h_sloan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Domestic abuse, and Gun violence
quillreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Spoiler
For example, I really liked the idea that Daisy used her affair with Gatsby to get back at Tom rather than out of any lingering affection for Gatsby. I also liked the book's initial depiction of Gatsby as an obsessive man who carelessly wields his power to get what he wants: a "nice guy" whose exuberant, slightly threatening charming intensity bends people to his will. However, as the book went on, Gatsby became more of a caricature of your everyday "powerful male villain," which I felt flattened his character considerably.Graphic: Sexism, Murder, Infidelity, Stalking, Grief, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, and Sexual content
Minor: War, Pregnancy, and Terminal illness
ladyzbyrd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I love the history the author had about the The Great Gatsby and the timing of it all between two pandemics, almost 100 years apart.
Will we see another retelling in another hundred years? It’s certainly inspiring in a way to dream of the future.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, and Murder
mishale1's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I can see that a lot of people reviewed this book much higher than I did. But reviews are personal and based on your own enjoyment of the book and I just didn’t love this version of Jay Gatsby. Yes, it absolutely put an interesting spin on the story. And I don’t want to spoil the storyline so I don’t want to go into much detail. I’ll just say that Gatsby was not a good guy in this book and I didn’t enjoy seeing his character that way.
Graphic: Infidelity and Physical abuse
Minor: Murder
tatted_librarian's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Death, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Gun violence, and Murder
Moderate: Car accident and Stalking
maria1085's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Fans of The Great Gatsby will love this story told from the perspective of three women. We read this for book club and we all really loved the writing, and the women’s individual stories. We felt that it stayed true to the original Great Gatsby. I really liked the strong female characters and friendships between them. I loved the time period of the early 1920s in this book. Now I need to go back and reread The Great Gatsby. This book reminded me how much I liked that original story. Beautiful Little Fools gives a voice to the women in Gatsby’s life and moved seamlessly through each POV. If you want a spin on a classic story then this book won’t disappoint!
Moderate: Alcohol, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Car accident, Gaslighting, and Murder
delvie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
The voice actresses did a phenomenal job, but it felt like they were telling me they were characters from the 1920's (by referencing legislation and necessary historic cornerstones) instead of showing me (via vernacular, relevant furniture, architecture, etc.).
As a Gatsby fan, I don't feel better for having read this book. It felt like a weird satire of "let's tell HERstory instead of HIStory," and it didn't do it for me. I'll just watch the movie instead next time.
Graphic: Murder, Death, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent
Moderate: Homophobia
machenn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Sexual content, Car accident, Murder, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, and Alcohol
serenas_reads's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Stalking
Minor: Rape and Adult/minor relationship
mysterymom46's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Infidelity, Murder, Physical abuse, Death, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship
character is blackmailed sex between adult and teen on page