Considered the first book in the "Little Women" trilogy, Louisa May Alcott's Little Women explores the difficulties associated with gender roles in a Post-Civil War America by following the lives of four sisters on a journey out of adolescence "I read Little Women every time I break up with a guy. I've been turning to Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy for heartbreak solace since I was 13 and found out the guy I liked was interested in someone else. I'd go home and cry to my sisters, and then I'd read Louisa May Alcott. There's some profound comfort in that book for me - Jo becomes a writer and finds her heart in a most unexpected place. Above all, we learn what Jo has always known: No matter who the guy is or how great he is, no one loves you like your sisters." - Shonda Rhimes "When I read Alcott, I knew that these girls she was talking about were all white. But they were nice girls and I understood them. I felt like I was almost there with them in their living room and their kitchen." - Maya Angelou