The Chosen and the Beautiful

[psocoptera]

The Chosen and the Beautiful, Nghi Vo, 2021 fantasy retelling of _The Great Gatsby_. I definitely have more than no interest in _Gatsby_ - I did go and see one of the musicals - but I'm not sure I had this many pages of interest in _Gatsby_. Vo came up with some neat imagery here and it was interesting to see her take but her original work is *so good* and this just wasn't up to that level. I thought the strongest parts were the parts she brought to it entirely like the idea of Jordan as a transracial adoptee. I had some trouble with the plot arc - there was a bit early on that seemed like it must be being told more out of order than I thought, for where people's emotions were, but I think I was just wrong/confused about that, but then there were still aspects I didn't feel like I really understood by the end. One plot point I was only able to figure out by finding an interview where Vo happened to spell it out. There's a sequel out now that might help clear some of that up; I'll see when I get there. I would definitely recommend _Siren Queen_ rather than this if you're looking for Jazz Age fantasy, or _City in Glass_ if you want imagery-heavy fantasy, but if you've read both of those and want more Vo I don't *dis*recommend this.