Scan barcode
jenmtnbike's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Racism, and Car accident
Minor: Death
carefulfearanddeaddevotion's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
In the words of the late great Aretha Franklin, "beautiful gowns."
Lovely lovely writing and atmosphere, but what else was going on? nothing. truly felt like i was a long island socialite lounging about doing jackshit during a hotass 1920s summer...plus vague magic? idk. can't tell if the fact that i read The Great Gatsby nearly a decade ago hurt or helped my enjoyment of this book. i remember loving Fitzgerald's prose, and the same is true of Vo's. I'd pick up any book she wrote simply because her writing is so nice. Plot and and especially world-building? Leaving significantly much to be desired.
Wish the magic system was explored more. I don't really understand how it works or its significance in the world. Not really sure what demoniac is either. She mentions the Manchester Act a couple times, but I wish she went more in-depth into Jordan's identity as a queer and Asian member of high society.
Lovely lovely writing and atmosphere, but what else was going on? nothing. truly felt like i was a long island socialite lounging about doing jackshit during a hotass 1920s summer...plus vague magic? idk. can't tell if the fact that i read The Great Gatsby nearly a decade ago hurt or helped my enjoyment of this book. i remember loving Fitzgerald's prose, and the same is true of Vo's. I'd pick up any book she wrote simply because her writing is so nice. Plot and and especially world-building? Leaving significantly much to be desired.
Wish the magic system was explored more. I don't really understand how it works or its significance in the world. Not really sure what demoniac is either. She mentions the Manchester Act a couple times, but I wish she went more in-depth into Jordan's identity as a queer and Asian member of high society.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Racism, Xenophobia, Vomit, Car accident, Murder, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Grief, and Death of parent
ju10ma's review against another edition
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
saritaadam's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
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
4.75
La prochaine fois qu'on me dit "maIs POurQuOi cHaNGeR lA RacE dES PerSoNaGEs" je leur donne ce livre
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Vomit, Car accident, Murder, Alcohol, and Colonisation
Moderate: Terminal illness and War
dragon_s_hoard's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Blood, Car accident, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Infidelity, Racism, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Colonisation, and Deportation
salicer's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, and Racism
knitterscasket's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Creative but not my jam.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Infidelity, and Murder
Minor: Racism
sful40's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I would say that it portrays the messiness of relationships well and a decent portrayal of self-acceptance/ self-hatred. There were many times throughout the book the Jordan reminds us that she is Vietnamese but she is also like her white counterparts with how she was raised. I wished the book touched on more about her struggle with it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Classism
Minor: Domestic abuse and Racism
goodthingsread's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I should have known that I wouldn't like this book as much as I thought I would. It's a retelling of <i>The Great Gatsby</i> and I was one of those people who didn't really like <i>The Great Gatsby</i>. I never really got it. Or maybe I got It and I just didn't care to read about It. I had thought that maybe this book would spin the original story enough that I would find something worthwhile in the plot, but it didn't. It actually held quite closely to the original story and the only variations came in the form of (1) Jordan being Vietnamese and (2) magic.
Point (1) felt like it could have really been something. Unfortunately, Jordan being adopted and trying so hard to blend in actually made her ethnicity fade into the background. It's accurate and understandable characterization and I don't really fault it in that respect. But it was a letdown, especially when Jordan meets up with a group of Vietnamese (and other Asian) performers that assist in her tapping into her innate magic and her history. That comes so late in the book, however, that it feels very tacked on and doesn't really get dug into. Jordan gets so drunk halfway through a hangout with those characters that everything gets fuzzy and forgotten but while drunk she learns things and reveals things about herself, but because it's all from her perspective, we don't get the full impact. I would have much rather had Jordan learning more about her background and herself earlier in the story and running as an undercurrent throughout, but I don't know if the author didn't want to do that for her own reasons or because it wouldn't have worked while sticking to the original <i>Gatsby</i> story.
Point (2) I was <i>extremely</i> frustrated by because the magic system and world building around it was so infuriatingly vague. It's very loose and sprinkled here and there, seemingly never a part of the main narrative until the very end, so it's frustrating to not understand and feel like I'm missing something. For example, when Jordan is invited up to see Gatsby, she says she feels cloaked in something that makes others not notice her. Then, when she arrives in Gatsby's office, she feels like it's ripped away under his gaze <b>or</b> that his gaze is just that sharp. I genuinely have no idea which is or even could be true, and it doesn't add an air of mystery (like perhaps intended) but makes me feel like I am missing something that should be obvious, if I knew more about the setting's magic. I am definitely missing the impact of some uses of magic simply from lack of knowledge. The scene where Jordan watches land magic from the train to New York means practically nothing, just thrown in there like an afterthought, and I can tell that it was intended to mean more. Additionally, the casualness with which Jordan talks about ghosts is also a part of this. Is Jordan the only one who can see ghosts? For the longest time, I thought ghosts were simply confined to the Baker house/family until the very last chapter. I also can't tell who is a ghost until she makes it obvious, three paragraphs later. Magic is treated both as superfluous, glitter sprinkled about to make things a little shinier and unique, but it's also a central part to the end of the novel, informing the choices of so many characters. (And is a huge part of the final scene between Jordan and Nick, which just blindsided me so hard that I spent a very long time staring into space trying to process.)
There's also this weird note I got from some moments. At a certain point, Jordan speaks about how she likes to keep herself untethered and starts to talk about how "that summer" felt different. I think this is supposed to foreshadow the impending fall of the Roaring 20s and the Great Depression, but it comes off sounding like a teen waxing poetic about summer camp. "The things we learned <i>that summer</i> would stay with us for the rest of our lives..."
All that being said, I really, really do like the author's writing style generally. It's poetic and smooth and beautiful. I just didn't like its application in <i>this</i> story. I also liked the touches of queerness, which I felt did appropriately influence Jordan's character and choices.
I want to give her other books a chance and I hope she continues to publish more over the years. This just doesn't work for me.
Point (1) felt like it could have really been something. Unfortunately, Jordan being adopted and trying so hard to blend in actually made her ethnicity fade into the background. It's accurate and understandable characterization and I don't really fault it in that respect. But it was a letdown, especially when Jordan meets up with a group of Vietnamese (and other Asian) performers that assist in her tapping into her innate magic and her history. That comes so late in the book, however, that it feels very tacked on and doesn't really get dug into. Jordan gets so drunk halfway through a hangout with those characters that everything gets fuzzy and forgotten but while drunk she learns things and reveals things about herself, but because it's all from her perspective, we don't get the full impact. I would have much rather had Jordan learning more about her background and herself earlier in the story and running as an undercurrent throughout, but I don't know if the author didn't want to do that for her own reasons or because it wouldn't have worked while sticking to the original <i>Gatsby</i> story.
Point (2) I was <i>extremely</i> frustrated by because the magic system and world building around it was so infuriatingly vague. It's very loose and sprinkled here and there, seemingly never a part of the main narrative until the very end, so it's frustrating to not understand and feel like I'm missing something. For example, when Jordan is invited up to see Gatsby, she says she feels cloaked in something that makes others not notice her. Then, when she arrives in Gatsby's office, she feels like it's ripped away under his gaze <b>or</b> that his gaze is just that sharp. I genuinely have no idea which is or even could be true, and it doesn't add an air of mystery (like perhaps intended) but makes me feel like I am missing something that should be obvious, if I knew more about the setting's magic. I am definitely missing the impact of some uses of magic simply from lack of knowledge. The scene where Jordan watches land magic from the train to New York means practically nothing, just thrown in there like an afterthought, and I can tell that it was intended to mean more. Additionally, the casualness with which Jordan talks about ghosts is also a part of this. Is Jordan the only one who can see ghosts? For the longest time, I thought ghosts were simply confined to the Baker house/family until the very last chapter. I also can't tell who is a ghost until she makes it obvious, three paragraphs later. Magic is treated both as superfluous, glitter sprinkled about to make things a little shinier and unique, but it's also a central part to the end of the novel, informing the choices of so many characters. (And is a huge part of the final scene between Jordan and Nick, which just blindsided me so hard that I spent a very long time staring into space trying to process.)
There's also this weird note I got from some moments. At a certain point, Jordan speaks about how she likes to keep herself untethered and starts to talk about how "that summer" felt different. I think this is supposed to foreshadow the impending fall of the Roaring 20s and the Great Depression, but it comes off sounding like a teen waxing poetic about summer camp. "The things we learned <i>that summer</i> would stay with us for the rest of our lives..."
All that being said, I really, really do like the author's writing style generally. It's poetic and smooth and beautiful. I just didn't like its application in <i>this</i> story. I also liked the touches of queerness, which I felt did appropriately influence Jordan's character and choices.
I want to give her other books a chance and I hope she continues to publish more over the years. This just doesn't work for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Infidelity, Racism, Kidnapping, Abortion, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Xenophobia, Stalking, and Death of parent
aplpaca's review against another edition
emotional
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Abortion, Alcohol, and Classism