BOOK REVIEW: Anna K by Jenny Lee
3 stars
TW: Drug abuse, sex, revenge porn and mental illness
A modern retelling of Anna Karenina. Anna K is compared to gossip girl and crazy rich asians. Although I see the links to both, it was more like the UK tv series Skins but with the elite teenagers of New York rather than teenagers in Bristol.
The book is about 380 pages with TINY writing and no chapter breaks. I was expecting a fun read and what I got was a bit of a long slog.
The writing is slightly odd, as if an outsider is writing about the story and all the character's feelings. This made me feel quite shut off from the characters and it took my nearly all of the book before I felt any connection to them at all.
I generally enjoyed the story and the characters but at times was a bit bored. I think it could have been shorter and had more impact as it did drag at times.
I also thought that sometimes it didn't feel very authentic. There were too many pop culture references and lingo that the author thought 17 years olds would use (ridiculously over the top). It just got a bit much and felt fake.
There is a lot of drug use and references to sex. This is marketed at the YA market and I think it should probably be more New Adult due to some of the content. Drugs were pretty much the main focus, it shouldn't be "Anna K: a love story" but "Anna K's friends: a drug story". The love aspect was also an insta love/lust with very little growth, which completely let me down.
Overall a good read but the writing style and pace let it down.
Please note that I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
3 stars
TW: Drug abuse, sex, revenge porn and mental illness
A modern retelling of Anna Karenina. Anna K is compared to gossip girl and crazy rich asians. Although I see the links to both, it was more like the UK tv series Skins but with the elite teenagers of New York rather than teenagers in Bristol.
The book is about 380 pages with TINY writing and no chapter breaks. I was expecting a fun read and what I got was a bit of a long slog.
The writing is slightly odd, as if an outsider is writing about the story and all the character's feelings. This made me feel quite shut off from the characters and it took my nearly all of the book before I felt any connection to them at all.
I generally enjoyed the story and the characters but at times was a bit bored. I think it could have been shorter and had more impact as it did drag at times.
I also thought that sometimes it didn't feel very authentic. There were too many pop culture references and lingo that the author thought 17 years olds would use (ridiculously over the top). It just got a bit much and felt fake.
There is a lot of drug use and references to sex. This is marketed at the YA market and I think it should probably be more New Adult due to some of the content. Drugs were pretty much the main focus, it shouldn't be "Anna K: a love story" but "Anna K's friends: a drug story". The love aspect was also an insta love/lust with very little growth, which completely let me down.
Overall a good read but the writing style and pace let it down.
Please note that I received this book in exchange for an honest review.