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gabbygarcia's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Jenna Ushkowitz is perfect.
Graphic: Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing, Racism, Sexism, and Death of parent
sfbookgirl's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Car accident
linesiunderline's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Now that I’ve got this off my chest, I can say that this was a really fun reading experience, particularly for someone with familiarity with the original novel. I think the author succeeds beautifully in reimagining Anna’s world and experience. I particularly enjoyed seeing her slowly evolve and come into her own. There are plenty of complex relationships to discuss. The tone was engaging and the novel invites readers to think about important social issues while all the while being immensely entertaining. There’s a voyeuristic aspect to the reading experience as you get to glimpse what life might be like in some uber rich social circles.
An inventive, layered, and satisfying interpretation of a classic. Also, outstanding narration on audio!
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Death, and Drug use
Moderate: Drug abuse, Infidelity, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Medical content, and Car accident
literaryelephant's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Two downsides, imo: 1) I can't really imagine this holding up without the classic it leans on; doing a mental compare/contrast with Anna Karenina was 90% of the draw for me here and I would not recommend picking it up without first reading the original. And 2) these characters are incredibly shallow in a way that's not fully explored within the text. We've got teens giving Pre-Emptive Guilt Gifts and getting nose jobs and ranking girls on a Hot List; men are forgiven for cheating and general promiscuity while women are condemned. There's *some* self-reflection and challenging of unfairness here (Anna in particular is a stronger and more sympathetic character) but those moments are few and far between compared to the general glamour and excess coating every page. The presentation without commentary feels like a missed opportunity, and in a book marketed as YA it's a little worrying to me that there seems to be plenty of room for taking any of the sexist/elitist/self-destructive details at face value.
But I see Lee has a sequel coming up, and I suspect the need to go off-script there will push the story in some new, more interesting directions. Oh, and a warning: despite the smiling girl on the cover and the "A Love Story" tag under the title, this is still a tragedy, not a cute romance. The jacket had me fooled, but the classic ending is... not entirely eliminated.
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
leekaufman's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, and Sexual content
Moderate: Animal death, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Racism, Self harm, and Xenophobia
hansbookshelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Abortion