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dembury's review against another edition
4.0
This book heavily reminds me of The Clique series by Lisi Harrison, books I used to be obsessed with as a young reader because their spoiled and dramatic main characters were so unlike anyone I knew in real life, and I loved the glitz and over-the-top-ness of it all. "Anna K" has the same vibes; the blurbs calling it the contemporary "Gossip Girl" retelling of "Anna Karenina" are spot-on.
There were points I thought I might hate this book because of certain characters and actions, but the character growth really comes through in this one. It's not like everyone is a saint at the end, but I was pleasantly surprised with how things wrapped up. For example, I came to love Kimmie's character, and thought she was a really accurate and heartfelt portrayal of a 14-year old girl trying to be her own strong self and learn how to be a feminist.
I would also mildly argue that "Anna K" might be more likable if you have read or seen the real "Anna Karenina". Although this retelling is a bit on the nose at times, there are certain plot points that I think just might seen totally bizarre if you don't know what they're echoing. I saw a few people complaining about the ending, but having already seen the movie I personally was waiting for that to happen, so having that knowledge is just going to change your reading experience!
All of March I've been in a horrible reading mood and only read one other book, and "Anna K" got me out of that slump. The story is just the total opposite of my headspace right now during self-distancing, so maybe part of why I enjoyed this was the escapism factor. Either way, I thought it was a really fun read!
There were points I thought I might hate this book because of certain characters and actions, but the character growth really comes through in this one. It's not like everyone is a saint at the end, but I was pleasantly surprised with how things wrapped up. For example, I came to love Kimmie's character, and thought she was a really accurate and heartfelt portrayal of a 14-year old girl trying to be her own strong self and learn how to be a feminist.
I would also mildly argue that "Anna K" might be more likable if you have read or seen the real "Anna Karenina". Although this retelling is a bit on the nose at times, there are certain plot points that I think just might seen totally bizarre if you don't know what they're echoing. I saw a few people complaining about the ending, but having already seen the movie I personally was waiting for that to happen, so having that knowledge is just going to change your reading experience!
All of March I've been in a horrible reading mood and only read one other book, and "Anna K" got me out of that slump. The story is just the total opposite of my headspace right now during self-distancing, so maybe part of why I enjoyed this was the escapism factor. Either way, I thought it was a really fun read!
elkiebear's review against another edition
dark
funny
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Addiction, Drug use, and Death
Moderate: Car accident, Cursing, and Mental illness
janagaton's review against another edition
5.0
HOLY CRAP did I absolutely adoreeee this book!! Gossip Girl x Crazy Rich Asians in less than 400 beautiful pages. I'm really glad I haven't read the original Anna Karenina, which is what this book was based on, because I probably wouldn't have been as surprised by certain things as I was. I really appreciated the omniscient third-person narration, as it made it easier to keep track of all the characters. (The character description list at the beginning of the book helped, too!) Each character was pretty well-developed, too, so once you see past their superficiality due to being wealthy, you'll quickly get to know each one on a deeper level, baggage and all. I felt so connected to almost all of the characters throughout the entire novel, and the ways everyone eventually interact with each other made it a fun read as well. There are surprises, hard-hitting topics, a ton of gossip, and a lot of romance. It was all so well-crafted, and I would definitely reread this in the future!
rnshack's review against another edition
3.0
3 stars
I’m not sure how I feel about this book. Now I should admit I’ve never read Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. I’ve tried more times than I can count but have never been able to make it past 100 pages.
This book was good but not great and I didn’t hate it. So…neutral? I ran the full range of emotions while reading this book. From smiling, to disgust, to sadness, to WTF so maybe that makes for a good book but I found that I just really didn’t care all that much about the characters. Most of them were either unlikeable or forgettable.
Maybe that was the issue. Either way it was a miss for me. The real question though is will I read the second one?
Why yes, yes I will.
The book gets 3 stars because the author’s writing was fantastic, easy to read, and had me blazing through this book in only a couple of days. Fingers crossed I like the sequel better than this one.
I’m not sure how I feel about this book. Now I should admit I’ve never read Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. I’ve tried more times than I can count but have never been able to make it past 100 pages.
This book was good but not great and I didn’t hate it. So…neutral? I ran the full range of emotions while reading this book. From smiling, to disgust, to sadness, to WTF so maybe that makes for a good book but I found that I just really didn’t care all that much about the characters. Most of them were either unlikeable or forgettable.
Maybe that was the issue. Either way it was a miss for me. The real question though is will I read the second one?
Why yes, yes I will.
The book gets 3 stars because the author’s writing was fantastic, easy to read, and had me blazing through this book in only a couple of days. Fingers crossed I like the sequel better than this one.
annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review
3.0
Natuurlijk had ik dit boek de afgelopen weken voorbij zien komen op social media. Ik had zelfs ergens meegekregen dat het gebaseerd was op het beroemde boek Anna Karenina. En ik weet dat dat boek een van de lievelingsboeken van een vriendin van me is. Dus toen mijn boekhandel gisteren vroeg of ik dit boek wilde lezen en van een recensie wilde voorzien zei ik volmondig ja. En toen ik vandaag ineens toch vrij was, was dat het perfecte moment om te beginnen.
Helaas was dit boek uiteindelijk niet helemaal wat ik gehoopt had. Ik vind het heel lastig om mijn vinger erop te leggen wat het probleem was en waarom het niet werkte. Er is niet echt een ding wat eruit sprong. Het allerbelangrijkste: Ik voelde het niet. Niks. Ik voelde voor geen enkel karakter iets, ik had niet het gevoel dat ik echt met hen meeleefde, dat ik hen echt heel goed kende, dat ik meegesleurd werd in hun tragische geschiedenis. Ik las alles wel, maar het kwam eigenlijk niet echt bij me binnen.
Ik vermoed dat de schrijfstijl er misschien iets mee te maken heeft. Hoewel het boek echt als een trein leest, voelt de schrijfstijl wat mechanisch. De gebeurtenissen worden wel beschreven en de gevoelens worden wel benoemd, maar het show gedeelte en het echte pure gedeelte lijkt te ontbreken. Emotionele conversaties worden benoemd maar niet helemaal uitgeschreven, andere momenten worden dan weer actie-technisch uitgeschreven, maar elke emotie ontbreekt.
Daardoor komen de karakters, voor mijn gevoel, net niet helemaal lekker uit de verf. Het is duidelijk dat er veel interessante karakters in het verhaal zitten, met elk hun eigen geschiedenis, twijfels en emoties. We komen veel over ze te weten en toch heb ik niet het gevoel alsof ze ons echt dichtbij laten komen. Het voelt aan alsof ik de krant lees of naar het journaal kijk. Ik hoor het allemaal wel, maar het wordt heel feitelijk gebracht.
Als ik lees dat de schrijfster van oorsprong in de televisie-scene werkt verklaart dat voor mij wel heel veel. Dit voelt inderdaad als een uitgeschreven filmscript, met informatie voor de acteurs waar zij dan vervolgens iets mee moeten doen. Helaas kent een boek geen acteurs om een verhaal echt tot leven te brengen, dat zullen de woorden moeten doen. En helaas is wat mij betreft juist dat niet gelukt.
Helaas was dit boek uiteindelijk niet helemaal wat ik gehoopt had. Ik vind het heel lastig om mijn vinger erop te leggen wat het probleem was en waarom het niet werkte. Er is niet echt een ding wat eruit sprong. Het allerbelangrijkste: Ik voelde het niet. Niks. Ik voelde voor geen enkel karakter iets, ik had niet het gevoel dat ik echt met hen meeleefde, dat ik hen echt heel goed kende, dat ik meegesleurd werd in hun tragische geschiedenis. Ik las alles wel, maar het kwam eigenlijk niet echt bij me binnen.
Ik vermoed dat de schrijfstijl er misschien iets mee te maken heeft. Hoewel het boek echt als een trein leest, voelt de schrijfstijl wat mechanisch. De gebeurtenissen worden wel beschreven en de gevoelens worden wel benoemd, maar het show gedeelte en het echte pure gedeelte lijkt te ontbreken. Emotionele conversaties worden benoemd maar niet helemaal uitgeschreven, andere momenten worden dan weer actie-technisch uitgeschreven, maar elke emotie ontbreekt.
Daardoor komen de karakters, voor mijn gevoel, net niet helemaal lekker uit de verf. Het is duidelijk dat er veel interessante karakters in het verhaal zitten, met elk hun eigen geschiedenis, twijfels en emoties. We komen veel over ze te weten en toch heb ik niet het gevoel alsof ze ons echt dichtbij laten komen. Het voelt aan alsof ik de krant lees of naar het journaal kijk. Ik hoor het allemaal wel, maar het wordt heel feitelijk gebracht.
Als ik lees dat de schrijfster van oorsprong in de televisie-scene werkt verklaart dat voor mij wel heel veel. Dit voelt inderdaad als een uitgeschreven filmscript, met informatie voor de acteurs waar zij dan vervolgens iets mee moeten doen. Helaas kent een boek geen acteurs om een verhaal echt tot leven te brengen, dat zullen de woorden moeten doen. En helaas is wat mij betreft juist dat niet gelukt.
msilkwolfe's review against another edition
4.0
I might be a little generous with my star rating? I'd say a solid 3.5 from me. It was fun though! Kept me engaged from page one. Some of the writing and dialogue made me cringe, but I was able to sort of overlook it. I'd describe it as a YA version of "Gossip Girl meets Tolstoy meets contemporary fiction."Overall it was a fun read and I'm glad I got around to it!
izzys_internet_bookshelf's review against another edition
5.0
5/5
Loved this book so much! I had some low expectations going into it. I mainly just knew that it was somewhat popular on Booktok. The book was really well done in my opinion though I wouldn’t be caught dead doing some of the things that happen in this book. I did enjoy the characters and I was surprised when I wasn’t confused by all the multiple POVs
Loved this book so much! I had some low expectations going into it. I mainly just knew that it was somewhat popular on Booktok. The book was really well done in my opinion though I wouldn’t be caught dead doing some of the things that happen in this book. I did enjoy the characters and I was surprised when I wasn’t confused by all the multiple POVs
hortongr's review against another edition
2.0
This book was my first book from Book of the Month Club and I was beyond excited when it came in the mail. I chose this book specifically because the two books I had read just before it were both extremely dense, difficult, and emotionally draining. I thought this sounded like it would be a nice change of pace and a break from the sadness. I was half right ‘:)
This book was definitely an easier read than my last two books. It seemed to be written at a lower level more palatable for readers of all ages, especially as the characters were in high school (I assume that was the target audience).
It’s content (for the most part lol) was also much lighter. I appreciated the diversity in race and sexual orientation included in the characters of this book. It’s something I feel we always need more of in literature. I also like the way it portrayed sex, as an idea, from a number of perspectives, all in an equally positive light. The ideas of having sex with a partner right away or waiting until the right moment were both presented as choices of equal value and validity which I appreciated bc if this book really is aimed at young people alleviating some of the stigma around being sexually active or not is important. I appreciated the emphasis on individual choice.
I was wrong, however, in assuming this book would not be emotionally draining. A gut-wrenching, almost horrifically dark twist came at the very end that I was not at all prepared for. My roommate was in the room with me when I got to that point and I’m pretty sure I gasped loudly and then nearly shouted “What the F***?!”. It was crazy.
All in all, I think I made a good first BoTM pick. Even though it wasn’t necessarily my favorite book ever and I wouldn’t be inclined to reread it, I found it super funny (audibly laughing at a number of scenes) and felt good enough about it to recommend it to a friend (with a number of content warnings, that is).
“Every happy teenage girl is the same, while every unhappy teenage girl is miserable in her own special way.”
This book was definitely an easier read than my last two books. It seemed to be written at a lower level more palatable for readers of all ages, especially as the characters were in high school (I assume that was the target audience).
It’s content (for the most part lol) was also much lighter. I appreciated the diversity in race and sexual orientation included in the characters of this book. It’s something I feel we always need more of in literature. I also like the way it portrayed sex, as an idea, from a number of perspectives, all in an equally positive light. The ideas of having sex with a partner right away or waiting until the right moment were both presented as choices of equal value and validity which I appreciated bc if this book really is aimed at young people alleviating some of the stigma around being sexually active or not is important. I appreciated the emphasis on individual choice.
I was wrong, however, in assuming this book would not be emotionally draining. A gut-wrenching, almost horrifically dark twist came at the very end that I was not at all prepared for. My roommate was in the room with me when I got to that point and I’m pretty sure I gasped loudly and then nearly shouted “What the F***?!”. It was crazy.
All in all, I think I made a good first BoTM pick. Even though it wasn’t necessarily my favorite book ever and I wouldn’t be inclined to reread it, I found it super funny (audibly laughing at a number of scenes) and felt good enough about it to recommend it to a friend (with a number of content warnings, that is).
“Every happy teenage girl is the same, while every unhappy teenage girl is miserable in her own special way.”
kaitlynmpringle's review against another edition
4.0
kinda ripped my heart out honestly, but a very good take on the classic anna karenina by leo tolstoy.
ashleysager's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Mental illness, Drug use, Drug abuse, Addiction, and Sexual content
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts