Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 213
When I first read The Great Gatsby in class I LOVED it!! I thought I wouldn't because it was part of the required reading but I ended up jumping ahead of the rest of the class and finishing it up rather quickly. When I stumbled across this alternative take on the story I was thrilled! I quickly checked this out from my library and devoured it within a few hours.
In this modern-day retelling, Nick (our main character in The Great Gatsby) is called Rick, Tom is Todd in this story, Daisy is DiDi, Jay Gatsby is Jake Garret, Jordon is Jennifer, and Wilson is Nelson. (Kind of confusing but you can read my review of The Great Gatsby here to get a better take on what I'm talking about)
I really liked this retelling. Rick was a refreshing character who wasn't ashamed to say that he had flaws. Often times we see characters who are immortalized and the authors make them out to be the best a person could possibly be, but in this book Rick readily admitted that he wasn't popular and (at certain points) people did not like him. This really made me feel as if I was getting to know a real person, which is, surprisingly, hard to find in the book world. Most of the time characters are extremely superficial.
The story followed pretty closely to what happened in the original book. I thought it was a really good retelling, and the story flowed very quickly. You really do get swept up in the parties, the gossip, and all the general madness associated with
In the original book, Jay throws these amazing parties to catch the eye of one girl and the same thing happens here. Although the ending in this retelling isn't as dramatic as the original (I don't want to give anything away because if I spoiled either book you would be upset). I would definitely recommend that you read the original Gatsby book first because it provides a much needed background for the basis of this retelling (which is like most retellings but I felt this one especially because many people haven't read The Great Gatsby, so it's not a well known story like Pride and Prejudice or Romeo and Juliet).
Overall, a great read! (I gave it four stars out of five on Goodreads) and I thought it was extremely well written. Maybe I'll try another book by Gordon Korman! (I know you should!)
See you soon!
Paige
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