An Anna Karenina retelling with a Gossip Girl vibe! Glitz, glamour, drama, betrayal, opulence, infidelity, sex, drugs, and romance. Jenny Lee has done a stellar job of taking this Russian classic and giving it a modern and diverse twist. Admittedly I’ve never read the original, but I did take a look at the Spark Notes and Miss Lee really did a remarkable job in the retelling. I was completely sucked into this riveting tale of decadence and betrayal.
As entertaining as the story was there was also some depth and emotion to it. And if you read the original classic you know all does not end happily ever after... in fact I shed some tears. The perspective of the story bounces around between multiple characters, really giving the reader the full story. All the characters were so well developed, I particularly loved Anna and her brother Stephen. The sibling relationship was great and Stephen had the most noticeable character development throughout the story. This book is considered young adult, but I think it will appeal more to a older young adult audience as well as us old people. Keep in mind if you are a parent wondering about this book for your team, that there is a lot (and I mean a lot) of sex and drugs and drinking in this book. I think it was all handled very well and was not glamorized. Such a fun engaging story and I am super excited that there is a sequel! Cannot wait to see what is next in store for these fabulous characters.
As entertaining as the story was there was also some depth and emotion to it. And if you read the original classic you know all does not end happily ever after... in fact I shed some tears. The perspective of the story bounces around between multiple characters, really giving the reader the full story. All the characters were so well developed, I particularly loved Anna and her brother Stephen. The sibling relationship was great and Stephen had the most noticeable character development throughout the story. This book is considered young adult, but I think it will appeal more to a older young adult audience as well as us old people. Keep in mind if you are a parent wondering about this book for your team, that there is a lot (and I mean a lot) of sex and drugs and drinking in this book. I think it was all handled very well and was not glamorized. Such a fun engaging story and I am super excited that there is a sequel! Cannot wait to see what is next in store for these fabulous characters.