had to do as her publisher asked and marry off Jo, it is still disappointing, though I could rationalise around it if I really tried I think. 

I do see why so many people love this book and can relate to all the characters. It can be cozy and warm and a lovely read, despite it all. 

Some notes specific to the Penguin Deluxe Classics edition of Little Women - it says "annotated" in the description of the book but the publishers are referring to the contextual essays and glossary of unfamiliar words/slang (useful for younger readers or for older readers who want more background on the slang of LMA's day) at the back of the book. The text of the book itself is free of footnotes; the logic behind this choice per the editor is that footnotes would be "distracting". I found that I did not mind this choice and the essays at the back were very informative for putting this book into its historical context.