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sierranorgan's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This book was wild in many different ways. It had such a gossip girl vibe to it that I enjoyed, and the audiobook narrator was really playing that up! But sometimes the characters and situations were so absolutely ridiculous that I wasn’t to smash my head into something 😂 maybe it’s things that I’m missing from it’s source material? I’m not sure. But overall I enjoyed being brought back to that gossip girl feeling that I’ve missed!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Death, Drug abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Mental illness, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, and Racial slurs
decklededgess's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
trigger warnings: sexual content (characters are under 18), drug and alcohol abuse, addiction, overdosing, rehabilitation, depression, suicide ideation, suicide attempt, self harm mention, vehicle accident, death by train, animal harm/death, emotionally abusive parents, infidelity, sexual harassment and cyber bullying, vomit, fatphobia, racism, classism, slut shaming, emotional incest
Idk who or what have me the idea but this book is not sapphic? There is one sapphic character who is like basically background. No wlw here in the main cast.
Other than that disappointment this book was phenomenal. A very xoxo Gossip Girl touch to Anna Karenina which seems apt from what I know about the original text.
The wealth disparity and lack of relatability of thee wealthy ass kids made the trauma a but more distant so I could read the book without internalising too much.
It’s beautifully written and I loved the chaos that third person omniscient pov provided to the narrative.
Excited for the next one!
Idk who or what have me the idea but this book is not sapphic? There is one sapphic character who is like basically background. No wlw here in the main cast.
Other than that disappointment this book was phenomenal. A very xoxo Gossip Girl touch to Anna Karenina which seems apt from what I know about the original text.
The wealth disparity and lack of relatability of thee wealthy ass kids made the trauma a but more distant so I could read the book without internalising too much.
It’s beautifully written and I loved the chaos that third person omniscient pov provided to the narrative.
Excited for the next one!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Animal death, Bullying, Car accident, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Racism, Sexism, and Vomit
Minor: Abortion
theespressoedition's review
challenging
funny
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I really struggled with this book. When I started reading it, it felt like a fun mix of Crazy Rich Asians and Gossip Girl blended together. The teenage drama and angst mixed with a bit of comedy. There was the hijinks, the tabloids, the money, the sex.
But there were so many characters to follow and that made it challenging right off the bat. I know there was a cast of characters listed in the book, but listening to an audiobook, I couldn't easily access those to keep track. And even if I had been reading a physical copy, I think I would've gotten confused. There were even super similar names that had me feeling upside down and backward a few times.
In addition, the fact that this book was YA with such intense sexual overtones made me really uncomfortable. It's one thing to read about it when it's an adult book, but we were talking about 15-year-olds watching other kids have sex (and describing the acts) and that just made me feel gross.
I know the story of Anna Karenina, so I wasn't terribly surprised by the way things played out, since it followed that storyline pretty closely. The whole book was just incredibly long for not much actually happening - or a lot happening but nothing fruitful? I don't know, but it wasn't what I hoped for, I guess.
But there were so many characters to follow and that made it challenging right off the bat. I know there was a cast of characters listed in the book, but listening to an audiobook, I couldn't easily access those to keep track. And even if I had been reading a physical copy, I think I would've gotten confused. There were even super similar names that had me feeling upside down and backward a few times.
In addition, the fact that this book was YA with such intense sexual overtones made me really uncomfortable. It's one thing to read about it when it's an adult book, but we were talking about 15-year-olds watching other kids have sex (and describing the acts) and that just made me feel gross.
I know the story of Anna Karenina, so I wasn't terribly surprised by the way things played out, since it followed that storyline pretty closely. The whole book was just incredibly long for not much actually happening - or a lot happening but nothing fruitful? I don't know, but it wasn't what I hoped for, I guess.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Drug use, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Addiction, Body shaming, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
literaryelephant's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This was my first Anna Karenina retelling, and it was a lot of fun rediscovering those characters in a modern setting and seeing how their traits and predicaments translate onto supperrich Manhattan teens. It's over-the-top ridiculous in a way that makes it feel more campy than the obvious Gossip Girl comparison, but Lee commits to the bit in a way that keeps the story rolling.
Two downsides, imo: 1) I can't really imagine this holding up without the classic it leans on; doing a mental compare/contrast with Anna Karenina was 90% of the draw for me here and I would not recommend picking it up without first reading the original. And 2) these characters are incredibly shallow in a way that's not fully explored within the text. We've got teens giving Pre-Emptive Guilt Gifts and getting nose jobs and ranking girls on a Hot List; men are forgiven for cheating and general promiscuity while women are condemned. There's *some* self-reflection and challenging of unfairness here (Anna in particular is a stronger and more sympathetic character) but those moments are few and far between compared to the general glamour and excess coating every page. The presentation without commentary feels like a missed opportunity, and in a book marketed as YA it's a little worrying to me that there seems to be plenty of room for taking any of the sexist/elitist/self-destructive details at face value.
But I see Lee has a sequel coming up, and I suspect the need to go off-script there will push the story in some new, more interesting directions. Oh, and a warning: despite the smiling girl on the cover and the "A Love Story" tag under the title, this is still a tragedy, not a cute romance. The jacket had me fooled, but the classic ending is... not entirely eliminated.
Two downsides, imo: 1) I can't really imagine this holding up without the classic it leans on; doing a mental compare/contrast with Anna Karenina was 90% of the draw for me here and I would not recommend picking it up without first reading the original. And 2) these characters are incredibly shallow in a way that's not fully explored within the text. We've got teens giving Pre-Emptive Guilt Gifts and getting nose jobs and ranking girls on a Hot List; men are forgiven for cheating and general promiscuity while women are condemned. There's *some* self-reflection and challenging of unfairness here (Anna in particular is a stronger and more sympathetic character) but those moments are few and far between compared to the general glamour and excess coating every page. The presentation without commentary feels like a missed opportunity, and in a book marketed as YA it's a little worrying to me that there seems to be plenty of room for taking any of the sexist/elitist/self-destructive details at face value.
But I see Lee has a sequel coming up, and I suspect the need to go off-script there will push the story in some new, more interesting directions. Oh, and a warning: despite the smiling girl on the cover and the "A Love Story" tag under the title, this is still a tragedy, not a cute romance. The jacket had me fooled, but the classic ending is... not entirely eliminated.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Animal death
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