Eight Cousins
1887
An orphaned girl arrives at a house full of women, surrounded by seven boisterous cousins, in this spirited celebration of unconventional childhood. Rose Campbell is thirteen and exhausted when she comes to live at the Aunt Hill, a sprawling mansion ruled by six formidable great-aunts who believe in fainting couches and quiet manners. Then Uncle Alec arrives from abroad with revolutionary ideas about raising girls: sunshine, fresh air, and the freedom to climb trees. Under his guidance, Rose transforms from a pale, proper miss into a girl with dirt on her knees and a voice of her own. Alcott wrote this as a gentle manifesto for letting girls run free, but she wrapped her philosophy in enough warmth and humor to make it fly. The bond between Rose and the cousins, messy, loud, full of pranks and devotion, becomes the family she never thought she wanted. This is a book about blooming, both literally and figuratively, and about finding your people when you're not sure you fit anywhere.
