I enjoyed this book, but not quite as much as I had hoped to. I should say that I went in with my expectations set fairly high, so maybe that was my fault. I probably am also not really the target audience, in hindsight. However, I just didn't enjoy the tone of this one quite as much as I thought I might.
I've seen it described in several places as a cross between Gossip Girl and Rich Asians, and that's probably a fair description. Unfortunately, for me, I found that the pages upon pages of rich kids and their privileged problems became a bit too much after a while, as did the constant drug use. I do understand this to be one of the central points of the book, but it simply wasn't that fun to read about after a while for me personally.
What I did like is the fact that the author was daring enough to attempt a retelling of Anna Karenina. This is faithful to the original book, but with a very modern twist that I think will make it appeal to young adults today. I think this is a commendable effort at reworking one of the classics - sadly, it just didn't fully grip me personally.
I've seen it described in several places as a cross between Gossip Girl and Rich Asians, and that's probably a fair description. Unfortunately, for me, I found that the pages upon pages of rich kids and their privileged problems became a bit too much after a while, as did the constant drug use. I do understand this to be one of the central points of the book, but it simply wasn't that fun to read about after a while for me personally.
What I did like is the fact that the author was daring enough to attempt a retelling of Anna Karenina. This is faithful to the original book, but with a very modern twist that I think will make it appeal to young adults today. I think this is a commendable effort at reworking one of the classics - sadly, it just didn't fully grip me personally.