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lolajh's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Wow. What a rollercoaster. Such a promising lead up, I loooooved Jordan in the original, and was really rooting for an eventual romance between her and Daisy in this 😫 It fr would have been so perfect for Daisy to realise at the very end she didn’t care for Tom or Gatsby and instead Jordan had been there waiting for her the whole time. They kissed and had such a homoerotic relationship already it would have been perfect but a much weaker middle Nick and Jordan’s relationship made me so mad it was so toxic and jordan didn’t even really like him and end WHAT THE FUCK EVEN HAPPENED , especially regarding the magical realism fantasy bits that I really feel didn’t properly meld with the rest of the book. A lot of things were really disappointing, especially regarding the likability of Jordan as a main character when she was one of the only redeeming qualities I could find about the original. Jordan seemed quite manipulative and fake a lot of the time, and none of this was really explained. A perfect explanation for her choosing to stay with Nick all that time while she internally complained about him would be that she was FUCKING IN LOVE WITH DAISY yet she never (properly) admitted that and instead just gaslighted Daisy at the end when they were so close to actually addressing their relationship. Even if they just remained friends, I would’ve loved to see them have a happy ending together, even if Jordan had to go with her and Tom. I feel like the fight between them over Gatsby running over that girl was weird and Daisy was just obviously traumatised like everyone else was by seeing a dead body, especially when Daisy actually saw Gatsby kill them and then went through him dying as well. I loved Daisy, honestly wishing all the best for her and was rooting for her the whole time. Her character is just so real, I loved her in the original as well and think she was written well in this. Just the direction this book went and different weird elements like the fantasy stuff and a hint of incest???? Where jordan got jealous of Daisy flirting with Nick (Daisy and Nick are cousins????) Weird plot point, but anyway. I shouldn’t have gone into this hoping for certain things like a sapphic romance because the author never promised that and that isn’t fair. Was still disappointed anyway, but oh well!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident and Sexual content
Moderate: Abortion, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia
Minor: Vomit
stacyaj's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident
Minor: Self harm
lucystolethesky's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Alcohol, Car accident, Death, Infidelity, Murder, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Biphobia, Blood, Death, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexism, and Violence
Minor: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Physical abuse
beforeviolets's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I don't know if I have the words to explain how much I loved this book.
I don't know if I've ever annotated a book this much (maybe If We Were Villains if anything).
The Great Gatsby meant a lot to me in high school and it was a book that I loved so deeply. And this book was very hyped up; I constantly saw people saying that it was better than the original, that it would be the best read of the year and I was nervous, skeptical even. But wow was it incredible.
Nghi Vo brought these characters more to life than the OG book ever did and as much as the added aspect of magic was unneeded, it made the story so much more interesting. The descriptions in this book are stunning beyond words. Her use of similes though constant is vivid and clear and captivating. The way that men are described in this book is just *chef's kiss* and I am absolutely in love with Jordan and her blunt and critical and guarded ways.
I fear of using too many words to describe my experience of reading this book because it feels so much more visceral and fragile and nostalgic than anything I can allude to via a Goodreads review but all I'll say is oh my goodness please go read this.
I don't know if I've ever annotated a book this much (maybe If We Were Villains if anything).
The Great Gatsby meant a lot to me in high school and it was a book that I loved so deeply. And this book was very hyped up; I constantly saw people saying that it was better than the original, that it would be the best read of the year and I was nervous, skeptical even. But wow was it incredible.
Nghi Vo brought these characters more to life than the OG book ever did and as much as the added aspect of magic was unneeded, it made the story so much more interesting. The descriptions in this book are stunning beyond words. Her use of similes though constant is vivid and clear and captivating. The way that men are described in this book is just *chef's kiss* and I am absolutely in love with Jordan and her blunt and critical and guarded ways.
I fear of using too many words to describe my experience of reading this book because it feels so much more visceral and fragile and nostalgic than anything I can allude to via a Goodreads review but all I'll say is oh my goodness please go read this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Sexual content, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Car accident, Murder, Racism, and Infidelity
Moderate: Abortion, Vomit, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Self harm
mandkips's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Infidelity, Racism, Self harm, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Gore, and Homophobia
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