Effervescent and transportive, The Chosen and The Beautiful felt like the most vivid dream to me that I never wanted to end. Needless to say, I had to pinch myself when I was approved for an ARC. A queer Great Gatsby retelling with an adopted, Vietnamese Jordan Baker? YES please!! Readers who have read the original Great Gatsby will recognize plot points, but you don’t need to have read it to enjoy The Chosen and the Beautiful. Personally, I enjoyed this magical retelling more than the original!

There is never a dull moment in a world filled with ghosts, demons, and paper magic. Jordan sees clearly through the illusions and enchanted elixirs, but is still swept along for the ride. The magic system was intriguing, yet I would have liked to see Jordan explore it a little more. Jordan has to deal with subtle and overt racism as a Vietnamese woman adopted into a white family. I particularly loved the LGBTQ+ rep!

Vo has a way of delivering a sentence that will stop you in your tracks to marvel at the perfect eloquence of it. The magical atmosphere utterly surrounds and envelops the reader; I never wanted to put this book down. The emotions and dreams of the characters shine brightly throughout. I particularly enjoyed how Gatsby is portrayed with cunning and deception. Read The Chosen and The Beautiful if you want to be completely swept away to a glamorous, decadent, and queer re-imagining of The Great Gatsby. Thank you so much to Nghi Vo, Macmillan-Tor/Forge, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.