Reviews with content warning for Drug use - The Chosen and the Beautiful

Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

32 reviews

auudrey's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.25

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merle_bookdragon's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

I really, really enjoyed this book. I had not read and/or seen the Great Gatsby before, I only knew the basics of what has been widely shared in popular culture, like his crazy parties and his yearning for Daisy. Beyond that I went into this story with basically zero knowledge of the story.

I loved the writing style, and the mystery of it all. I liked that there was always a lot hidden away from the reader, that not everything (like the magic) was always explained in minute detail because this wasn't the book for a pages long description of the magic system. This was a book in which the magic enhanced the other-worldliness and magic of the Jazz Age and in a very discreet way in supported different beliefs and attitudes, for example relating to class.

I think I am really glad that we got to see Jordan's POV in this story. I read about 10 pages of The Great Gatsby in the middle of it, hoping to somehow read them alongside each other (I failed) but even after those few pages I was not a fan of Nick's POV. But I guess a lot of that has to do with the fact that he is a male character written by a male author and in this case we have a female narrating character written by a female author. Jordan was "different" from the people around her in so many ways and it was so interesting to see her point of view but also how her position and class privilege have influenced her. I loved her free attitude (even if she had adopted it to protect herself) and that she wasn't afraid to visit places that were maybe improper to be in (even if her background allowed her more freedom in the eyes of society).
I especially enjoyed seeing the Cendrillon, simply a wonderful place that I would love to visit sometimes.

By now I know that many events in this book mirror the ones in The Great Gatsby quite closely but I am glad that I didn't know before because this way some things still came as a surprise to me.

I loved Jordan's paper cutting and wish we had seen more of it.

The entire scene with paper Daisy and real Daisy (and then the latter killing the former) was SO interesting had I could honestly analyze it for a good while. The same goes for the scene in which she (finally, after it was already teased in the blurb) cut out a man's heart. Specifically, Nick's. The paper heart, the names and places written on it... her making a new one with only an edge of lipstick... just ... paper Nick is so interesting to me.

Anyways, that's it for now I guess lol.

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maxgdy's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

all the fun starts in the last 20% of the book

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faerietalebooks's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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abominablesnowaro's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

Points for diversity and queer characters. Some points off for connecting them to demons and doubling down on the antisemitism from The Great Gatsby (but only in a brief mention). Overall weird, but pretty good

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cyan_altaria's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective

Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.75

I loved this retelling of The Great Gatsby. I only wish the magic was a little more explained.

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olivia_piepmeier's review against another edition

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dark mysterious relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

For people that had to read The Great Gatsby (TGG) multiple times throughout their education and/or watched the movie(s) a lot, this will likely feel like a familiar but new friend. At least that's how I felt to me. It immediately starts off establishing this world is a little different in a magical way, or not. TGG is written from the perspective of Nick and this is written from the perspective of Jordan, so one could argue this was all happening in the original book but we didn't get access to this side of the story until now. Vo does such a great job making this feel like the original story in the way it's written with beautiful, floral language. It wouldn't have worked as well if this read in a way that didn't feel like it was the same characters or time period as TGG, especially because it's a book that's hammered in the heads of all US public schools and English majors. The fantasy elements to this are subtle but work well, though I did find myself a little confused sometime about what was happening.

After reading this, I feel a little salty Jordan got such minimal air-time in TGG. Fitzgerald wouldn't have done her justice like Vo, though, so it's okay. Just like TGG, everyone is a mess. Truly. They're in their 20s and Gatsby is not but he's hella obsessive. Mistakes are made left and right. It ends in a way that I feel hope for only Jordan, out of all these characters. Unfortunately, part of the reason why she's on to new things is due to a super racist legislation that was passed. Jordan's racial background is not the focus of her character, but it's a facet that is mentioned just enough to help the reader understand how she viewed herself, others viewed her, and how she played a part in this different version of the 1920s.

Overall, a very satisfying read! It was fun to go back into a new and improved world of TGG.

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circe813's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

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greatu's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

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aardwyrm's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I wasn't one of the poor children caught by the Great Gatsby in high school, either in one of those long-running grudges against the concept of symbolism after too many conversations about green lights and painted eyes, or caught like a character by the glamor. It was just a book. This is a much more interesting and meaningful book, through the simple expedients of handing the camera to a more interesting person and reflecting on the world, not just the idea of the world. Also there's some demons and stuff.

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