Debut novelist Katie Bernet reimagines one of literature’s most beloved families in Beth Is Dead (Sarah Barley Books/Simon & Schuster, Jan. 6), a modern-day mystery inspired by Little Women. Set in the same Massachusetts town as the original, this story transforms the March sisters’ coming-of-age tale into a layered exploration of sisterhood, grief, and identity. When the titular tragedy shatters the March family, the surviving sisters, Meg, Jo, and Amy, must confront the secrets, suspicions, and lies between them.

Bernet, who has two younger sisters of her own, takes liberties with Louisa May Alcott’s classic but stays true to the original’s themes. This week, Reese Witherspoon’s buzzy new Gen Z book club, Sunnie Reads, announced that Beth Is Dead would be its inaugural pick. Speaking to us from her home in Dallas via Zoom, Bernet, 33, discussed blending genres, giving Beth more agency, and why she believes the March sisters will always be relatable. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

How did Beth Is Dead come about?

I started writing right after college. It took me a while to get published, but I joined a local writers’ workshop that really helped. I’ve always loved Little Women and mysteries—that’s what I read for fun—so about three years ago, after a few manuscripts that went nowhere, I decided to combine the two things I loved most. I’m the oldest of three sisters, and we’ve all been obsessed with Little Women since high school. The idea of mixing that sister dynamic with a mystery just clicked.

Was the title there from the start?

It didn’t come to me until I was writing that scene where Jo kind of comes up with the title. I had a completely different working title that I won’t even share because it was so bad, but when I wrote that scene, I thought, Thank you, Jo March, this is the title!

Retellings can be tricky. How did you honor the original while making it your own?

My agent asked me early on: “What’s your purpose for doing this? What do you have to say about Little Women that makes this worth writing?” That question stayed with me the whole time. I studied other retellings to see how much you preserve versus how much you change. You have to honor the source material but still find your own lens, say something new about it.

Which retellings influenced you most?

The movie Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which is such a good example of keeping the heart of a story but putting a spin on it. I also love Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead, which takes the heart of David Copperfield and makes it something completely new.

Why set it in Concord and why modernize it?

I always knew I wanted to set it in Concord, so that was an early decision. I did toy with keeping it in the 1800s and turning it into a historical murder mystery. But in terms of the voices and stories I like to write, I knew it would be more fun for me to modernize it. Luckily, I got a chance to visit Concord, which was really helpful, because I’ve lived in Dallas my whole life.

Visiting Concord must have been meaningful. How did it shape the story?

The biggest thing that hit me while I was there is it’s kind of like a tourist hub. I felt like there was a lot of spectator energy there, and I think that kind of adds to the fire of the girls being watched and being talked about, so that was important to me. And then, this is a silly detail, but the snow! I thought that was just really fun to play with in the setting. That’s not something that I would have gotten if I’d based the story in Dallas!

What did you want to keep from the original, and what did you want to change?

I wanted to keep the heart of each sister, their core personalities and conflicts. I thought I’d give Beth more spark, because I used to think of her as passive. But I learned through writing that she always had that spark. I just hadn’t given her enough credit. That discovery was one of my favorite parts of the process.

Do you have a favorite film adaptation?

I’m super partial to the Greta Gerwig film. It came at the perfect time for me and reinvigorated my love for the story. I love what she did with Amy and how she gave Jo new dimension. You see her not just as the hero but also her loneliness and a softer, darker side to Jo. It inspired me to do the same thing.

You capture the closeness of sisters. How did your own sisterhood inform that?

My sisters and I are really, really close. We lived together while I was writing the book. Being a sister means knowing that no matter what happens, you’ll always love each other. You can have a horrible fight, you can accuse each other of murder, and you know you’re still going to love each other. That’s the core of what I was trying to do with the sisterhood and suspicion throughout the story.

There’s a moment when Beth imagines what each sister would say about a big decision. It feels so authentic.

That’s exactly how I think about my sisters. I’m oldest and still have moments where I think, I have to be like Emily now? or What would Sarah say right now? They’re both very different, and I know exactly what they would do, what they would think, what they would encourage me to do.

How did you balance the emotional depth of Little Women with the structure of a mystery?

It was all about connection. I want the emotional moments to drive the twists. The story has two timelines, so readers can see how events from the sisters’ past led to Beth’s death. Every reveal connects back to emotional moments. Like with any mystery, it only works if the feelings support the reveals.

Which mystery writers inspired you?

Holly Jackson. I love all her shocking twists. I studied her books and Karen McManus’ as well. But the book that really pushed me to write a mystery was Andrea Bartz’s We Were Never Here. It’s about a woman trying to decide whether her best friend is a killer or not. I literally read it in one sitting, and it made me think, If best friends can suspect each other, what about sisters?

Readers seem to love retellings right now. Did that encourage you?

Yeah! I think it’s nostalgia and comparison culture. It’s fun to see how different people reinterpret the same story. The same day my book was announced, another Little Women retelling was announced: Little Monsters, a middle grade where the March sisters are literally hiding the fact they’re monsters. I just loved that. Can’t wait to read it.

What do you hope readers take away from your retelling?

I hope they see Beth as a multidimensional character. She’s not passive, and I actually think she’s braver than Jo. I’ve come to think she’s the bravest March sister. She faces death with grace and still makes space for others. I think that’s really special. I always used to discredit her as just quiet and passive, but now she’s the one I aspire to be. I would love for other readers to see that, too.

Sandie Angulo Chen is a writer and bookseller in Silver Spring, Maryland.