A really fantastic reimagining of The Great Gatsby featuring Jordan Baker, a young, queer Vietnamese girl who grew up with wealth and privilege. Jordan meets Daisy Buchanan living in Louisville and follows her to New York - coasting from one society party to another during one summer at the height of the Jazz Age. Set in a world that has ghosts, blood magic and other fantastical elements, this story kept me entertained from start to finish. There are some pretty steamy sex scenes and I loved seeing Gatsby story through such a diverse set of eyes. Highly recommend this one for fans of The Great Gatsby or other Gatsby adaptations like Nick or The fortunate ones.

Favorite quotes:
"I learned the trick of simply assuming I was welcome wherever I went and, for the most part, I was. I was clever enough to know it as my exotic looks and faintly tragic history that made me such an attractive curiosity and I was not yet clever enough to mind when they prodded at my differences for their conversation piece at dinner."

"The air in the room was thick with summer and the fact that at Jay Gatsby's house it wasn't too much to expect that summer, this summer, might go on forever."

Huge thank you to @macmillan.audio & @netgalley for an opportunity to listen to this story in exchange for an honest review. This one was recently released! 🙌🏽

The Chosen and the Beautiful is a Great Gatsby retelling with much more pizazz. I wasn’t into this story much at first, but slowly I found myself being more immersed in it as it went on. It really doesn’t stray far from the original Gatsby but it is definitely written better in my opinion, and has amazing representation! I wasn’t crazy over it but still happy I read it! I think those who adore the original or those who aren’t familiar with it at all, will really enjoy this reimagining!

The Chosen and the Beautiful: 3/5

"In that one still moment, it was as if Daisy had, all unknowing, taken Jay Gatsby's heart for her own, and he would spend the rest of his life trying to get it back."

Audiobook:
Natalie Naudus is an expert in her craft. I am already a massive fan of her work, but she did not hold back as she brought this novel to life. Nghi Vo has such an artistic voice when writing that shone through Naudus's narration. The audiobook is such a treasure that was allowed such fabulous escapism. This is the kind of book you'll need to listen to alone in your bed while staring at the ceiling. It's that good.

Premise:
The Chosen and the Beautiful retells The Great Gatsby with an Asian-American, adopted, queer main character. Told from the perspective of pro golfer Jordan Baker, The Chosen and the Beautiful is a sexy, dreamy, and queer reimagining with magic and a sinister twist.

Writing & Plot:
Lots to unpack here. I think this is an excellent example of how you can love both retelling and the original material for two different reasons. First, the writing is ethereal. The way Nghi Vo writes is like nothing I have experienced before. The way she twists words into beautiful prose makes this book feel like a work of art. I also enjoyed exploring a queer Asian character in the 1920s and the book's overall sexy and adult nature.

The plot was highly similar to the original story of The Great Gatsby, just written better. If you're looking for something entirely new, this may not be the book for you. There are some elements of magic, but it's pretty sparse and not explored as thoroughly as it could have. The book only mentions golf once as well. I almost feel like this could have been fantastic if Vo left out these extra pieces, and it was solely a Gatsby retelling from Jordan's point of view as a queer Asian-American. The additional plot points ended up feeling unfinished and retracted from the beautiful atmosphere that Vo's writing depicts.

Characters:
I didn't connect very much with any character from this retelling, maybe save Jordan herself. I enjoyed the added layer of Jordan being Vietnamese and how it affected her in this 1920s setting. Furthermore, the queerness of every character made the story much more enjoyable. Overall, though, these characters definitely won't sit with me past this week.

Conclusion:
Nghi Vo is a master of her craft by depicting a beautiful story told most eloquently. Her writing style is atmospheric and a wonder to read, but the additional plot points hampered the escapist nature. Jordan herself was highly interesting, but the other characters and plot generally stayed the same. Regardless of my rating, I will be reading more of Vo's work as I am such a fan of her style.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the early listen.
The Narrator did a wonderful job telling this story for the author. The story kept me captivated until the very end. Would recommend this book...

I thought that the pacing was well done and that the plot structure was well written. I enjoyed how the author wrote Jordan as a Asian immigrant character instead of American white person like how she was in the original book. It was also nice to see how the author added some of the same element into this book but also made it into her style which I thought was very unique. Overall the writing was well done and I wasn’t disappointed with it at all.

The Chosen and the Beautiful is a retelling of the classic novel "The Great Gatsby" from the perspective of Jordan Baker. As a fan of Fitzgerald, I was super excited to dig into this twist on one of my favorite books, and I was mostly not disappointed. I liked how the author captures the Anti-Asian racism that was super prevalent in the 1920s through Jordan's experience and the different governmental and cultural factors at work during this time period that we often don't hear about when we think of the 1920s. I also really enjoyed how the author challenges our perceptions and critiques of the original story and of Daisy and Gatsby in particular. So often this story is considered a love story, but the author manages to dispel that misconception and get to the problematic aspects of these characters personalities that led them to their fates. I felt like the audiobook was well-paced, and enjoyed listening to the narration. I would have rated this book higher but for the reasons I am about to expound upon and has to do with the ending. This book is marketed as a fantasy, and there is magic in it, but for the VAST majority of this book the fantasy aspects of it are 100% on the back burner. We get glimpses of the magic (which is hardly even explained at all) here and there but for the majority of the novel it is nowhere to be found. And then in the last 20% or so of the novel the magic is suddenly there like it's been consistent throughout the novel when it isn't. I felt like the inconsistency of fantasy elements in this novel made the first 80% or so of the novel feel disjointed from the rest of the novel, and the ending itself was not just confusing, but it felt like it just didn't fit in this book in general. I wasn't satisfied with it and felt like I would have enjoyed this book more if there wasn't any sort of magic in it at all. Which is something I have never said about a book. But I mostly enjoyed The Chosen and The Beautiful for the unique and diverse critique on The Great Gatsby that it is, I just wish that certain things in this book had been more consistent.

This was a phenomenal retelling of The Great Gatsby. I never liked the original. I thought it was beautifully written, but I hated every character and never had an interest in revisiting them. Vo takes that story and fills it with depth and beauty and heart! In so many ways these characters are still unlikeable and yet you can relate to them! Highly recommend and the narrator of the audiobook is equally wonderful.

This is ravishing and seductive and so compelling you can't look away, no matter how terrible everyone is. Telling Gatsby's story through Jordan Baker - making it Jordan's story, as queer Vietnamese adoptee - was a stroke of utter brilliance. Because you feel for her, no matter how terrible she is at first. The fantasy element was relatively minor but woven like a thread from beginning to end. You could almost forget it was there, it felt so consistent within the world of 1920s New York. You know it's going to end badly from the beginning - all the signs are there, and of course you know if you've read Gatsby before - but the way everything plays out is heartbreaking. Specifically, it's Jordan's heart that breaks, for she's the only one of all of them with a heart that *can* break.

The audiobook was brilliantly narrated and I was hooked from beginning to end. Natalie Naudus' smoky voice conveyed Jordan - and everyone else - perfectly believably.

Now I need a sequel so Jordan can have her happy ending.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing an audio arc for review.

I’m torn on this book. On one hand, I loved the perspective of Jordan Baker, especially since Nick’s perspective was so naive and dreamlike.

Nicks view of everything was more whirlwind, vibrant, and addictive, while Jordan was a bit more weary of the lifestyle of excess. Jordan’s disdain for Gatsby was probably more close to the truth, but the original made me feel so sorry for how the story panned out. This version was more realistic and less dreamy, like Nick’s was.

On the other hand, I’m not sure how I feel about some of the changes the author made to the original. They captured the spirit of the original story: the awful and selfish characters, the excess, and the impending sense of doom, but they did take some risks in changing some elements of the story.

3.5 rounded up.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* interesting, different and i didn't want this book to end! want to own, will recommend and want to reread lol

I had no idea this was a Gatsby retelling, no idea, and I know nothing about Gatsby; I haven't read the book nor watched the movie.

I really liked how everyone was queer but I was more often than not confused by the story. I didn't know what was happening most of the time. Maybe that was the way it was supposed to be but not being familiar with the story, I didn't connect any dots.

I read the Jordan wasn't an asian-american character in the original. I liked her character.

The writing was, as usual for an Nghi Vo book, great and so captivating, but I think if you're familiar with the story you might enjoy this way more!

I wanted to love this story but instead I think I “fell in like” with it. There are some really great parts to it: Jordan Baker as an immigrant “oddity” among the glamour of 1920’s New York, the social commentary around immigration and sexual politics, the fact that the main character’s magical talent is presented as the least interesting thing about her. But I felt like it teased a lot of potentials that weren’t fulfilled and dragged a bit in the middle. Nghi Vo is incredibly talented and I almost wish this wasn’t a retelling of The Great Gatsby at all and instead an entirely original story so that she could have dove more into the Jordan Baker’s past and future. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for future works from Vo and I’m looking forward to something fully original.

I felt like this was a solid 3 star listen up until the ending (which I really loved and won’t spoil!) so I’d say it’s at least a 3.5.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

Recommended for: anyone who looking for more queer love stories, 1920’s enthusiasts, or fun twists on classic works.

Content Warnings: Racism, Infidelity, Xenophobia, Deportation, Sexism, Homophobia, Abortion, Death, Self Harm.

Content warnings at end of review

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an ALC of this book.

This fantasy retelling of The Great Gatsby is told from the perspective of Jordan Baker, an outsider because of her race but an insider because of her wealth. She is caught up in the tide of Gatsby and Daisy's reconciliation and the events that follow.

This was such an interesting retelling of The Great Gatsby. I really loved the magic system, though it would have been cool to explore it more. I loved the queer elements that were imbued in this story and the trysts that came of them. Other than the diverse cast and the magic, this was a pretty scene-for-scene retelling of the original. It was definitely creative, but I personally like my retellings to be a little more loosely based on the originals.

The writing in this book was beautiful, and Jordan was so interesting!

Pub Date: June 1, 2021

Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Racism, Xenophobia, and Misogyny
Moderate: Death
Minor: Car accident

The Chosen and the Beautiful is a Great Gatsby retelling told by Jordan Baker; a queer, adopted, Vietnamese socialite. We watch as she navigates the rich circles of New York and explores her relationships with already familiar characters from its classic source.

I went into this book not knowing much other than it being a retelling with a queer asian protagonist. I hadn't expected it to be as close it was to its source material. Many retellings these days have changed a lot of its source such as character names and location, however, they always kept the main essence and tropes in the story to remain a retelling. This book stood out for the fact that it did not do that. Many of the character names remained the same, the location stayed similar, and the majority of the plot stayed true to its source.

The Chosen and the Beautiful was told from a different point of view so, though it may be similar to The Great Gatsby, it was still refreshing to read. The experiences Jordan Baker faced as an Asian American, and removing any heteronormative walls by exploring Nick and Gatsby's relationship as well as Daisy and Jordan's made the book much more modern than its former. The touch of magical realism and Nghi Vo's wonderful writing also brought a sense of whimsicalness to the book.

I would argue that I would consider this retelling of the Great Gatsby as official. Perhaps it's because I never truly enjoyed the Great Gatsby, but this retelling made the story more enjoyable even though I was not entirely shocked or surprised by every event of this book. This book is a testament to how classic books can be rewritten in a way that preserves its original classic story while also adding a few touches to make it more diverse or explore deeper tones from its time period.

This was IMMACULATE, IMAGINATIVE, AND GORGEOUS. This was on my most anticipated releases radar for the stunning cover and the premise – Great Gatsby meets Asian, queer, and fantastical. And this delivered in every way. I loved this.

Told from Jordan Baker’s perspective, I was immediately transported to 1920s glitz and glamor. I could legitimately FEEL the atmosphere lifting off the (audio) pages. Everything from the writing to world building to character development was so methodical, delicate, and luxurious. The story itself went beyond my initial expectations — Nghi Vo took all the good bits of the original story and amplified it ten-fold and then threw in more brilliance as the cherry on top.

If you love Great Gatsby vibes, pick this the f*ck up when it comes out in June. This is the perfect read for summer. I literally want to re-read this when my physical pre-order copy comes in because it’s THAT GOOD.

Thanks to the publisher and @netgalley for the ALC!

I really enjoyed listening to.this novel!
The Chosen and the Beautiful is a reimagining of The Great Gatsby through the perspective of Jordan Baker.

The writing was beautiful, and help my attention throughout. Whole I haven't read any books about Great Gatsby I have watched movies. I guess now I've gotta find the original GG book!
But I liked the characters, setting, plot!!!! I wished the ending had more! But other than that this was a gold listen!
I think people might go crazy over TCATB. It hits tomorrow y'all!

This book was so up my alley and I was so excited for it! A queer retelling of my favorite classic novel! I can honestly say I was not discouraged.
This is a retelling of The Great Gatsby and honestly this is just as good as the original. It feels like a classic it was so beautiful and lyrical. The whole book just felt like I was living in that time. Then getting to see that world through the eyes of someone like Jordan was amazing.
I will say it is lacking in one place its the actual retelling aspect. I felt like a bit more could have been done to really get that connection to Gatsby across. This may be a me thing though as I have read Gatsby so many times. Even so this was a phenomenal book and I definitely recognized it!

I requested this one because it might be a 2021 title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book is not my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one rather than push myself to finish it only to give it a poor review.

I loved the idea of this one, but unfortunately I realized I dislike the source material too much to appreciate a queer diverse version.