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Allison Larkin

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You are here: Home / book trailer fridays / Book Trailer Fridays – Kelly O’Connor McNees & The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott

Book Trailer Fridays – Kelly O’Connor McNees & The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott

January 22, 2011 Filed Under: book trailer fridays, books are awesome

I read Little Women in fourth grade, and was completely and totally mesmerized.  It was the first book that made me feel like I was living inside the story while I read it, because I was so emotionally invested in the characters.  I’d enjoyed reading up until then, but Little Women is the book that made me a reader, and it’s still one of my all time favorites.

Little Women was also the book that sparked my interested in writers.  The woman behind the Little Women is just as interesting as the book itself.  Louisa May Alcott was a student of several members of the Transcendental Club, an abolitionist, and an advocate for women’s rights.  She died at the age of 55, but wrote over 270 books in her lifetime.

I love that Kelly O’Connor McNees has written a novel about what could have happened in Louisa May Alcott’s life to inspire the ending to Little Women.

Here’s part of the description:

“In her debut novel, The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott, Kelly O’Connor McNees deftly mixes fact and fiction as she imagines a summer lost to history, carefully purged from Louisa’s letters and journals, a summer that would change the course of Louisa’s writing career—and inspire the story of love and heartbreak between Jo and Teddy “Laurie” Laurence, Jo’s devoted neighbor and kindred spirit.”

Here’s the trailer:

And here’s what reviewers are saying about The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott:

“…The Lost Summer is the kind of romantic tale to which Alcott herself was partial, one in which love is important but not a solution to life’s difficulties. Devotees of Little Women will flock to this story with pleasure.” 

– The Washington Post

“… the book is so compelling and well written that I hated to see it end.”

– Historical Novels Review

“… McNees deftly combines historic figures and documented aspects of Louisa’s life with speculations about what might have been. Fans of Little Women may be first in line to read the novel, but the book will also appeal to others who enjoy historical romance.”

– Library Journal

Check out Kelly’s website, and follow her on Twitter!

4 Comments

Comments

  1. Stephanie Cowell says

    January 22, 2011 at 3:10 am

    I love this book. The portrait of Louisa is still haunting me. For me, biographies cannot begin to bring people to life as can good historical fiction. I really felt what Louisa had to go through to write her books!

    Reply
  2. Heidiopia says

    January 22, 2011 at 2:27 pm

    How have I missed this for the past nine months???? Logging onto Amazon RIGHT NOW to snap up a copy. Little Women remains one of my all-time favorites…may have to go back and re-read it (again), too. :)
    Thanks, Allie!!

    Reply
  3. Kelly O'Connor McNees says

    January 22, 2011 at 5:09 pm

    Thank you, Allie, for this post! And Stephanie, CLAUDE AND CAMILLE has been in my TBR pile for waaay too long. I know I’m going to love it as so many others have.

    Heidi, as a fellow LITTLE WOMEN devotee, I hope you like the book! Glad you found it here. Warm wishes to you all.

    Reply
  4. Andi says

    January 25, 2011 at 2:40 am

    Hilarious trailer! I can’t wait to read this! I was a bit mad at first when Jo & Laurie didn’t end up together, and even more mad when he starting spending time with Amy. It just seemed so wrong. But when I kept reading, they seemed to fit together so well that it didn’t bother me anymore. I actually liked how the book turned out even though it’s not what I expected. I SO love what you said about living inside the story. That’s totally how it is when reading Little Women, the characters are so wonderful and lovable!

    Reply

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Allison Larkin

allielarkinwrites

Internationally bestselling author of three novels as Allie Larkin and THE PEOPLE WE KEEP. Look for HOME OF THE AMERICAN CIRCUS @gallerybooks May 2025

“Larkin abandons the typical story arc in favor “Larkin abandons the typical story arc in favor of a more naturally flowing up-and-down journey that basks in beautiful moments like a slice-of-life story. Whether it’s banter at the bar Freya’s working or a leaking roof that is simply one more thing than she can possibly handle right now, the characters and their experiences are so real and pure that their joys and sorrows are amplified tenfold.” 

So honored by this AP review of Home of the American Circus! 

https://apnews.com/article/home-american-circus-allison-larkin-book-review-79ea3d1fdb69ef16232a8dfb7d148ad6

#homeoftheamericancircus #booksbooksbooks
I’ve seen a bunch of references to Home of the A I’ve seen a bunch of references to Home of the American Circus as my second novel. It’s actually my 5th! Before The People We Keep, under the name Allie Larkin, I wrote three books: Stay, Why Can’t I Be You, and Swimming for Sunlight. Here they are in their various editions with some of their translations! (And @justjuliawhelan also narrated Stay and Why Can’t I Be You, if you’d like to listen!)

Fun fact: That gorgeous dog on the hardcover of Stay was actually our dog Argo, and I took that photo of him when @duttonbooks couldn’t find the perfect photo of a black German Shepherd. #booksbooksbooks #bookstagram
Pub Day Part One. The thing is, it’s really hard Pub Day Part One. The thing is, it’s really hard to be a creative person in the world, and the blessing, the salvation, the joy of it is the community around art: the writers who will call an emergency novel Zoom meeting when you’re stuck on a draft, the ones who roll up their sleeves and make sure your words are saying what you intend to say, the one who writes an interview to promote your book in the local paper, the reader who captures pictures of the event and makes a reel, the bookstore saints who plan a meal based on the story and serve blue and yellow cupcakes and sing happy birthday to your book on launch day, the readers who show up and get books signed and ask great questions and tell stories about their lives. That’s book magic. And thanks to @townecenterbks (especially Judy and Stacey although I know there are bookstore saints behind the scenes too) and @reneewritesnovels and @woolfmania and @cassandra.a.dunn and @lindalattelessons @aneedleinmybookstack and everyone who showed up to Read it and Eat, I will never ever forget the pub day for Home of the American Circus. You all made it so special. Thank you! I love you. I’m so grateful to be part of the community of writers and readers. ❤️🐘
@deborahblakeauthor RIGHT BACK AT YOU! ❤️❤️❤️
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I will be back on Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I will be back on the grid tomorrow! I love you all so much and I’m so grateful for your support! 😘😘😘 #homeoftheamericancircus
Well, here we are on the eve of Pub Day for Home o Well, here we are on the eve of Pub Day for Home of the American Circus! 

You know that classic bit of writing advice about how you’re supposed to write the book that scares you? Well, for a long time the thought of actually writing and sharing Home of the American Circus scared the heck out of me. I spent many many years collecting ideas for this book, terrified by the thought of how deep I’d have to dig to tell this story the right way. The book is firmly fiction, and the characters are all my imaginary friends, but the setting and themes are literally and figuratively close to home for me. Freya’s story isn’t mine, we have different life events and demographics, but I understand her sense of grief and loss and floundering and hope on a cellular level. And of all the characters I’ve ever written, the way her mind works is the closest to how I think and feel. It takes place in the town where I grew up. And I think when you read this book, you won’t know my life story, but you will know the tenor of my heart. I grew up as a kid with undiagnosed ADHD in a place where I didn’t fit, frantically trying to look normal, believing it was the only way anyone would love me. Always falling short, terrified of failure. And then in my early twenties, I dropped out of college and worked at a biker bar and made such a huge mess of my life that I was forced to build myself up again brick by brick—this time knowing that failure isn’t the worst thing that can happen to a person. That as long as you can find the strength to try again in one way or another, falling flat on your face is not the end of the world. And I learned that the only way to truly feel loved is to be yourself and see who’s up for loving you in your natural form. The people I keep taught me that. And even though it scared me, this was a book I needed to write, it’s the work I’m most proud of, with characters I love the most. So sharing it doesn’t feel like the end of the world at all. Just the end of the world where I have not shared this novel set in ny hometown with a character who has a heart like mine. #misheardlyrics #rem #homeoftheamericancircus #awkwardguitar #itstheendoftheworldasweknowitandifeelfine
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