Reviews for The Louisa Alcott Story Book

The average rating for The Louisa Alcott Story Book based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-07-13 00:00:00 Jason Charter In the introduction, Coville says he was interested in half-human creatures and beings and asked for short stories. He was surprised, but pleased, I think, at the variance of stories he got. He got some stories that weren't about the typical part/half-human creatures. "Becoming" by Nancy Springer -- This story I really liked. I thought it was believable in the young girl's reaction to her fate. (I forgot her name and I had already returned the book.) "Linnea" by D.J. Malcom -- Meh. This story I did not particularly like. It seemed too...shallow and the writing style turned me off somehow. "Water's Edge" by Janni Lee Sinner -- selkie story, 'nuff said. "Elder Brother" by Tamora Pierce -- The reason why I found the book. It's about the tree who gets turned into a man because of Numair's magic in Wolf Speaker. Interesting path to Qiom's path of learning to act like a man, and possibly become a man (with some tree abilities). "How to Make a Human" by Lawrence Schimel -- An absolutely beautifully written poem. "Scarecrow" by Gregory Maguire -- Apparently Maguire had written Wicked with the thought of writing a sequel and this short story was a scene from that sequel. I thought this was a really good story, and I liked the way the scarecrow tried to learn the various meanings and uses of the word "after." I also liked the build-up of what happened to the farmer who owned the corn crop the scarecrow came alive into. "Centaur Field" by Jane Yolen -- This was an okay story. The solution at the end was fitting. "Princess Dragonblood" by Jude Mandell -- Some parts of this short story felt really trite and cliche. Some of the dialogue, especially. But the ending was...kind of clever. "Soaring" by Tim Waggoner -- I liked this story about Icarus. The myth was especially nice to read. "The Hardest, Kindest Gift" by Bruce Coville -- This story reminded me bits of a book by Catherynne Valente. Nonethless, I really enjoyed it. (Not like how I sometimes get exasperated when re-tellings of fairy tales like "Beauty and the Beast."

Review # 2 was written on 2010-06-10 00:00:00 James Basile Actually a very decent anthology. I wish this system had half stars, because it really deserves 4 and a half as a whole. I will revise this review including the names of the short stories and possibly a short synopsis, but overall a decent collection. Very short book, I would have liked more, so it's recommended you buy this in paperback because unless you find a hardback used like I did, it isn't worth the hardback new price. Stories: Becoming by Nancy Springer (Medusa) Linnea by D.J. Malcolm (Mermaid) Water's Edge by Janni Lee Simner (Selkie) Elder Brother by Tamora Pierce(Tree-people) How to Make a Human by Lawrence Schimel(A poem, miscellaneous) Scarecrow by Gregory Maguire (Scarecrow man) Centaur Field by Jane Yolen (Centaur) Princess Dragonblood by Jude Mandell(Dragon girl) Soaring by Tim Waggoner (Winged boy) The Hardest, Kindest Gift by Bruce Coville (Moth woman)