The Modern Little Women

I'm reading Little Women for the second time and I suddenly realized that it's really similar to the Penderwicks series?? Like? The characters are the same basically???

Maybe it's supposed to be obvious and the Penderwicks is pulling a modern spin on the classic? But look it's really similar:

• Meg and Rosalind are the eldest sisters who value their maturity and care what people think about them, they are the closest to the youngest sister (Amy/Batty)

• Jo and Skye are tomboys, they are the first to meet/become friends with the boy next door (Laurie/Jeffrey) and there's some talk of them being together romantically, are the only ones that don't put up with Amy's/Jane's crap

• Beth and Jane are less like each other, but:

• Jane writes like Jo

• Beth literally shares Batty's name (Elizabeth) and they're really shy and play the piano well

• Jane and Amy care what people think about them, and want to be pretty

• Laurie and Jeffery. Just. Like. The nice, gentlemanly, shy, polite boy who lives next door with an old relative and plays the piano really well, but the relative doesn't want them to have a job related to music. There's also some tragic, mysterious family history.

• The four girls only live with one parent for most of the book/series

Thoughts? Opinions? Have you noticed this before? Do you have no idea what I'm talking about? Write to me: tal.fandoms@gmail.com

~Tol