The Great Gatsby is a high-stakes undertaking. People know the story well, and there have been many retellings. There have even been other graphic novel versions. Therefore, if one is going to do it, the finished product must be exceptional, and this one is not. Had I not known the story, I wouldn’t have been able to follow it from this account. The drawing is flat and lacks nuance or is just awkward, especially when it comes to characters’ faces, which are so important in a narrative that plays our so much inside minds and motives. The color choices are washed out and odd, and the gimmick of putting text on different surfaces in the image is just annoying. One cannot settle in to the haunting richness that is Gatsby. A giant fail.

The illustrations were beautifully done in this graphic novel adaptation of The Great Gatsby. If you are a fan of this classic, I recommend reading the graphic novel. You won't be disappointed.

I had never read this book in its original text for fear of not understanding and I must say that this GN came at a great time. Now I'm very curious to know what the original novel is like!
I loved the illustrations, the line is beautiful and I was delighted with the story! For those who have never had contact with the classic, it can be a good start! And all the extremely timeless criticisms about class and race were incredible, quite an experience!

The Great Gatsby has been a favorite of mine ever since I first cracked its cover open in high school. The melancholy tale of vainly clinging on to the past under the decadent opulence of the post-WWI modernism mesmerized me at the first read, and continues to do so with each reread and countless adaptations the story has merited since.
Woodman-Maynard's adaptation takes this story known for its powerful imagery and fascinating characters, and makes it even more magnetic with beautiful watercolor illustrations. At the end of the day, it is an adaptation, so don't expect an identical retelling of the novel, but the graphic novel has definitely succeeded in capturing the spirit of the story beautifully.

Beautifully illustrated, this graphic novel captures the tone of Fitzgerald's book perfectly. On every page, the text intertwines around surrealist illustrations in the style of 1920s art deco. This is a great introduction to Fitzgerald's classic American novel. Meanwhile, I still don't like this book. I read it years ago, intrigued by its' fame and perhaps its' strange title. But maybe we are not meant to like this book. None of the characters seem particularly likeable to me. It feels like a sad and empty story, but maybe that is what it is meant to be. A story about decadence and loss, amongst other themes, this novel reminds us that wealth will often blunt our moral compass. A cautionary tale.

5 stars given on graphic novel adaptation not on the book itself!

I did not think this was that great an adaptation truly. Th art style just did not do justice to it.

Get ready for The Great Gatsby as you've never seen it before. This graphic novel adaptation is absolutely stunning, and brings justice to a story that the majority of all high school English classes have to read, yet not all students may understand. First and foremost, I want to champion this graphic novel as a possible alternative to the original book for students who may have difficulty interpreting text, and even in addition to the book for students in higher level courses. It really is that good.

Something I really admired about this book is the amount of work that went into it. I could tell that Woodman-Maynard did her research, and while she did take some creative license as is evidenced in the Author's Note, I didn't find a single thing in this graphic novel to fuss over. The adaptation was spot on, and I especially loved how Nick's narration was written creatively into the scenes. For example, narration could be written in a character's shadow or on some unused furniture. Another creative piece was text bubbles: while most characters had typical text bubbles, we do have a character or two that receive text bubbles more parallel to their personality. Something else I really loved were the color schemes in the story. Depending on the mood or situation occurring, the panels of the graphic novel would have one color overwhelming the rest and it was brilliant. I could go on and on about the artwork in this graphic novel, so I will leave all of this at it was simply fantastic. All of these things could be added into the conversation about the story this graphic novel adaptation is based on, and all of these elements and more helped make it absolutely wonderful and absolutely worth the read.

Unfortunately, this just didn’t work for me. It’s been awhile since I’ve read the Great Gatsby so I don’t remember quite as much as I’d like but I found this lacking in story. I know it’s a graphic novel so it has to be shorter but it just felt lacklustre, like it’d taken the very bare bones of the story. There were a few parts that were a bit confusing and I can imagine these would be worse if you haven’t read the actual book. I just feel like it doesn’t stand too well on it’s own. The drawings were decent, not my favourite, though there were a few really lovely ones. Overall, I don’t think it’s a bad companion piece, read the novel and read this as well. It was nice to have a quick taste of Gatsby again after such a long time without reading it and it was a fast read, since it was a graphic novel, so that was nice too.

K. Woodman-Maynard’s graphic novel adaptation of The Great Gatsby transports you back to the roaring twenties. One of the first things I remarked the art style is that it is reminiscent of posters and postcards of the era. The narration is often woven into the art, sometimes in shadow or in inanimate objects. The text entices the eye to focus on the object as if it also played a central role in the storytelling.
The adaptation of the text really captured F. Scott Fitzgerald’s style of writing. Fitzgerald is a master at creating character depth. For instance, if another author were to create a character like Daisy, she would become a pure airhead, swayed by fanciful words and pretty clothing. Fitzgerald’s Daisy is highly complex, and no one really ends up figuring her out. She is hyper aware of her limiting role in the world. That is why she tells Nick that she hopes her daughter will be a poor little fool, because that is the only thing a girl can hope to be in the world. Woodman Maynard captures this scene beautifully and subtly through Daisy’s deep expressions and attention to symbolism.
Another aspect of the graphic novel that I really appreciated is that it is in full watercolour. The watercolours draw attention to the art style with its minimalistic pallet.
I would greatly recommend Woodman Maynard’s graphic novel adaptation of The Great Gatsby. It is a gorgeous take on a bygone era of lavish excess.

An additional purchase for public libraries. Helpful for school/classroom library to have for students to look at while reading The Great Gatsby in ELA classes. I really liked the way Daisy's speech bubbles were presented. Gives you a feel for her voice and character. This would still need to have a lot of discussion to make sense of the themes in the book but the visuals help provide some clues.

I was hoping to use this as a support tool for students who need visuals, more clarification on the text, etc. I don't know if it really works to support readers since I think more information needs to be communicated.

I haven’t read the Great Gatsby since high,school, and this was a nice way to get myself reintroduced with the story. the graphics are fun and engaging .

I enjoyed this graphic novel of The Great Gatsby! It was a good quick way to get the story but without all the wordiness. I feel like this is perfect for those who struggled with the book or don't want to read it. The art style was interesting and it really made the story come alive. I'm not sure I actually like how it was drawn but it worked well. I feel like all the necessary thoughts and feelings came through, it does have some hard hitting themes. This would be a good summary of the book and for me it was a good way to re read it but I don't think it replaces reading the book.

I wish this title had been available when I had to read The Great Gatsby in high school. As someone who loved to read, but struggled for a while with certain texts I was so looking forward to reading all the magical things I had heard about The Great Gatsby when it was assigned to me. I found it very disappointing (the original text) and left the book feeling like I had missed out. I feel that this graphic novel had all the magic I missed in struggling with the text. The illustrations transport you right back in time and having the original text included but broken down with visuals is wonderful and brings the text alive for a different generation who may not be familiar with clothing and or visuals from that time. I would highly recommend this as the following for high school aged students as a teen librarian:
1. A supplemental option to help readers understand the original book.
2. For students and teens interested in this time period, or who like to read classics as a for fun read
3. A stand alone title for those who are not required to read it for school.
4. An option for students with learning disabilities or ELL students to read instead of the text.

I also think this is a great addition to any adult collection for people who have read The Great Gatsby to experience in the different format of a graphic novel. I would suggest for both Teen and Adult graphic novel collections. I felt I got from the graphic novel what I had originally wanted in the original book.

3.75 stars
I really liked this adaption of the story of Jay Gatsby. Now I want to rewatch the movie haha.
I was not fan of the art style, it was not my style.
Thank you to NetGalley for this e-arc.

The story in itself is a well know classic but having a graphic novel adaptation makes it more accessible to a wider audience. I felt that this story was a lot easier to read in this version.
The character design and style were not very complex, and I found that while their bodies were very expressive, their faces were not, and I didn’t love that.
On the other hand, I really felt like the color choices fit the narrative perfectly. Having previously read The Great Gatsby, I had always felt like the story had a slow hazy yellow tinge to it and that was exactly what they used here. The light blues and the yellows were a great choice in my opinion. I also thought the use of reds to represent the moments that disrupted Nick’s life was a really smart choice.
Overall, I really enjoyed this graphic novel. I think it’s a great way to read a classic.

Full disclosure: I have never read The Great Gatsby in its entirety. That being said, I really enjoyed this graphic novel adaptation provided to me by NetGalley.

This, unfortunately, fell extremely flat for me. Let me start off by saying that in my final year of college, I learned how to teach The Great Gatsby to high schoolers, I also taught the book to Juniors for the first time in that same year- so I have a profound attachment and absolutely love The Great Gatsby and all it has to offer. I empathize that this is a graphic novel so obviously in order to keep it at a decent length, they had to cut much of it out and hope that the words and imagery work well with one another to tell the story in a different way. It just unfortunately did not do that for me. For much of the book I was left confused and it seemed like the text used in the graphic novel was placed randomly and if I did not know the story of The Great Gatsby, I would have been left extremely confused and wouldn't understand what's going on at all. I also just feel that the art is just a bit much at times, Daisy was actually a flower at one point and all I could do was shake my head. I appreciate the metaphor, but... no. Overall, I won't be purchasing a copy for my classroom library, but would encourage those already familiar with the story to read it for yourself and come to your own conclusions- who knows, I may be in the minority!

Many thanks again to Candlewick Press for an early copy in exchange for an honest review!

I love The Great Gatsby. It's one of my favorite novels to teach. Every time I reread it, I discover new things. While this graphic novel does a good job in conveying the most important plot points, the simple illustrations do not do justice to the Gatsby.

This graphic adaptation of Fitzgerald's Jazz Age classic hits all the beats of the novel’s plot and, while it isn’t quite able to carry all the richness of the symbolism and metaphor of the original, the illustrations add atmosphere and mood.

The palette of pastel yellows, terracottas, and lilacs fit the 1920’s setting of East and West Egg and Gatsby’s house and parties are evocatively brought to life, along with the famous green light. Woodman-Maynard recreates the “valley of ashes” where Tom Buchanan’s mistress lives with sickly grays and New York is washed in darker reds and blues.

The character illustrations, however, feel a little caricatured, perhaps deliberately: Nick has no definition, Gatsby’s jaw is absurdly square, and Tom looks like a Tintin villain, though the author deliberately avoids stereotyping Wolfsheim.

The author plays around with interesting placement of text, frequently using block capitals across parts of the scenery to share Nick’s commentary.

Gatsby is still read in high schools and this graphic adaptation might serve as a good introduction to students before they get immersed in the novel.

Thanks to Candlewick and Netgalley for the digital ARC.