I love seeing classics brought to life with graphic novels. I think they are going to find a second life among students as well as adults who may have missed them the first time around.

The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite novels ever and I love graphic novels! I thought this was going to be the best of both worlds! Unfortunately, it fell short. The story was very choppy, I did not like the adaptation, I know the story of The Great Gatsby and this was very hard to follow. The art was nice and the way they played with the shapes of the words to match the scene was very unique.

Thank you to Netgalley and Candlewick Press for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you Netgalley, Candlewick Press and K. Woodman-Maynard for free e-ARC of The Great Gatsby: A Graphic Novel Adaptation in return of my honest review.

Graphic novels are not usually my thing and The Great Gatsby is. I love the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, I have read it multiple times, and I had high expectations when I turned the first page. Well, I was not mistaken. I loved it!

I believe K. Woodman-Maynard did a perfect job with the cover - a woman’s profile with a light from lighthouse yells The Great Gatsby. The roaring 20s are reflected from the hair style and string of pearls talks volumes about the wealthy characters. The illustrations are amazing- exactly how I imagined them in my mind. It has watercolor-ish side too it that I enjoyed tremendously. The narrative is changed a bit to mirror our lives now, and I didn’t mind it.

I believe this version would be a great opportunity to introduce The Great Gatsby to the young readers.

My Thoughts:

This adaptation by K. Woodman-Maynard tries to capture the tone and frenetic rhythm of the Fitzgerald original through the use of watercolor scenes of opulence, decadence and mystery. The party scenes at Jay's mansion, that desperate spider web attempt to lure Daisy in, parallel with the way Myrtle holds court in the apartment that she and Tom use in the city in some garish dance of "putting on the ritz" that holds no intimacy or humanity."

In order to try and adapt this classic for a contemporary audience, Woodman-Maynard picks and chooses some of the most iconic quotes to use in the adaptation like Daisy's, "I hope she'll be a fool--that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool." as well as Nick's final, "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."

Perhaps the most striking part of this graphic novel is that as the narrator, Nick's comments and opinions are woven onto the scenery as if they are concrete poems that act as curtains or waves.

Although this novel adaptation is better used as a "second reading" of Gatsby, it is still a good way to start some of the many discussions possible around this piece of literature even if it does not get into some of the more contemporary lenses of this classic that English teachers are now discussing (like the LGBTQ lens). What Woodman-Maynard chooses to use and what is not used is another conversation piece with classes. Perhaps more graphic readers will have a leg up on the conversation, and if so, this is a good source of bridging material for these types of learners.

From the Publisher:
From the green light across the bay to the billboard with spectacled eyes, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 American masterpiece roars to life in K. Woodman-Maynard’s exquisite graphic novel—among the first adaptations of the book in this genre. Painted in lush watercolors, the inventive interpretation emphasizes both the extravagance and mystery of the characters, as well as the fluidity of Nick Carraway’s unreliable narration. Excerpts from the original text wend through the illustrations, and imagery and metaphors are taken to literal, and often whimsical, extremes, such as when a beautiful partygoer blooms into an orchid and Daisy Buchanan pushes Gatsby across the sky on a cloud.

This faithful yet modern adaptation will appeal to fans with deep knowledge of the classic, while the graphic novel format makes it an ideal teaching tool to engage students. With its timeless critique of class, power, and obsession, The Great Gatsby Graphic Novel captures the energy of an era and the enduring resonance of one of the world’s most beloved books.

While I have never been a fan of The Great Gatsby, I am thrilled to see the classics being adapted into graphic novels.  Fordham and Morton have written a great adaptation of the book.  The style of the illustrations is perfect for the time period of the novel.  The minimal text and expressive drawings bring the story to life.

This adaptation of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald perfectly captures the original book's atmosphere. The plot moves along at a good pace and the art, of course, is beautiful. I think more classic works should be made into graphic novels just like it!

Book Review for The Great Gatsby: A Graphic Novel Adaptation by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Full review for this title can be found at: @fyebooks on Instagram!

'The Great Gatsby: A Graphic Novel Adaptation' by F. Scott Fitzgerald with illustrations and adaptation by K. Woodman-Maynard is the second recent adaptation I've read of this famous novel.

Nick Carraway is the narrator to this slowly unfolding tragedy. From the enigmatic Jay Gatsby to the troubled marriage of Tom and Daisy Buchanan. Unfolding against a cacophonous background of early automobiles and free-flowing booze.

I liked this adaptation a bit better, even though it's a looser adaptation. The story flows rather well. I was less enamored of the art. It had a kind of unfinished quality to it. Hopefully that was just because I was reading a review copy. I did like the artist's choice to incorporate narrative in to the flowing art.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Candlewick Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

Like many Americans, I first ready The Great Gatsby in high school. However, unlike most of my classmates it became one of my favorite novels. And now that the novel is in the public domain I am looking forward to some creative retellings. Graphic Novelist K. Woodman-Maynard has presented a wonderful adaptation of the original work. The story was perfectly pared down to suit the medium, all while keeping much of the metaphors and imagery intact. One of the most noticeable changes was taking out the anti-Semitic and racist scenes and descriptions. In the afterward Woodman-Maynard discusses her reasoning behind removing them But the most amazing part was the art. The characters look like they stepped out of an advertisement from the 1920s. The lines and movement of the characters complimented their personalities and role in the story. And the paneling and text placement were well thought out and just added to the feel of the book. This book would be a great addition when reading The Great Gatsby for school, it helps the reader visualize the metaphors in a way that helps understanding without taking the place of the original text. Honestly I loved everything about this adaptation - which is a rare thing for me.

The written adaptation was written fine. I do enjoy a lot of graphic novel stories and I thought that this one was interpreted into this style in a pleasing way. I however did not like the artwork or layout in which the story was told.

Anyone who knows me knows that The Great Gatsby is my favorite classic and one of my favorite books of all time. Revisiting it in a graphic novel was a great way to brush back up on the smaller details I’d forgotten. I loved the art style and would definitely read more classics this way!

A great supplement for reading The Great Gatsby in class and also a great book to give to students who read and loved the novelized version. Great artwork, sticks to the story, compelling graphic novel for reluctant readers and fans alike!

The art was amazing! Great adaptation of the classic. So beautiful. I would absolutely recommend this to any Gatsby lover out there.

3.5 Stars

The Great Gatsby adapted by K. Woodman-Maynard is a great way to make The Great Gatsby more accessible in a graphic novel format. I enjoyed the slight changes the author makes to the source material, and the art style makes elements such as mood and symbolism much easier to understand. However, I also felt as though the story is rushed, and the art also makes the text difficult to read at times. Despite this, I still appreciated what the book accomplishes in terms of making The Great Gatsby easier to digest.

This book is a graphic novel adaptation of The Great Gatsby that makes the classic story more appealing for a modern audience. I always love to see classics being made more accessible, and the visual form of this book does a great job of this. This is an adaptation, so of course it is not identical to the source material, but I found it mostly faithful, and I liked the changes that the author did make. However, I also found the story a bit rushed, and the events happen so quickly that there is not much time to process them. The original novel is also quite short, which may have influenced this, but this makes the story hard to follow, and I’m not sure I would recommend this one for those who are unfamiliar with the original story.

❀ GORGEOUS ART

The art style of this graphic novel is gorgeous, and I loved the use of watercolours. This style feels light, and it makes all the literary elements of the novel much clearer. I particularly enjoyed the way the colours reflect the mood of each scene and how the shapes of the text bubbles match each of the characters’ personalities. I also appreciated the use of quotes from the original that stand out.

❀ MUTED COLOURS

That being said, I also think the art style can be considered a weakness. The placement of the quotes, while visually appealing, can be difficult to read because of their intricate shapes. These more eloquent quotes also contrast with the short, simple sentences in the dialogue, which breaks the flow of the story. I am also unsure if the use of watercolours really do Gatsby’s lavish parties justice, as the colours in this book are more muted.

❀ CONFUSING TO READ

I appreciate the efforts of the graphic novel, The Great Gatsby by K. Woodman-Maynard, to make the original story more accessible to today’s audience. This adaptation follows the source material closely, and I enjoyed the moments where the author strayed from it. However, I am still unsure how I feel about this book as a whole. I enjoyed the art style’s ability to make literary elements more obvious, but at times, the story can be difficult to read and confusing. I would recommend this one to those who already know and love The Great Gatsby, as an addition to their collection.

I want to thank K. Woodman-Maynard and NetGalley for an advanced copy of The Great Gatsby: A Graphic Novel Adaptation in exchange for an honest review. Unfortunately, this adaption did not pull me in as much as I had hoped that it would. The artwork was simply stunning from the colors to the detail. Woodman-Maynard Is an immensely talented artist. However, it felt a bit out of place for the story. I also feel like the adaption itself could have been longer with the text spread out a bit more. Often times, the text became so overwhelming that it overshadowed the beautiful artwork which I felt should have been the main focus. Overall, it was an enjoyable read and will recommend it to others looking to read more classics.

I enjoyed this graphic novel adaptation. I teach The Great Gatsby with a Common Core standard involving figurative meaning, and the way this author chose to depict some of Fitzgerald's descriptions will definitely help my students "see" the figurative meanings. I also appreciated the author's explanation of various changes made from the original text, especially the explanation of why racist language elements with Wolfsheim were eliminated and how the author still was able to make the character intimidating.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Candlewick, the publishers, for sending me this Advance Reader’s copy to read and review.
Most avid readers, if not all, would have at some stage or the other read and admired Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. To translate this novel into its present graphic form certainly requires much courage as it is not an easy task. However, the Woodman-Maynard edition does remain faithful to the original text, except for some alterations make for the purpose of clarity as explained in the Afterword. The novel in its present format, has been well-edited and I feel that even first-time readers who are unfamiliar with the novel will be able to follow the plot. It would be unfair to be displeased if some of the reader’s favorite passages are missing.

The main problem with converting the novel into a graphic format is the role of the narrator, Nick Carraway, a Yale University graduate who moves to New York. It is he who is probably the most important character in the novel and the entire saga is seen through his eyes. It is he who matures at the end of the novel, moving from relative protected innocence to an understanding of the true nature of society. Hence, narration forms an integral part of the novel. Though the beauty of Fitzgerald’s language is captured in the graphic form, much of the narration here tedious to read. Usually, the form of the graphic novel depends on action, embodied in the dialogue and lively interaction between the characters. The large chunks of narration take away from the enjoyment of the graphic form. Though the narrative bits are well melded into the images and the general background, they still seem a bit out of place in a graphic novel.

The illustrations are very suggestive of the character of the persons in the novel. Tom Buchanan, hulking and insensitive is large with a rather unpleasant look on his face. Daisy Buchanan and Joanna Baker look sylphlike especially where they are seen to be floating in air. The owl eyes of Dr Eckleberg are large and penetrating, Myrtle Wilson seems flighty and George Wilson’s appearance shows his weak and indecisive character. But the colors are very muted throughout the novel. Even in the extravagant parties which Gatsby throws and that memorable scene when he scatters his shirts around the room, the colors though varied remain dull and could have been more vibrant and striking.

It is certain that this version will be a great success with the lazy student who is reluctant to read the original version which is a pity.

K. Woodman-Maynard's graphic adaptation of The Great Gatsby captures the essence of F. Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece. The art reinforces some of the most notorious aspects of the story, the characters are nicely depicted and the adaptation of the original story is well summarised.

It's been 8 years since I read The Great Gatsby, so when I saw this graphic novel adaptation I was quite curious to see how it was, and I'm glad I requested it.

Thanks to Candlewick Press and NetGalley for providing me with this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

First I want to thank the page for facilitating this reading.

I had already read the book before, and it is one of my favorite classics, and I hoped that this graphic novel would become a good read to start this 2021, however it was not like that, although the story is the same as the book, we are It presents gatsby, daisy, tom and the other characters, but it is all in a summarized way, very summarized, another thing that I did not like was the style of the illustration, it was not flashy, although it reminds me a bit of art used on some book covers, it was not attractive to me and did not make for a pleasant read.
The story itself calls, but I would have liked them to extend a bit, to develop the story a little more, since everything happens abruptly and the end is quickly reached, leaving no time to reflect on what happened before.
For me the graphic novel deserves 2.5 stars out of 5.

I enjoy the Great Gatsby story, and graphic novels, so this seemed like a win-win for me.
It certainly tells the story in a pleasant, easy way and I think this could be a great alternative to the original book if someone doesn’t want to read the whole thing but still wants to experience the story.
There were a few stylistic choices that didn’t gel with me though. One being the text style. Dialogue was fine, but Nick’s narration was hard to read. The writing too much became the environment. Whether fading smaller up a road Star Wars style, or arcing over Nick’s head, it just made it difficult to read, especially when some of it was sideways.
Secondly, though the art-syle was quite lovely and very unique, I’m not sure it was the right fit for a Gatsby adaptation. Maybe an art deco style would have been too cliché and obvious, but really, there’s a reason that aesthetic is always associated with Gatsby. It just works. It’s classic. The pastoral pallet used in this novel, though very pretty, just doesn’t quite capture the Gatsby vibes I love.
Thirdly, the colour pallet felt a little inconsistent. Some pages would be painted in various shades of a single colour (blues, pinks, or greens), while others were a mix of many colours. It’s like the art-style couldn’t quite decided where it stood.
However, this is an enjoyable book, and I’d recommend to anyone who enjoys the Great Gatsby, or anyone who wants to dip their toe before taking the plunge.

Thank you Netgalley and Publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.