Review: A Little In Love by Susan Fletcher

Publication Date: October 2nd 2014
Publisher: Chicken House books
Source:  Library

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Blurb: 

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

Paris, 1832

A 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?

* Disclaimer: I have not read the original Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. *

I was browsing the new YA stock in my local library when I stumbled across this. I'd never heard anything about this book but once I read the blurb and learned it was a Les Mis retelling, and not only a Les Mis retelling but one from Eponine's perspective (!!), I knew I had to read it immediately! 

This book was a joy. I listened to the Les Mis soundtrack while reading this book and it was perfect! 

 Although, it didn't blow me away, it made me feel so connected to Eponine and her story in Les Mis. I loved the idea of the book being from solely Eponine's point of view and thought the author really understood Eponine's character as the voice of Eponine's narration was perfect. 

Eponine was a character in Les Mis that I knew only the basics about, I knew she was the daughter of the Inn keepers that take care of Cosette as a child, I knew she was secretly and unrequited  in love with Marius and that she died during the revolution to protect him. This was all I really knew about her going into this novel and A Little In Love taught me so much about the other sides to her character that I've never seen in the movie adaptations. 


I loved learning more about the story in this novel, like Eponine's family struggles, her childhood, her connection to Gavroche, her time in prison, her relationship with her family and her internal moral struggle. I felt that Susan Fletcher beautifully and clearly brought these issues and struggles in Eponine's life to the page and showed the reader Eponine's dramatic character development over the course of her life. 

Susan Fletcher's writing style in this novel was very enjoyable. Although at times I felt her writing to be a little overly descriptive and whimsical, I felt she really brought Eponine's story to life in a way that is accessible for teenagers and others who have not read Victor Hugo's classic work but still love the story of Les Mis. 


I highly recommend this novel for people who love the story of Les Mis and want to learn more about Eponine's story.