mechies297_'s review
lighthearted
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? Yes
3.5
dbuchheister's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
soursydney's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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? Yes
4.0
godlizza's review
4.0
So lyrical and pretty. This book is not only an interesting reimagining of The Great Gatsby but is a celebration of queer communities navigating trying times throughout history. We love the cleverness of the title, but it's not just a funny little joke to have Gatsby be a self-made man, both in the financial sense as well as being trans. The book actually looks at how his identity would influence the way he goes about things in New York. The original Gatsby is obsessed with rank, title, and building himself into a version of himself that fits this dreamy vision he has of success. This Gatsby is still that same determined guy, but his reasons for doing things are totally different. His queerness changes it all. I loved the slow, flowering romance between Nick and Gatsby. It was all just so good.
keiyhta's review
lighthearted
reflective
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? Yes
3.5
carnimdream's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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? No
4.75
charinabook's review
5.0
5 stars
This book healed a part of my soul I didn't know needed healing as much as it did. Great Gatsby was one of my favourite classics growing up and it's queer subtexts were always the driving force behind my love for it. To see that, come to life whilst remaining pretty loyal (all things considered) to the original text makes me wish I could share it with 16 year old me. I wish I could go back and show them that T for T relationships are where I will feel safe, and that being trans isn't anything to be afraid of, that my love for queer books allowed me even then to experience things I didn't ever think I'd get and that there was hope, and there has always been hope throughout history for queer people to develop and exist, even if it is quite often a hard fight.
I'm so grateful to this book, and so glad I pre-ordered it.
This book healed a part of my soul I didn't know needed healing as much as it did. Great Gatsby was one of my favourite classics growing up and it's queer subtexts were always the driving force behind my love for it. To see that, come to life whilst remaining pretty loyal (all things considered) to the original text makes me wish I could share it with 16 year old me. I wish I could go back and show them that T for T relationships are where I will feel safe, and that being trans isn't anything to be afraid of, that my love for queer books allowed me even then to experience things I didn't ever think I'd get and that there was hope, and there has always been hope throughout history for queer people to develop and exist, even if it is quite often a hard fight.
I'm so grateful to this book, and so glad I pre-ordered it.
sapphicmacbeth's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
4.75
i wasn't sure about this, but it just swept me away. five stars is probably too generous, but i can't make myself drop it.
can't articulate clearly BUT:
* gatsby works really well as a trans story
* this take on daisy is super fascinating i loved her
* actually all go the characters were gorgeously written
* amm's prose is beautiful, and the description was so lush and lovely i felt transported
* the ending is incredible. there's a twisty fantastic climax to the story and i listened to it three times over i loved it so much. it's very cinematic
* there's a kind of mystery going on and it worked really well
slightly less compelling:
* tom didn't really do anything. i like to understand my villains and i kind of didn't
* i could have done with some more of jay ?? i didn't feel his characterisation as much as i wanted to
* overall, the whole story was a little ... insubstantial?? it could have been fifty pages longer and probably would have felt a little more complete
* i still don't understand why he's seventeen
* it's very idealistic ?? this isn't a bad thing really, but like with rwrb you know it's not that easy, and it sometimes feels a little disingenuous when it is
overall this fills a completely different ecological niche than the great gatsby and i'm okay with that. it's not especially complex, but everything it does it does well. it was a delight to read <3
can't articulate clearly BUT:
* gatsby works really well as a trans story
* this take on daisy is super fascinating i loved her
* actually all go the characters were gorgeously written
* amm's prose is beautiful, and the description was so lush and lovely i felt transported
* the ending is incredible. there's a twisty fantastic climax to the story and i listened to it three times over i loved it so much. it's very cinematic
* there's a kind of mystery going on and it worked really well
slightly less compelling:
* tom didn't really do anything. i like to understand my villains and i kind of didn't
* i could have done with some more of jay ?? i didn't feel his characterisation as much as i wanted to
* overall, the whole story was a little ... insubstantial?? it could have been fifty pages longer and probably would have felt a little more complete
* i still don't understand why he's seventeen
* it's very idealistic ?? this isn't a bad thing really, but like with rwrb you know it's not that easy, and it sometimes feels a little disingenuous when it is
overall this fills a completely different ecological niche than the great gatsby and i'm okay with that. it's not especially complex, but everything it does it does well. it was a delight to read <3
faithnomoar's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
4.5
cannot understate how much i loved this lovely queer great gatsby, shout out to the girl in the Union Square B&N last year who saw me looking at it and telling my friend I needed to know if it and came over and told me it did. bought it that day and finally got around to it and. so pleased.
Spoiler
had a happy ending because I was done with sad queer books,lio_clementine's review
emotional
reflective
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
4.25