A modern retelling of a beloved classic. This updated version takes on a challenge few would be brave enough to. A daring summer read!

I love The Great Gatsby, and this was a wonderful gender-flipped modern retelling, bringing things like social media into the mix in an entirely convincing way, while maintaining themes of ambition and identity.

It’s a really difficult novel to get in to . The first chapters feel empty, and without any care.

I thought the gender swap was well managed and I think this book will appeal to younger readers but for me, having the original in mind, it lacks the zest and almost florid mania, which makes it a little difficult to swallow.

Gatsby is a retelling of The Great Gatsby with the sexes of the characters switched and in a contemporary setting. It examines similar themes as the original: class, fame, the hunger for both and how that impacts and warps love and relationships.

It was mostly a fun read, although I came very close to DNFing in the early chapters as the voice and writing felt stiff, stilted, and messy. I'm amazed that some of the sentences made it through the editing process: "Having been asked for my side of the story repeatedly, and advised by healthcare professionals that some sort of journalling might be a good way to make sense of the summer, I eventually found myself questioning what I was so afraid of to prevent me doing the very thing that had first lured me to the East Coast in the warm months of 2019." My note on this sentence is, "uh oh". A little while later, I wrote, "What is this? Who speaks like this these days?" The writer uses a lot of big words. I have a degree from an Ivy League college, but I still had to look a couple up. It was distracting and felt pretentious. Nic's inner voice is very formal, old-fashioned, and literary, which echoes Fitzgerald to an extent, but detracts from believability and tone. The novel's world is suffused with celebrities and influencers; I think a more contemporary, energetic and less dry narrative voice would have worked better.

That said, once I moved past the dry, awkward opening chapters, the story took off and started to fly. It mirrors The Great Gatsby quite faithfully, and it was fun seeing how the writer adapted aspects to the current(ish) day. A news helicopter instead of the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg, Gatsby as a female influencer, for example. (Are there any influencers in reality that are so famous they need bodyguards?) The writing was much brighter and more engaging once the narrative moved forward. I enjoyed becoming immersed in the culture of the super wealthy. T, the female version of the original's Tom, was delightfully hateful. Danny (Daisy) charismatic and shiny. Jordan—still a pro golfer, but Black and male in this version—was equally riveting. Nic was little more than a cipher, which echos Nick, but created issues along the lines of why would Jordan—connected, gorgeous, wealthy, desirable to the point of women constantly throwing themselves at him—be at all interested in someone as unremarkable and mousy as Nic?

The story started to lag in the later third. We got three, and eventually four, different narrations as to the origin of Gatsby and Danny's romance, which didn't differ enough from each other to be necessary. And they were all told with a lot of narrative distance, which made them boring. And the novel suffered a bit from being too loyal to the original. There were no surprises, as we already knew everything that would happen. I was still entertained enough to finish, though, although the final chapters went on and on and disintegrated back into uninteresting telling and philosophising and I skimmed a lot.

Ultimately, I'm glad I read it as it was a fun experiment in fanfiction. I don't know if it brought a new enough light on The Great Gatsby to be really necessary, other than to demonstrate how nothing ever really changes. The story didn't do a lot with the sex swaps. It could have used them in more interesting ways, I think. But it was a quick read and I mostly enjoyed it.

A vibrant update on F Scott Fitzgerald’s original. Narrated by Nic, a listless would-be writer struggling to find her way in life while around her the bigger beasts circle, jockeying for position. Genders are swapped from the classic, allowing the eponymous character to be an influencer living her life through the posts of her legendary parties.

There's always something hubristic about taking on the challenge of re-writing a classic: it can be done, of course, but the adaptation needs to bring something new to the table as Wide Sargasso Sea does to Jane Eyre. This modernisation of The Great Gatsby does a good job of fitting the story to our present, making Jay Gatsby a social media influencer but I found it all a bit soulless and over-explained. When Nic first meets Gatsby, she explains: ' I recognized the dreamer in her. We were both in pursuit of something we imagined would deliver pure happiness.' I felt it this told us everything at 1% of the book whereas in Fitzgerald Gatsby remains an enigma until the end.

The other issue is that Fitzgerald is a supreme stylist and while this book isn't badly written, not many authors can match him sentence for sentence. The comparison doesn't do this author any favors.

So for me this felt too much like a fake or dupe of the real thing - I'd recommend it to readers who haven't read Fitzgerald and want a glitzy tale of wealth with a darker underside.

A fab gender flip - It is one of those books that transports you making you forget about real life and full of delightful characters that spring to life. I actually felt like I was there in the story with them ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I'm certainly not the target audience for a modern retelling of 'The Great Gatsby'. My hatred of the original novel is infamous in my family - I had to study it at school and it infuriated me. I hated how Gatsby was touted as this superior being, despite him being in love with the character of Daisy who we are supposed to loathe. I hated Nick being obsessed with Gatsby for no particular reason and had some fun gathering quotes to argue the case that Nick was in love with Gatsby. However, none of my views were particularly nuanced, and they were easy to challenge.

In retrospect, I think my hatred was born from it being a mandatory text, and the fact that we were told how to feel about it, not encouraged to form our own opinions. I have a feeling that if I sat down and read 'The Great Gatsby' again now, I would be able to appreciate it and cure my ire. But the sliver of fear I might not has stopped me from picking it up again.

'Gatsby' by Jane Crowther is a clever little novel. It carefully updates 'The Great Gatsby' for the new age. However, it might well be too conventional for its own good. Two of my favourite recent reads have been 'The Favourites' by Layne Fargo, a modern retelling of 'Wuthering Heights', and 'Hollow Bones' by Erica Wright, a modern retelling of 'Measure for Measure'. But here's the thing - those novels put their own spin on the stories. They take strong elements from the originals and make them new. 'Gatsby' is basically the exact same story as the original novel which makes it painfully predictable - the only real change is that it's gender-flipped. I wonder what the experience of this novel would be like for those who have not read the original.

That being said, I couldn't put it down. This novel has a lot to say about social media, influencers and cancel culture. It does make sense that a modern day Gatsby figure would use such things to their advantage in order to draw in the object of their affection, as does those same things leading to their downfall.

Thank you to HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction and Netgalley for the ARC!

In this enticing gender-swapped contemporary reimagining of The Great Gatsby, Jane Crowther harnesses Fitzgerald’s exploration of wealth and ambition into an insightful commentary of the digital age.

The Great Gatsby is my favourite American novel, so my standards were high for this adaptation, and it lived up to them. If you couldn't read the original because the story or writing style was too antiquated, please, please consider reading this instead. It updates the classic novel in a way that is truly relatable today while maintaining the original's view on the world.

The story follows Nic Carraway and her mysterious neighbour Jay Gatsby, a hugely popular social media influencer whose carefully curated online presence masks her yearning for her old sweetheart. As Gatsby pursues Nic’s married cousin, Danny Buchanan, the novel exposes how social media has become our era's version of Jazz Age excess, with digital metrics replacing the traditional social currency. The dreamy writing style maintains Fitzgerald’s lyrical quality while introducing contemporary language.

This is a perfect adaptation of Gatsby’s themes for the digital era. The influencer culture is a striking and apt parallel to the 1920s nouveau riche, while the gender-flipped characters—especially Gatsby as a female influencer—give incisive commentary on the performance we all must do on social media. I especially like how Jordan was handled in this interpretation, expanding upon my favourite enigmatic character who was featured little in the original.

While this reimagining will please readers interested in the marriage of classic literature and contemporary social commentary, its greatest achievement is how it illuminates timeless themes of ambition, identity, and performance through the lens of our digital age.

Thank you so much to The Borough Press and NetGalley for allowing me to review this eARC.

Okay, first things first - Please do not be put off by this book if you didn't enjoy The Great Gatsby!

I may be committing a literary faux pas here however I have to say I have never been over enamoured with The Great Gatsby. Like many, my introduction to TGG was mandated by my school (prior to discovering my love of reading) so my thoughts on the novel have always been of nostalgic hatred. I did re-visit the book in the past few years and still cannot see the greatness of it.

So, if that is the case, why did I pick this one up? A few reasons but mostly that I have really enjoyed some recent novels which are retellings of classic novels, I am thinking [book:Demon Copperhead|60194162] and [book:James|173754979] to name a couple of recent examples and I was also intrigued by the gender-flip aspect of this one too - gender neutral names like Jay and Nic coming in handy and Daisy Buchanan becoming Danny Buchanan.

This was an interesting novel, really bringing Gatsby into the 21st century and I certainly enjoyed it more than the original. I know that will be blasphemy amongst many literary scholars but we like what we like. As always, if you read the original, you kind of know where it is going but I would recommend this for those who enjoyed or disliked the original Gatsby.

A really string effort from a gifted writer.

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction | The Borough Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In Gatsby, Jane Crowther masterfully reimagines F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic The Great Gatsby, transplanting the opulent world of the Roaring Twenties into the hyper-connected, social media-driven age of today. The result is a stylish, contemporary tale that explores the dark side of fame, fortune, and ambition in a world where truth is as elusive as it is necessary.

The protagonist, Nic Carraway, finds herself on the fringes of a glamorous, wealth-obsessed society when she leases a summer house in Long Island next to the enigmatic Jay Gatsby. Known for her fame, murky past, and massive online following, Gatsby is the picture of new money and elusive allure. She hosts extravagant parties where the world’s A-listers mingle, but her real motivation is more personal—a desperate need to reconnect with her past, specifically with Nic’s cousin, Danny Buchanan.

As the summer unfolds, Nic becomes entangled in Gatsby’s world of excess, ambition, and lies. The tensions grow as Nic’s own ambitions collide with the wreckage of Gatsby’s carefully curated life. Through her eyes, Crowther presents a world in which nothing is quite as it seems—where wealth and fame come at the cost of self-deception, and where ambition drives characters to betray their own truths in pursuit of the American Dream.

Crowther’s writing is slick and captivating, capturing the decadence and peril of a life lived for appearances. The characters are both charming and deeply flawed, each playing a dangerous game of masks and manipulation. As Nic tries to navigate this treacherous world, she must confront the question: can anyone tell the truth in a place where deception is a currency, and self-presentation is everything?

Gatsby is a brilliant exploration of how social media amplifies the illusions of wealth and success, making it a perfect, contemporary update of a timeless story. Crowther’s take on Fitzgerald’s classic is sharp, evocative, and thought-provoking, with a perfect blend of style and substance. Highly recommended for those ready to join the party, where the stakes are high, and no one is truly what they seem.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

2,75 stars

I've never read "The Great Gatsby" because the writing style just didn't work for me. The same is, unfortunately, true for "Gatsby" as well. The writing is too flowery for my tastes and the protagonist is incredibly pretentious which made getting through this rather short novel a slog for me.

Much like Fitzgerald, Crowther’s prose is gorgeous and poetic, romanticising the sights and sounds of modern Long Island with precision and originality. Her ability to turn a phrase and have us understand exactly the feeling or thought she wants to convey is remarkable, and that, along with my familiarity with the source material, made Gatsby such an insatiable read. Crowther’s ability to capture not only the essence of The Great Gatsby, but the melody of Fitzgerald’s prose is uncanny, and the dissection of how we treat women in the media is both powerful and prescient. A modern retelling of Gatsby, but with influencers, social media, the idea of digital new money, and the toxicity of celebrity is so intelligent I’m surprised it’s not been done sooner - thank god it was Crowther, with her razor sharp pen, and her candid presentation of these characters, who brought it to life.

First of all, a huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, HarperCollins, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
When I saw this book, I knew I had to apply. As a big fan of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, the concept of a modern retelling immediately intrigued me.

This is a magnificent debut! Crowther brilliantly imagines what Gatsby would be like if he (or, in this case, she) lived in 2024, amidst the world of social media. The story deftly explores themes like the pressure of constant public scrutiny, cancel culture, and the ways people think they know you simply because they follow you on Instagram. It’s a fresh, exciting twist on one of the most iconic novels of all time.

One of the things I really appreciated is the gender flip, with Gatsby reimagined as a social media influencer. Because in today’s world, that’s one of the few industries that’s overwhelmingly female-dominated. It feels like an update for our times, with a new context that still captures the original’s essence. Themes like public scrutiny, cancel culture, and the illusion of intimacy online are woven deftly into the narrative, making this retelling both timely and timeless.
The glamour and opulence of the characters’ lives shine through on every page. Crowther brings the characters to life with such vivid descriptions that you can practically hear the laughter at Gatsby’s extravagant parties or picture them gossiping over cocktails. It’s clear that these characters are a little unhinged, but that’s what makes them so compelling.

The prose is stunning. There were moments when I’d stop and marvel at a beautifully crafted sentence or paragraph, thinking, "Wow." It’s a testament to Crowther's skill as a writer. That said, I’ll admit I had some difficulty fully immersing myself at times. Given how iconic Gatsby is and how well-known the original story is, I often found myself comparing the two instead of simply enjoying this retelling. This is no fault of the author—she did an amazing job—but the weight of the original novel’s legacy can’t be ignored. I did find myself wishing for a bit more originality and some fresh ideas beyond the established narrative.

While the modernized version of Daisy (Danny) still carries the same allure and complications as her 1920s counterpart, I found that Danny and Gatsby’s interactions in a world governed by social media added an extra layer of depth—where every word and gesture could be dissected online and they had to hide so no one would see them and post it. The modern Gatsby, too, is a very vulnerable figure inside, driven not just by ambition but by the pressures of online persona management. The idea of “performance” in today’s influencer culture fits seamlessly with the way the original characters operated in their pursuit of fame and status, making the entire story feel both timely and timeless.

Crowther’s retelling subtly critiques the very fabric of influencer culture, where authenticity often feels like a commodity and every relationship is tinted by the lens of public perception. It feels like a commentary on how today’s ‘greatness’ can often be just as shallow as the old-world pursuit of wealth and status. The parallels between the two eras are striking, and it made me reflect on how much of our lives are now governed by an audience, whether real or imagined.

I think this retelling has a lot of potential to engage younger readers and introduce them to the classics. If more authors did something like this with classic novels, it could potentially spark a whole new wave of interest in them. Imagine a series of modern updates—wouldn’t it be a great way to make the classics feel relevant to today’s generation?

Gatsby is set to release on April 10, 2025, exactly 100 years after the original’s publication. That’s a little detail I absolutely love, and it serves as a reminder of how timeless the themes of the novel are, even with a contemporary twist.

Final Thoughts: If you're a fan of the original Gatsby or if you're curious about how the world of social media impacts classic literature, this retelling is a must-read. It’s both a nostalgic journey and a fresh exploration of themes that continue to shape our culture today.

I found this a little difficult to fully immerse myself in. Gatsby is such an iconic character and his story is so well known to many, including myself, that it was hard to picture a modern reimagining. The writing was also a little hard to digest in parts, I couldn’t tell what exactly the author was trying to say. It was an interesting concept and I appreciate the modern twist on the story, it was just a little clunky in parts.

I found this one a bit difficult to read. I liked the author’s writing style and they way they wrote characters but I think because I am so familiar with the original text (I studied it very closely at college), it brought me out of the book. I was always thinking and comparing rather than getting lost in the story like I usually do. This is no fault of the author, who I think wrote a good book, but I just really found it difficult to read.

Interesting modern retelling of the classic I love. Interesting take on the story.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Same but opposite of the oringinsl Gatsby....

I don't know really what I thought of this book. It's like the author read the original and then changed a few things and came up with a similar story. I enjoyed my reading time but would have liked something more original...

I liked the modernity and the glam and I liked the writing and storytelling.. I'm going to find something else from this author to see how it compares..

What a cool twist on one of the most famous and classic tales of all time! This would make a great series or way to get youth involved in reading the classsocs to better help them be interested and understand them