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kivt's review against another edition
1.0
Pointless and subpar retelling of The Great Gatsby by an unimaginative writer who writes queer people very, very poorly. The book offers nothing in itself and nothing as a commentary or companion to its source material. Flat and stale. But more entertaining than listening to babies cry on a five hour flight, which is where and why I read it. Just real bad.
thestoryowl's review against another edition
4.0
The Great Gatsby with modern teens. All the drama, decadence, and senseless loss with a Hamptons backdrop.
doublearegee's review against another edition
4.0
A rather faithful to the original modernization of the Great Gatsby. It was almost like a scavenger hunt, spotting the iconic moments- a plastic surgeon billboard instead of the eye glasses, the green light at the end of the dock belonging to a laptop, the narrator's love interest liking golf, and everyone's name started with the same letter as their corresponding character. Overall, as enjoyable as the original.
kitty_whimsical's review against another edition
2.0
I had high hopes for this novel. THE GREAT GATSBY is not my favorite book by any means, but I do enjoy it and the various film interpretations that have been released. I was fascinated by this book from the time I first heard of it and finally decided to purchase it after reading the sample and falling in love. The sample was misleading.
I've always believed that one should never be wholly positive or negative when it comes to a review of a piece of writing. Here's something positive to start out with: the book is a true, close homage to the source. Benincasa did a great job of following the Gatsby plot and carrying it out to the end (even though I personally had some doubt about the Gatsby figure's story in this tale - I never doubted what Jay did for Daisy in the original). The idea to set the story in the Hamptons and use rich teenagers is pretty fantastic as well. The setting was portrayed very nicely.
As for what I did not like:
1) too much product placement (did Marc Jacobs fund this novel?)
2) too many pop culture references that absolutely will not age well - the author references CLUELESS, which is from 1995. It's from before most of the characters in this novel were born. Furthermore, while GOSSIP GIRL just ended in 2012 and was clearly an influence for Benincasa, it remains to be seen whether or not it will survive as a reference point for teenagers in years to come. (And, as a side note, I do not know a single 16/17 year old girl who would be interested in BOARDWALK EMPIRE, except for the one character who is, and referencing it did not make sense to me)
3) the best friend at home in Chicago is a ridiculous butch-lesbian caricature that should have either been left out entirely or fleshed out a little better - I would actually have rather read about her story at home than about Naomi's. It was borderline offensive.
4) I get the title, but I'm an adult with a literature degree. The title has absolutely nothing to do with the story on its own, which is a shame. It tells you right away that the novel's intending to ride happily along on Fitzgerald's coattails.
Overall, I think that this could have been an excellent novel if the writer had put a bit more effort into making it her own and a little less effort into trying to point out how absolutely witty and connected she is. Instead of a modern retelling, we get a self-indulgent remix that succeeds in retelling the Gatsby story, but fails on its own as a standalone novel.
I've always believed that one should never be wholly positive or negative when it comes to a review of a piece of writing. Here's something positive to start out with: the book is a true, close homage to the source. Benincasa did a great job of following the Gatsby plot and carrying it out to the end (even though I personally had some doubt about the Gatsby figure's story in this tale - I never doubted what Jay did for Daisy in the original). The idea to set the story in the Hamptons and use rich teenagers is pretty fantastic as well. The setting was portrayed very nicely.
As for what I did not like:
1) too much product placement (did Marc Jacobs fund this novel?)
2) too many pop culture references that absolutely will not age well - the author references CLUELESS, which is from 1995. It's from before most of the characters in this novel were born. Furthermore, while GOSSIP GIRL just ended in 2012 and was clearly an influence for Benincasa, it remains to be seen whether or not it will survive as a reference point for teenagers in years to come. (And, as a side note, I do not know a single 16/17 year old girl who would be interested in BOARDWALK EMPIRE, except for the one character who is, and referencing it did not make sense to me)
3) the best friend at home in Chicago is a ridiculous butch-lesbian caricature that should have either been left out entirely or fleshed out a little better - I would actually have rather read about her story at home than about Naomi's. It was borderline offensive.
4) I get the title, but I'm an adult with a literature degree. The title has absolutely nothing to do with the story on its own, which is a shame. It tells you right away that the novel's intending to ride happily along on Fitzgerald's coattails.
Overall, I think that this could have been an excellent novel if the writer had put a bit more effort into making it her own and a little less effort into trying to point out how absolutely witty and connected she is. Instead of a modern retelling, we get a self-indulgent remix that succeeds in retelling the Gatsby story, but fails on its own as a standalone novel.
afretts's review against another edition
* I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. *
I did not finish this... And I feel bad about it. I got it for free. I should be able to get through it and review it, right?
But I just couldn't. It was so damn boring. Nothinnnngggggg happens. Everyone is a spoiled, rich, jerk. It was just one big annoying, yawn fest.
I'm sorry, Harper Collins, I couldn't finish it.
DNF
I did not finish this... And I feel bad about it. I got it for free. I should be able to get through it and review it, right?
But I just couldn't. It was so damn boring. Nothinnnngggggg happens. Everyone is a spoiled, rich, jerk. It was just one big annoying, yawn fest.
I'm sorry, Harper Collins, I couldn't finish it.
DNF
rdyourbookcase's review against another edition
3.0
I didn’t have high expectations for this book. How can someone do a good job of recreating The Great Gatsby??? Well, Sara Benincasa did it. She understood the essence of Gatsby and what made the story a classic. Her insight into the characters made this update a success. It’s not the type of book I would have read if it hadn’t been an interpretation of a classic, but I’m really glad I gave this one a chance.
*Spoiler Alert*
The one biggest change did bother me. Jacinta didn’t seem like the sort of person who would commit suicide. There didn’t seem to be many warning signs from her, unless I completely missed them. Yes, she was obsessed with Delilah, but I don’t think circumstances with her would have prompted suicide. I think Benincasa chose to have Jacinta commit suicide because she (or the publishers) thought it might be too dark to have a young person kill another young person. I’m interested in why she made the choices she did, and I might have to look up some interviews to gain some insight.
*Spoiler Alert*
The one biggest change did bother me. Jacinta didn’t seem like the sort of person who would commit suicide. There didn’t seem to be many warning signs from her, unless I completely missed them. Yes, she was obsessed with Delilah, but I don’t think circumstances with her would have prompted suicide. I think Benincasa chose to have Jacinta commit suicide because she (or the publishers) thought it might be too dark to have a young person kill another young person. I’m interested in why she made the choices she did, and I might have to look up some interviews to gain some insight.
sarakday's review against another edition
3.0
I wish this book was better. I love the concept, and the gender-reversal angle works pretty well (I was worried it would feel more gimmicky). But the writing is really inconsistent, ranging from some very authentic narrative moments to some really cringe-worthy dialogue.
bexrecca's review against another edition
1.0
Even if you can get past the protagonists terribly wink wink nudge nudge name (Naomi Rye for Nick Carraway - get it? Rye bread? Caraway seeds? Get it?), it's really difficult to care about her. Benincasa uses Naomi's off screen lesbian best friend as her moral compass - Skags would have said this appropriate thing, but she's not here. It's insulting to have this girl used as a way to make Naomi so alternative, aside from the cool 80s band t-shirts and Doc Martens (oooh, so different) - well, my best friend is a lesbian and has political views that I'll think about. Why not just have Naomi be a lesbian? The rest of this updated adapatation of the Great Gatsby plays out like the current rosé shortage in the Hamptons - tragic for those there, but no one else cares.