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literaryelephant's review against another edition
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
leekaufman's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Death, Child death, and Sexual content
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, and Mental illness
Minor: Racism, Xenophobia, and Self harm
bailleyleppert's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Mental illness, Infidelity, Grief, Drug use, Death, and Addiction
isabelburns's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This book definitely could have been shorter. Also, had VERY adult themes for being supposedly about teenagers? I don't know maybe NYC/CT are just built differently. Didn't love the characters, but good overall.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use
Minor: Vomit and Suicidal thoughts
5e6jsb9by's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Animal death
Minor: Addiction
caidyn's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
On a reread, I liked it better, but still would rather read the classic. Diversity is great, but everything felt so superficial.
Thanks to Edelweiss, Flatiron Books, and Macmillan for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
CW: sex shaming, drug use, alcohol use, cheating, adultery, revenge porn, death, and sex on the page
Man. I thought this book would be a silly, frivolous read to take my mind away from things, but it just fell flat for me. It's a poor retelling. Honestly, I'd say just pick up the actual book to read it because this didn't hit home for me.
This book is about Gen Z. The kids who are teenagers now and have only known technology. Even better, these are rich Gen Z kids who have the whole world at the touch of their fingertips, both digitally and literally thanks to money.
While Anna Karenina was a glimpse into Russia before the fall of the monarchy and the class differences in pre-revolution Russia, this was just a bunch of teens doing drugs, having sex, and doing rich people things. It's not a bad book. The writing is good. The characters are usually interesting. But the story just felt like a poor man's version of the original.
It also didn't help that it felt like it was written by someone outside the generation. I could tell that Lee was on the outside looking in, so it felt like a parody at times. I loved the diversity in this, but, overall, I was so done by the time the story ended.
Thanks to Edelweiss, Flatiron Books, and Macmillan for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
CW: sex shaming, drug use, alcohol use, cheating, adultery, revenge porn, death, and sex on the page
Man. I thought this book would be a silly, frivolous read to take my mind away from things, but it just fell flat for me. It's a poor retelling. Honestly, I'd say just pick up the actual book to read it because this didn't hit home for me.
This book is about Gen Z. The kids who are teenagers now and have only known technology. Even better, these are rich Gen Z kids who have the whole world at the touch of their fingertips, both digitally and literally thanks to money.
While Anna Karenina was a glimpse into Russia before the fall of the monarchy and the class differences in pre-revolution Russia, this was just a bunch of teens doing drugs, having sex, and doing rich people things. It's not a bad book. The writing is good. The characters are usually interesting. But the story just felt like a poor man's version of the original.
It also didn't help that it felt like it was written by someone outside the generation. I could tell that Lee was on the outside looking in, so it felt like a parody at times. I loved the diversity in this, but, overall, I was so done by the time the story ended.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Alcohol, and Death
Moderate: Drug use
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