You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I don't remember anything of The Great Gatsby, but I was fascinated by this retelling in the setting of 1945 Black elite L.A. Kyra Davis Lurie places the wealthy setting and characters within Sugar Hill, a historically Black elite neighborhood that faced adversaries in the survival of this community. She incorporates real Black figures including movie stars like Lena Lorne, while highlighting the controversy around their portrayal of Black people in media. I really enjoyed looking through Charlie's eyes at how different this environment was from how he grew up in the South, but also the similarities in terms of White people's views on Black people. The story felt slow-moving and dragged at times, but the ending was so dramatic!
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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:
Complicated
This is a retelling done right, and possibly even better than the original. That's a big claim to make, and I'm not saying that Kyra Davis Lurie is a better writer than Fitzgerald, but this book has meat to it. It closely follows the plot line of "The Great Gatsby", but instead of the centering around the lives of New York's wealthy inhabitants, it takes place in the real neighborhood of Sugar Hill, Los Angeles, where the Black Elite of the 1940's lived. Many famous personages resided here, in both the book and real life - Hattie McDaniel, Louise Beavers, Ethel Waters, and Loren Miller, to name a few. All the elements of "The Great Gatsby" play out, but the storyline is propelled by the fact that many of the homes in the neighborhood have racial covenants on them, for which the residents of an all-white housing association in the area take their black neighbors to court. Lurie includes much historical fact in this historical fiction book, including actual quotes from new articles of the day. Women are given more power in this story, race relations and discrimination are critical to the novel, and the elements social class and old and new money exist much like the original. You need not have read "The Great Gatsby" to understand or enjoy this, but I do think having read it adds to the story.
I'll leave you with my favorite quote of the book - it made me stop in my reading tracks and reflect on the truth of the statement. It felt so unfortunately relevant for all that is happening currently in our country.
"Figure out who you can underpay...or what prejudices can be twisted to your benefit. Burglaries, pickpocketing, those are crimes for the poor. But the wealthy? They rob others of their power."
I'll leave you with my favorite quote of the book - it made me stop in my reading tracks and reflect on the truth of the statement. It felt so unfortunately relevant for all that is happening currently in our country.
"Figure out who you can underpay...or what prejudices can be twisted to your benefit. Burglaries, pickpocketing, those are crimes for the poor. But the wealthy? They rob others of their power."
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes