Who murdered Jay Gatsby? As Detective Frank Charles tries to unravel the mystery of Jay Gatsby’s death, the principal characters of the story are the women who surrounded him, all of whom have secrets and lies about their relationship with Gatsby. Entertaining, fast paced read. Definitely will recommend this book.

I re-read the Great Gatsby before reading this one (highly recommend as it's a fast and easy read) which helped a lot with context. I think one of the reasons people love TGG is that there are so many things you're left wondering - the book sticks with you. You know you are only seeing things through Nick's perspective, and there are things happening when he's not there. He's also not the most reliable narrator as he has his own biases. So mostly it was very satisfying to read Beautiful Little Fools - it filled in a lot of those missing pieces and showed the story from other characters' perspectives - primarily the female characters. So from a plot perspective I really enjoyed it, and it filled in most of those gaps. I had a really different take on TGG this time compared to when I read it in high school/college, and as an adult, I didn't really see the love story between Gatsby and Daisy the way the movies make it look. So BLF was satisfying in this way too - instead of a great love, there's a teenage crush, an unhealthy obsession, and a grown-up ambivalence. The only downside to reading this is that the dialogue can be stilted at times - some of the charming dialogue from TGG (all the "old sports" etc) turns a little cheesy in this context. But I do love how the author took Jordan, who is an intriguing, but kind of unlikable character in TGG and transformed her into someone much more interesting.

The second I saw the title of this book and read the synopsis - The Great Gatsby through the eyes of its women - I knew I had to read it. The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite books, the only “classic” I can stand and I love looking at classic works through a different perspective - especially a female one (my senior year of high school I wrote my Jane Eyre essay from Bertha’s perspective and it is still one of my favorite things I’ve ever written).

So, perhaps I built this up too much with my expectations, but… this was not it. First, perhaps it's unfair to hold the writing up to the standards of a literary classic, but it's hard not to compare it to its source material and in comparison this is a frothy, empty melodrama with no grit or bite. It makes the most banal points about womanhood and femininity and offers no deeper insights to the characters.

So much of the story occurs before the events of Gatsby and it's incredibly tedious. It got slightly more interesting once we caught up to that plot, but it didn’t spend enough time in those overlapping scenes to really provide better nuance for these characters. I did enjoy Cantor’s clear depiction of Gatsby as a monster, which I think often gets overlooked in more romantic depictions of him. Just think, if your ex moved in across the street for the sole purpose of stalking you and blowing up your life, would you find it romantic?

What an amazing story that looks at the classic story of The Great Gatsby but dives deeper into the story of the three women who are instrumental to the story. I loved the authors interpretation of what happened to Gatsby and how it was still true the classic. The story is from the point of views of Daisy, Jordan, Catherine and the detective who is assigned to figure out what really happened to Gatsby.

Loved this retelling of The Great Gatsby. The author stayed true to the original work's storylines, plot, and character. At the end of the book, there was a nice surprise twist that made the entire story even better! If you love Fitzgerald, this one is for you!

Beautiful Little Fools is an interesting take on an old classic, The Great Gatsby, The women in this story are front and center when it comes to the telling of the tale of Jay Gatsby’s murder.

Jillian Cantor has taken The Great Gatsby and turned it into a wonderful and fascinating story of the women in the original story. It is such a refreshing look on an old classic that now I need to go back and read the original Great Gatsby. Cantor’s writing pulls you in on the very first page and doesn’t let go until the very end.

I absolutely loved this book. Definitely a strong 5 star read for me this year.

Thank you to #netgalley, and #harperennialandpaperbacks for allowing me to read this book. All opinions expressed above are my own.

I was intrigued by the concept of this book, even if I personally didn't always like the execution. Book clubs will like this book. It's an accessible new story connected to a classic title, and readers will find plenty to discuss -- characters to like, dislike; scenes that make sense in the context of Gatsby, etc.

Best book I’ve read so far this year! Gatsby is one of my favorite books of all time and this retelling just made me fall in love with the characters even more so. It gave the three leads so much depth. Loved it!

I will start off my saying that I absolutely love The Great Gatsby and I am so impressed by this author for being brave enough to tackle this classic story and put a spin to the story! With that being said, I think this novel was such a unique and beautiful idea, I always love a good murder mystery, especially when it is a historical fiction surrounding the roaring twenties! Would definitely recommend!

The story was engrossing. Characters are well-etched and likable. Beautiful Little Fools is an enjoyable read which I recommend, though the book was rushed in a few places.
though at times it felt a bit rushed.

A beautiful, smart, female focused retelling of one of the greatest American novels. Told from alternating viewpoints, this novel allows the women to tell their stories, and expose the real villain to be none other than Jay Gatsby himself. This novel is engaging, eloquent, and well written. Although readers of English Literature have experienced this story before, this time it feels fresh, new, and more exciting. Readers are treated to the backstories of Daisy, Jordan, Myrtle, and a new character Catherine (who is Myrtle's sister). The women are no longer simple minded fools who fade into the background, but are deep, emotional, fully developed characters that readers can easily identify with. I devoured this novel in two days because I couldn't put it down. If you liked The Great Gatsby, you will LOVE this novel.

This is an intriguing retelling of The Great Gatsby, which I’m sure fans of the original book will enjoy.

To take on a classic like The Great Gatsby requires a lot of confidence and author Jillian Cantor pulls it off. Her reimagined version focuses on a prequel and the main female characters Catherine, Daisy and Jordan. Cantor captures the true essence of the 1920’s and really explores the details surrounding the main characters. The book is beautifully written and full of amazing descriptions. Cantor took this classic and put her own stamp on it. I just reviewed Beautiful Little Fools by Jillian Cantor. #BeautifulLittleFools #NetGalley

I loved this book so much! I enjoyed this twist on The Great Gatsby told from the women’s perspectives. The alternating viewpoints were well done and the story moved fast!

Thanks so much to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an advanced copy.

Thank you to @netgalley and @harperperennial for access to this e-book! It publishes in just a few weeks on 2/1.

The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite classics, but I’m not much of a re-reader, so I only read it once years ago. When I saw this book, which is a retelling of Gatsby through the perspective of the female characters, on NetGalley – I knew I had to read it.
 
This was AMAZING! Not only was it a retelling, but the author also included an origin story and some twists to set it apart from the original. The story is told from 4 POVs – Daisy (if you know about Gatsby, you know about Daisy); her best friend, Jordan; Catherine (Myrtle Wilson’s sister); and the detective trying to get to the bottom of what really happened to Gatsby. I especially loved Catherine as a character and how her story was tied into the rest.
 
Jillian Cantor’s writing is phenomenal. The thing about classic novels is that sometimes the writing is a bit too flowery or sophisticated. It’s not typically a light read. This one was. It flowed so easily that I simply couldn’t put it down. And I loved how the story started with Daisy and Jordan as teens and moved all the way through to the aftermath of Gatsby’s death. That means the whole book spanned about 6 years hitting on all the important parts so that it never got boring or slow.
 
If you’re a Great Gatsby fan, there’s no question – you have to read this one.

I really loved this one!

A huge thank you to Harper Perennial for my advanced copy of Beautiful Little Fools.

What I Loved-

*The Audio-I wasn't able to pick this book up prior to the pub day but I was really anxious to get to it. I loved Jillian Cantor's 2021 release Half Life. Please add that one to your TBR. It is fantastic. I searched for the audio and scooped it up on Libro.fm. Worth every penny spent.
Beautiful Little Fools has a full cast narrating this book. My two Audiobook Queens- Cassandra Campbell and Julia Whalen are among them. Love them!

*The Reimagining- Beautiful Little Fools takes the classic The Great Gatsby and reconceives the story with three women as the main focus. It was brilliant. I loved all 3 women and their POVs.

*The Depth- Jillian Cantor takes the time to create a rich backstory and add depth to the characters. I was so invested and felt attached to the women portrayed in this novel.

*I Need More- Beautiful Little Fools has inspired me to revisit The Great Gatsby. It has been a couple decades (man I'm old). I am curious as to how I will feel as an adult listening to it especially now that it's not required reading and I don't have to analyze anything ;).

Why It Wasn't a 5 Star-

* At times I found it to be a little slow. I also have a bad habit of comparing novels. I enjoyed Half Life a bit more.

Overall- Highly recommend. Jillian Cantor is officially an author I will always read no matter what she publishes.

4.5/5
Two words…Jillian Cantor. Anything that Jillian writes is liquid gold and Beautiful Little Fools was just that. Who shot JR kept playing in my mind over and over as Detective Frank Charles tries to solve the mystery of who shot Jay Gatsby.

Detective Charles is commissioned by an associate of Gatsby to once and for all figure out who the murderer is on a case that’s already been closed. Is it Daisy Buchanan, the girl he refused to let go of even when she married another man, was it her friend Jordan Baker…whose secrets he used against her in hopes of her helping him get Daisy back, was it Catherine McCoy who wanted revenge after Jay set up her sister with Daisy’s Neanderthal husband or was it George Wilson, Catherine’s sister Myrtle’s abusive husband. Such rich, vivid, complex characters whose stories and backgrounds are perfectly woven together to create a “who shot Jay Gatsby” story set in the 1920’s.

As with all of Cantors stories, she has mastered the art of hooking the reader within the first few sentences so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book!

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Harper Perennial and Paperbacks and Jillian Cantor for early access to this gem of a book! Now off to read the Great Gatsby!

Beautiful Little Fools is a reimagining of The Great Gatsby through the perspective of three women: Daisy, Jordan and Catherine. I have read The Great Gatsby once and, honestly, I barely remember it. This novel was great. It gave the women vibrant lives and backgrounds. Jillian Cantor gives these women a voice and a purpose behind their actions. Highly recommend, wonderfully done.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers in exchange for my honest review.

Holy SMOKES I am obsessed with this retelling. Gatsby is hands down one of my favorite books ever and she masterfully retold the story in a way that just made SENSE especially when considering how much being a woman has evolved since the original release of the novel. Reminded me a ton of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo in all the best ways possible. So much catharsis in the prose, so much that was relevant today. I seriously cannot stop gushing about this book - each and every detail was so thoughtful and smart. WELL DONE!

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC.

I absolutely love The Great Gatsby, so I was interested, yet skeptical, about this book. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. The book does a great job of creating a believable backstory around multiple characters that builds to a pretty interesting end that will keep most readers guessing until the last chapter. It wove a very nice murder mystery into a longstanding classic. It did drag at some points, but I think the author did a wonderful job tackling a huge classic. I'd be interested to see what else she has in store.

Round up to 3 1/2 stars