Part of Little Women, book 2
First published 2006
At Plumfield School, Professor Bhaer and Jo March transform a crumbling New England estate into a revolutionary home for wayward boys. Each student arrives with a complicated past: street urchins, farm runaways, and children society has forgotten. Through compassionate education and structured kindness, Bhaer and Jo rebuild these young lives, teaching practical skills alongside moral character. Their experimental school becomes more than an institution—it's a living experiment in redemption, where damaged children learn to trust, work, and imagine better futures for themselves. As each boy confronts his personal challenges, the school becomes a microcosm of hope and human potential.
Genres: family-life, american-fiction, historical-fiction, school-stories, 19th-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, redemption
Setting: New England
Period: 1860s
329 pages · Paperback · Hard Press