3.5 stars rounded up.

When I heard The Chosen and the Beautiful was a retelling of The Great Gatsby, I knew I needed to read it.

This story is told from Jordan Baker’s perspective, and it follows the same timeline as the original. Jordan Baker grew up in 1920’s American society and easily slips in and out of people’s lives. After all she isn’t the normal socialite. She’s queer, Asian, bd adopted so mostly thought of as exotic rather than taken seriously by her peers.

I thought the book was beautifully written although slow at times. It was an interesting take to focus on Jordan in a Great Gatsby retelling, and I liked that her character was queer. There were some magical elements though that confused me.

The story wasn’t that different than the original, and I think it would have been better had it been a new outlook on the classic. I listened to the audiobook and thought Natalie Naudus was a great narrator.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.