Customer Reviews

Rose in Bloom

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"Rose in Bloom" is one of my favorite books ever. I like it more than any other Louisa May Alcott book, although its predecessor "Eight Cousins" is a sweet story in its own right. I can't find many romances that don't make me blush, but "Rose in Bloom" not only doesn't embarrass me, it makes me feel quite virtuous. ^_^ "Rose in Bloom" is so delightfully Victorian and unabashedly idealistic and romantic. The characters are all quite loveable and the plot, although firmly rooted in its time, resonates even now. The story is incredibly emotionally involving, I cry whenever I read this book -- even at a bus stop once! However, it's not a sad book; it ends very happily. (The scene with the quill pen just makes me need to call up a friend and squeal about the cuteness of it all.) When I find that mere words on a page can make the world seem to light up with happiness and goodness, I know I have found an incredible book. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes wonderful characters, a charming and earnest narrative, and a cute romance.

The story of Rose and how she comes of age is certainly idealized, but don't we need more ideals these days? She is rich and rather sheltered, but she faces the same peer pressure, the same temptations with boys, the same problems with friends and romance. Even Charlie's struggle with drinking is as fresh and relevant today as it was then. She also promotes an independent, even feminist, attitude, but without losing sight of the importance of feminine talents and virtues. I didn't discover this book until I was in my 20s, even though I had been a Little Women fan since childhood, but since then I've read "Eight Cousins" and other Alcott classics, and I wouldn't be without them. My daughter is learning to read now, and I can't wait to introduce her to Rose!

Rose In Bloom is an interesting book about a girl who lives with her uncle. Her aunts wish her to be introduced into society after Rose had returned from a two year voyage around the world. One of her cousins wished her hand in marriage, but had changed so dramatically since she left on her voyage that she had struggle with him to make good choices. Besides this cousin, Rose had more suitors than she cared to deal with, because she was of marrying age with a great fortune and a kind heart. Finally, in the end, tragedy strikes Rose and her family, but the sun appeared again and brought light back into their lives with a wonderful ending. I love reading and Rose In Bloom offers enough enjoyment, sorrow and romance that I was farely satified with the overall picture it created. (I would recommend this book for girls). Personally, I would suggest reading Eight Cousins before Rose In Bloom, because it would be rather difficult to understand all the details of what was happening and who was who if you started with the latter. Enjoy!

This is the kind of book you wish would go on forever. It defines the word classic in every way. Everytime I read it, I fall in love with Rose, Mac, Uncle Alec and the others over and over again. It is one of my most favourite books (and seriously, in my opinion and in the opinion of many others I'm sure, it is BETTER than Little Women!!) It doesn't matter if you're young or old..... NEVER PASS THIS BOOK UP!! You will laugh, you will cry, and like me, you will wish it would never end.

When I was a kid, my parents bought me the hardback version of Louisa May Alcott's books ~~ but the series didn't include this book. I have always loved "The Eight Cousins" and when I found out about this one ~~ I was a kid then ~~ I fell in love with Rose and her cousins even more. Now that I am an adult, I still love this book.

Rose isn't a sickly child anymore and she's on the threshold of becoming a fine woman ~~ and two of her cousins were in love with her. This book talks about her journey into adulthood and the dilemma she faced in choosing her husband ~~ and it's a wonderfully written book.

I highly recommend this book to everyone who has read "The Little Women" or even "The Eight Cousins" as Alcott's writing style is timeless. This is a classic book that I bought for my own children to read. This should be in everyone's library.

For all those who thought that Rose's story ended with Eight Cousins here is the truth about what happened to these beloved characters.

The innocence found in the first book is slowly lifted here as Rose enters into the real world after her return from Europe. All but one of the characters from the first book make a return in this charming sequel.

The cousins are older as well and have found love. The heartwarming challeneges these lovers go through are refreshing in their innocence. Even Jamie is not immune to the talk of love and his innocene candor on the matter is very amusing.

Rose In Bloom answers many questions one has at the end of cousins. Yet like any fan will know not everyone can be happy with all the outcomes of the sequel.

A great book for fans of Eight Cousins.

I love Louisa May Alcott, and I love this book. I have read every published piece of Alcott that I can find, and I am always awed by her literacy, fluency in storytelling, and purity of the characters portrayed in her writing. I love following Rose as she begins to grow up, and watching her struggle to maintain the high standards and principles that her wholesome upbringing has given her. While the grown-up world of Alcott is still pretty pure by today's standards, the essential elements are there: avarice, insincerity, and superficiality. This is a book I read and enjoyed when I was 10, and still love at 25. There are lessons to be learned about being true to oneself, and an illustration that life's ephemeral pleasures need not become lifetime distractions. If you don't give this to your child to read for all the reasons above, give it to him or her knowing that it may make them curious about some wonderful authors of the Enlightenment period - such as Emerson and Thoreau. When I was ten, I wanted to read Emerson's essays, like Heroism and Love, because Alcott introduced me to the literature in a way that piqued my curiousity. That in itself, is a wonderful reason to read this worthy book.

Growing up as a classic bookworm, my two favorite literary friends were Anne Shirley and Rose Campbell. While I also read the Little Women Series (how could I not?) Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom struck a chord in me that Jo and her sisters did not (except maybe in Little Men.) These were the books that I read and re-read, and since I never owned Rose in Bloom, I doubt that anyone else in town had a chance to read it in between times that I had it checked out of the library. In fact, the books engaged me emotionally to such a degree that I found I had to put Rose in Bloom down for a while mid-book because one incident upset me so, which is something that I rarely do. If you are looking for the kind of book that you will get good use out of for many years, this is it.

If Eight Couisins was great, Rose In Bloom is classic! I left the child-hood friends in great anticipation of meeting them again as adults. At the same time, however, I felt an ominous sense of foreboding. . . Would Charlie and Mac ruin their friendship in vieing for their sweet cousin's hand? I could not imagine Mac striving with anyone over anything. So . . . what then? Would the romantic and debonair Charlie simply sweep Rose off her feet, while Mac stands in the background and sighs with dissapiontment? No. That didn't seem to fit, either. As it turned out, the good and noble Mac did win Rose's heart over his hansome and undiciplined cousin. I - like Rose - first fell in love with "the Prince". And like her, I came to see, through tragic circumstances, what true love really means. . . finding someone you can look up to, instead of lift up.

This sequel to "Eight Cousins" is one of Louisa May Alcott's masterpieces. I loved it as a girl, I loved it as a teenager, and I love it now. Even though it was written in Victorian times, it has a truth and honesty to it that survives into today--and the problems that Rose encounters as a young woman will be familiar to any modern reader.

Why are women fascinated by--and drawn to--the bad boys of this world? That question did not originate with James Dean or "The Leader of the Pack." It is very much alive in this book, as Rose returns from Europe to find her eight cousins very much grown up--and very, very interesting. In particular, her wild and handsome cousin Charlie, now grown into a wild and handsome man, captures Rose's heart. But Charlie is on a dangerous path to alcoholism and self-destruction. Will Rose see this in time, and will she turn to the man who really loves her with all his heart and soul? And what of her dear friend Phoebe, whose ethnic background might keep her from the man she loves?

Sounds like a 2002 soap opera. But it isn't--and it is written with such depth, such love, and such talent that it has survived over a century. Alcott was so much more than "Little Women" and this book, among others, proves it.