Reviews

Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix by Anna-Marie McLemore

justno's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

los amo bro, los amo

j0nah's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I find that the story and the characters become more complex and interesting through the addition of gender and racism as experiences. At the same time, I feel that the age of the characters and the resulting changes to the storyline take away some of that complexity. I especially enjoyed reading the beginning of the story, but towards the end, I liked it less because I felt that the story and the interpersonal relationships developed too quickly and some characters seemed rather flat. 

rachelbram's review against another edition

medium-paced

5.0

What a wonderful retelling!!! My heart is so full of affection for this story <333

samnt_i_amnt's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

2.5

megtropolitan's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

The Great Gatsby if you take away all of Nick's observation skills and make him really good at math instead. Everything else? Completely cannon (jk). Nick and Jay ARE trans AND gay. Daisy and Jordan? Also gay! Brilliant. 

lena_m's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

• 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

obstinateheadstrongcurl's review against another edition

emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I’ve always loved The Great Gatsby but changing the characters’ identities so it becomes a story about passing blows the original out of the water. This was so good. I loved the glimpses of queer culture in the 1920s as well. It was also nice to get more of a peak inside Daisy’s mind. The one thing I didn’t enjoy was how young everyone was. I get this is supposed to be YA, but making everyone so young was a bit absurd.

miller1983's review against another edition

hopeful relaxing tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

wonderlandreading's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

thealyssa_ann's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful 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? No

4.0

I absolutely loved this retelling of The Great Gatsby and how it blended historical setting with modern consciousness. It was a breath of fresh air! Race identity politics mixed with gender and sexual identity politics in the middle of the roaring 20’s with a happy ending. And I love that the author snuck in a Mexican man Wall Street novice predicting the stock market crash.