A Little in Love

by Susan E. Fletcher

Overview

Inspired by Victor Hugo's classic, Les Miserables, A Little in Love beautifully conveys the heartbreaking story of street girl Eponine.

Paris, 1832A girl lies alone in the darkness, clutching a letter to her heart. Eponine remembers being a child: her swing and the peach tree, and the baby brother she loved. But mostly she remembers being miserable. Taught to lie and cheat, and to hate the one girl, Cosette, who might have been her friend. Now, at sixteen, the two girls meet again, and Eponine has one more chance. But what is the price of friendship--the love of a boy?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545830577
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	08/25/2015
Sold by:	Scholastic, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	9 MB
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Susan Fletcher is the author of several books for adults, including Eve Green, which won a Whitbread First Novel Award in the United Kingdom. A Little in Love is her first book for young adults. Susan lives in England. You can follow her on Twitter at @sfletcherauthor.

Read an Excerpt

From A Little in Love:Love. It's almost the smallest word I know. If it was an object I might drop it or forget it because it's so tiny. But it's not a small feeling, even though it grows from a moment as small as an apple seed.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for A Little in Love:"Fletcher crafts another masterpiece based upon the classic. The entire tale will be long remembered, and is a must-read for all Les Mis fans." —SLJ, starred review"The magic of Fletcher's work is in the way she weaves in and out of Hugo's classic tale, giving a voice to one of literature's most tragic, voiceless characters." —Bookpage (online)"Les Miserables fans, this is the book you've been waiting for. The themes of friendship, romance and liberty run deep–and bonus, it's way faster to read than Victor Hugo's tome." —Metro.us"Fletcher's latest novel breathes new life into this fallen heroine to tell her tragic story of love and self-sacrifice in nineteenth-century Paris." —Booklist"[T]he deeper story about goodness and kindness is . . . carefully and compellingly told. A worthy companion book, with storytelling strong enough to interest even readers unfamiliar with the original novel or its many adaptations." —Kirkus Reviews"Accessibly and engagingly written, the book might lead readers to think in greater depth about the other issues it raises and could be enough to lure them to the original novel." —VOYAPraise for Susan Fletcher:"One of the most poetic and original voices working now."—The Guardian (UK)"Her prose is extraordinarily lyrical: haunted, dreamlike and precise . . . Fletcher's words are undeniably beautiful and her themes are profound."—The Sunday Times (UK)

From the Publisher

★ 06/01/2015
Gr 7 Up—While staying true to Victor Hugo's Les Misérables, Fletcher crafts another masterpiece based upon the classic. With great care, she fleshes out minor characters until they live and breathe. This is Eponine's story—her tale of strength, inner character, and self-sacrifice. Raised by vile pickpocket parents in rural 19th-century France, she is forced to lie, steal, and cheat, despite her prickling conscience. When beautiful young Cosette comes to live with Eponine's heartless family, Eponine's kindness is buried by her desire to be loved by her mother, who values only cruelty. When Cosette leaves with Jean Valjean, the protagonist's life fills with longing for something more. After her family's furtive escape to Paris, the teen finds beauty and love upon meeting Marius Pontmercy. Her pure, unselfish feelings are destined to be unrequited, for he loves the beautiful Cosette. Eponine, through fate or destiny, is the bridge between Marius and Cosette. Her selflessness leads to a tragic end as she sacrifices all to ensure the two lovers' happiness. The heroine's inner strength is powerful—she resists becoming cruel and bitter, showing how circumstances can influence behavior but not define one's character. The lyrical writing completely immerses readers in 19th-century French life. Characters, mainly villains or the darkly inclined, are vivid and memorable. VERDICT The entire tale will be long remembered, and is a must-read for all Les Mis fans.—Lisa Crandall, formerly at the Capital Area District Library, Holt, MI

School Library Journal

2015-05-06
The story of Eponine Thenardier, a side character from Victor Hugo's Les Misérables, is told here, from early childhood to untimely death. Born to almost cartoonishly money-hungry parents, Eponine is taught to steal from a young age. She feels uncomfortable cheating people, but she loves the way a successful night of thievery elicits her mother's pride and affection. As Eponine grows up, her internal conflicts grow deeper: please her family or follow her conscience? Do good deeds or cruel ones? Steal or starve? Eponine's choices and observations are rendered in simple and evocative language—a pebble of sadness knocking in her heart when she longs to be loved, viscerally felt daydreams "that one day I'd be pretty, and I walk with a boy…in a skirt that went shush…shush…shush." When Eponine's father kills a man in a robbery gone wrong, the family flees to Paris. There, Eponine meets Marius, the young man whom readers know from the prologue, if not from the source text, that she will die saving. Though the bittersweetness of Eponine's doomed, unrequited love shines through the later parts of the book, the deeper story about goodness and kindness is just as carefully and compellingly told. A worthy companion book, with storytelling strong enough to interest even readers unfamiliar with the original novel or its many adaptations. (Historical fiction. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews