Anna K is a retelling of the classic - Anna Karenina - and I found that it was a good attempt at making a modern retelling, with modern issues for a young reader audience. The author clearly loves the original - Anna Karenina - and has made a solid attempt at a good teen retelling.
I enjoyed how the author created her characters which is no easy feat when you have a big cast. The story also had plenty of drama for those that love that excessive, wealthy teen drama.
I appreciated the scene where Steven's father, Edward, had "the talk" about racism with Steven. It's something that has to be given and I appreciate it being mentioned in this book, even amongst the craziness, it felt very real. In the book however, Edward does this talk in a very domineering way which meant that Steven wasn't appreciative of this advice, but good to see in a book nonetheless.
I also appreciated the heavier topics covered in this book, the suicide and revenge porn and how they affect the victims, or people around them.
I had high expectations for this book, with it being described as Gossip Girl meeting Crazy Rich Asians so I found myself disappointed with some things.
There were a number of spelling and grammar mistakes and I read a published copy so I'm hoping that these will be noticed and corrected in any newly published versions. It's disappointing to see these in a final copy.
Whilst Anna K was made out to be this independent young female she spent her time chasing after a man. There was also justification for staying in toxic relationships and for giving up one's virginity after getting back with a cheating boyfriend. It's not the empowering feminist retelling I believed it to be.
There are also very very strange scenes for example, Vronsky's first sexual encounter was him leering as brother is having sex. Beatrice also mentions wanting to have sex with her cousin "whilst drunk" but doesn't because of the scandal. She also mentions that she believes Alexander's half-sister wants to "Cercei Lannister that sh**". Beatrice crosses a line with her incestual thoughts. I haven't read Anna Karenina so I don't know if it's a nod to the original but I do find these scenes strange to be in a book intended for an audience of 14+ years.
There is also a lot of careless drug and alcohol taking and made to seem cool, which is a bad influence for a younger teen audience. And lot's of sex and mention of careless sexual relations or intentions. I definitely would not recommend to this book to anyone under the age of 16 as they may not be able to take the over the top dramatics with a pinch of salt. But if you are a little older and absolutely love the drama then this is the book for you.
I enjoyed how the author created her characters which is no easy feat when you have a big cast. The story also had plenty of drama for those that love that excessive, wealthy teen drama.
I appreciated the scene where Steven's father, Edward, had "the talk" about racism with Steven. It's something that has to be given and I appreciate it being mentioned in this book, even amongst the craziness, it felt very real. In the book however, Edward does this talk in a very domineering way which meant that Steven wasn't appreciative of this advice, but good to see in a book nonetheless.
I also appreciated the heavier topics covered in this book, the suicide and revenge porn and how they affect the victims, or people around them.
I had high expectations for this book, with it being described as Gossip Girl meeting Crazy Rich Asians so I found myself disappointed with some things.
There were a number of spelling and grammar mistakes and I read a published copy so I'm hoping that these will be noticed and corrected in any newly published versions. It's disappointing to see these in a final copy.
Whilst Anna K was made out to be this independent young female she spent her time chasing after a man. There was also justification for staying in toxic relationships and for giving up one's virginity after getting back with a cheating boyfriend. It's not the empowering feminist retelling I believed it to be.
There are also very very strange scenes for example, Vronsky's first sexual encounter was him leering as brother is having sex. Beatrice also mentions wanting to have sex with her cousin "whilst drunk" but doesn't because of the scandal. She also mentions that she believes Alexander's half-sister wants to "Cercei Lannister that sh**". Beatrice crosses a line with her incestual thoughts. I haven't read Anna Karenina so I don't know if it's a nod to the original but I do find these scenes strange to be in a book intended for an audience of 14+ years.
There is also a lot of careless drug and alcohol taking and made to seem cool, which is a bad influence for a younger teen audience. And lot's of sex and mention of careless sexual relations or intentions. I definitely would not recommend to this book to anyone under the age of 16 as they may not be able to take the over the top dramatics with a pinch of salt. But if you are a little older and absolutely love the drama then this is the book for you.