Beth Is Dead – at a glance
The School Reading Lists’ five word review: : Modern-day Little Women Murder Mystery.
Children’s book title: Beth Is Dead.
Children’s author: Katie Bernet.
Cover design: Lizzy Bromley.
Genre: Mystery, thriller.
Published by: Scholastic.
ISBN: 9780702343445.
Recommended for children aged: 14+.
First published: Paperback January 2025.
This children’s book is ideal for: Young people with a knowledge of the classic, Little Women, who like modern-day adaptations with a twist. Exploring character traits and character development, searching for answers.
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Our review:
As a long-term fan of Little Women, I was a little apprehensive when the proof for Beth Is Dead was posted through my front door. I simply couldn’t envision a modern-day retelling, let alone one in which Beth’s death became a murder mystery. However, as I began to read, I was soon flipping pages, invested in the familiar characters and concocting theories in my head. My suspicions were aroused and I needed to know who dunnit.
Something Bernet does very well is to preserve and further explore the characteristics of the four sisters: Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. If anything, she goes a little further in making Beth a more relatable character than she may have been previously, with a tad more ambition and complexity. She gives her her own voice and a set of intriguing personal challenges to overcome. This is likely to make her more relatable to the modern young reader. Beth is portrayed as a young person who is working out if she has dreams and what they may be, whilst perhaps even building up the bravery to take a leap into the world of musicianship; a factor which makes her death all the more devastating.
Laurie remains the handsome, friendly, dependable neighbour and the power conflict over him between Jo and Amy is well written and manages to be familiar whilst fresh in the modern day setting. John Brooke is still the seemingly steady love of Meg’s life and the character of Henry Hummel has been created from the original Hummel family to take on the role of Beth’s boyfriend. Mrs March is still a hard working and dedicated mother, Meg still struggles with keeping up with the Joneses and managing relative financial poverty, Jo still grapples with finding her place as a confident woman with a passionate need to write (and a rather large dose of main character syndrome- for this we can forgive her!) and Amy still has her dreams of Europe: all just as in the original but within a modern day setting. To add to the intrigue, Mr March is almost completely absent from the book apart from in the form of a few flashbacks. He is the receiver of significant criticism and mixed opinions after publishing a book about his daughters’ lives: Little Women.
There are a multitude of themes to explore with young adult groups and many ways in which the characters and the plot lines are relatable. The murder itself centres around a highly eventful New Year’s Eve party, a context to which many young people can relate. Points for discussion include relationships (romantic, friendly and familial), murder mystery formulas and the ways in which clues are dropped to keep the reader hooked, modern retellings whilst staying true to the original characters, and the goals and dreams of young people. This book would serve as a fantastic springboard for creative writing and inspiring young people to plot and write their own modern-day retelling or murder mystery adaptation of a classic book. The educational opportunities are wide.
Beth Is Dead will be published in January 2026 and I highly recommend that any curious classics lovers give it a go. You might just surprise yourself with how well you will love these characters in a modern setting.
Many thanks to Scholastic for the review copy.
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