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teganmullen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Drug use
girlonbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I first read and review this book in December of 2020. But with the release of the sequel, Anna K: Away roughly two months away I decided it more than deserved a revisit.
Anna K has it all. And with the perfect reputation, the perfect boyfriend and the perfect life at an elite school in Greenwich, Anna is envied by many. When her brother, Steven, enlists Anna's help to smooth over a rift with his girlfriend, Lolly, Anna drops everything and rushes to aid him in Manhattan. When the storm clouds have cleared, Anna opts to stay awhile with her friends in the city. After all, it's so rarely that she gets to socialize and really cut loose away from the expectant eyes of her peers in Greenwich. It is then that Anna meets Dustin (Steven's life-long friend and tutor), Kimmie (Lolly's vivacious -if a bit naive- younger sister and the object of Dustin's unrequited affection) and Alexia "Count" Vronsky (a dashing and irresistible playboy who seems to have his eye on her). Anna knows the wisest move would be to return to Greenwich, leaving her entanglement with Alexia in the past. Choosing to pursue this torrid dalliance further could devastate more than just her sterling reputation...
"Every happy teenage girl is the same, while every unhappy teenage girl is miserable in her own special way."
Wow. Just… wow. I had a hunch I was going to love this book. But, people I REALLY loved this book. Let me start out by saying that if you have not read Anna Karenina (or at least watched the movie) this book may be a challenge. There are loads of references and veiled allegory to Anna K’s 19th century inspo. And yes, I just unironically employed the word “inspo” And yes, you too may find yourself adopting all the hippest-hoppitiest slang after reading this absolute treasure. It really is par for the course in a time and space where Vronsky has a tiktok account.
Per any and all negative reviews: I am frankly baffled by anyone whose chief complaint against this book is that the content is superficial. Sure, it’s annoying to hear about the “problems” of a group of super privileged (mostly white) group of teenagers with outrageous sums of money at their disposal. Honestly, though, a primary theme of the original story was that these people are out of touch. That is literally THE parallel that’s being made with the modern setting. I mean, who was more out of touch than the Russian Aristocracy? Like, move aside, France. In my opinion, it was brilliant of Jenny Lee to translate that into present day Manhattan.
Also, it's easy to forget how young Tolstoy’s characters are in Anna Karenina since most of them were married and having kids. I think watching 16 and 17 year-olds make the same, ill-advised decisions as their infamous predecessors gives a glorious dose of truth and perspective to the maturity level of the group as a whole. Please consider that before holding it against the story. This story is best described, in my opinion as Gossip Girl with diversity and quality representation. In that regard, it was just about everything I wanted it to be.
I appreciate how much of Anna K: A Love Story remains true to Tolstoy's original work. The themes, names and character traits are all genuinely respected. That being said, I equally admire the creative license taken by Jenny Lee in contextualizing things that wouldn’t easily translate into a 21st century novel. And, being now wholly invested in everyone’s plots and subplots, I am beyond excited to read the sequel when it’s released next year in April! I have so much more to say on that front, but am hesitant to do so for fear of giving things away!
✨ Rep in this book: Korean protagonist, Black supporting character, own voices
✨ Content warnings for this book: thoughts of self harm, drug addiction and drug use, revenge porn.
Graphic: Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Infidelity, Drug use, and Death
Minor: Car accident
pinkberryoasis's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Car accident, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Child death and Vomit
internationalreads's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Car accident, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
ilbther's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Drug use
Moderate: Animal death
literaryelephant's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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
- 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
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
hansbookshelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Drug use, Drug abuse, Addiction, Animal death, Bullying, Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, and Mental illness
Minor: Abortion
bailleyleppert's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Suicide, Mental illness, Infidelity, Grief, Drug use, Death, and Addiction
samireads's review against another edition
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
It sounds wrong that it’s lightheaded and dark at the same time but it totally is.
Graphic: Drug use
Moderate: Addiction
Recreational drug use and revenge porn