I absolutely loved this book. I started reading it at the same time that I started reading its source material, Anna Karenina, and I was surprised by how brilliant this adaptation was. The modernization of the famous Russian novel was very clever and well done. It closely resembled the original in plot and it all worked seamlessly with its characters to elevate the classic story to a modern contemporary romance. Manhattan’s high society was a perfect choice to replace the Russian nobility and it worked so well as the setting for a YA novel. It gave me Gossip Girl vibes, but with a more sophisticated air. This book really explores and brings to light the double standards of men and women in relationships in an observational way that I appreciated. All of the characters were strong and complex, and I loved the switching perspectives and intertwining storylines. The adaptation of the original characters into their YA counterparts was handled perfectly and it was so much fun to see how they were updated for our time. Similarly to the original, Anna and Vronsky’s relationship starts out a little insta-lovey, but their chemistry is so fantastic that you just buy it. My favorite thing was watching Anna discover herself and what she wanted and deserved out of life. Her arc was fantastic and her flaws and mistakes only made me love her more. This book was amazing and I think that both lovers of Anna Karenina and people coming in with no prior knowledge of the story would both get swept away by this delicious, dramatic, sophisticated, and beautiful reimagining.

I’m a little disappointed with this book. It didn’t feel like the fresh new YA book it was billed at. I was an original Gossip Girl fan so this felt like that and a dash of Crazy Rich Asians. It didn’t really feel new or nuanced. I also never read Anna karenina so the plot ties there went over my head till I read the authors note at the end. It also felt dragged out and repetitive. Plus some of the things that happened or the lives of these kids seemed so far fetched... or maybe I am just so far removed from this kinda life I didn’t believe it.

Overall, probably kind of dense for readers coming into this with no expectations from the original. Enough reflection of the original yet with its own surprises to interest those familiar with the original. And for both, moments where the old Russian style and internet era style will clash in a really strange way.

Recommended: yes!
For an adaptation from an uncommon source for the genre, for a rich-and-famous-teen story, for a lot of interpersonal intrigue and drama sprinkled with plenty of sex, drugs, and partying.

Thoughts:
I've seen a lot of reviewers saying they are unfamiliar with the original text this is based on, Tolstoy's dense Russian classic Anna Karenina. I have read the original, so I can give some insight into the amount of similarity and would say it's about 60% similar. Part of this is just because the original is SO lengthy that aspects of it had to be removed to prevent this retelling from being nearly a thousand pages as well. The general plot is the same, and the relationships are all still there, so the essence of it remains.

For those who are coming into this as its own standalone story with no preconceived ideas of what will happen this can be a slow read. Be aware that this is a lot more serious and formal in tone than most YA novels, which is due to Lee's success in imitating the reserved Russian mindset and style of the original. While I plowed through this, other friends said it took them weeks to get through because of how slow and dense it felt at times. The overall effect is an unprecedented blend of modern and classic tones.

The primary hurdle to this blend is when they clash in a quite jarring way. For example, the sentence "Perhaps [she] was rueful over her lost opportunity with [him], who wasn't as babe-a-licious as [the other guy] but was vastly superior in intellect and character." (Edited to keep it vague). The term "babealicious" set up against "vastly superior in intellect and character" is extremely weird, posing the character thinking it simultaneously as a serious posh old lady and a millennial pop-culture fanatic. It gets really awkward at times, and the tone is pretty inconsistent. Alternatively (and as above, sometimes simultaneously) aggressively young and weirdly old in their mindset, these teenagers often don't read as teenagers and makes it hard to classify this as a young adult genre.

The characters all live quite lavishly, which is where all the comparisons to Gossip Girl are coming from. I imagine the HBO series will be pretty similar in style. Even with that, they retain their complexity, allowing you to see the redeeming and condemning sides of each person. Dustin (Levin) is the one who will be most relatable for most readers, in terms of lifestyle. That said, each character has similar fears and challenges as anyone reading it might.

The hype is real! And although it's been many years since I've read Anna Karenina, I love this re-imagining as it so deftly deals with many different themes not explored back then, Since Anna K is half-Korean, there is the race angle. And then there's the disparity between the wealthy, privileged teens and those who don't flaunt their Gucci bags and Manolo Blahnik shoes. And let's not get started on the often-absentee parents who throw their credit cards at kids like it's raining! Or the drugs that are free-flowing at parties and the social media sexting scandals. Don't get me wrong; I loved this book simply because of all the issues it addresses so well! It's poignant and heartbreakingly lovely even with the characters who made typically-teen mistakes and were flawed as is so much a part of the human condition. And on a final note, I am ever so happy that I grew up in an era before the Social Media Train came blitzing out of the station with the conductors convincing teens that oversharing and twenty selfies a day is "normal" and expected. I'll just go back to my reading now...thank you Jenny Lee! Bravo!

So this book was surprisingly awesome. I did not realize we needed a modern and young adult take on Anna Karenina, but we did!

The book tells the hugely entertaining story of Anna K., her boyfriend, her brother and his girlfriend, the girlfriend's sister, and other assorted rich teens, plus Anna's love affair with the romantic enigma that is "Count" Vronsky. I read Anna Karenina in college and loved it, but I actually love this update way more. The book is fresh and fun, and teenagers will not feel as they being spoken down to in any way. Plus, the escapism of America's socialite royalty is a great take on the royals of the Russians.

With so many modern twists including social media, this book brings the timeless love story to a new generation, complete with dances and train symbolism.

I could not recommend this book more.

Thanks to the publisher, author and www.NetGalley.com for my ARC.

How can I even begin to describe Anna K: A Love Story?

Once I picked up this book, it was practically impossible to put down. The story immediately immersed me in its opulent wealth, passionate love, and tragic romance. After finishing the last page, I was literally ~emo~ for a week because I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Anna K: A Love Story is a modern retelling of Anna Karenina, the classic love story by Leo Tolstoy. In a very Gossip Girl-esque manner, the story is based around the super-elite teens of Manhattan in a world filled with lavish spending, extravagant parties, expensive alcohol, drugs, and sex.

Anna K, our leading protagonist, is a half-white, half-Korean teen who seemingly lives the perfect life. From her ultra-wealthy parents and high society boyfriend to her esteemed reputation and grandiose amount of pets, her world seems perfect(ly dull) until she catches the eye of Alexi Vronsky.

A major plot point to the book is that Anna K and Alexi’s secretive relationship is based on cheating since Anna is still dating her boyfriend, Alexander, and while I typically cannot stand/support any relationship based around cheating, I mainly powered through because it’s a critical component from the classic.

The story also follows the perspectives of several other side characters, including Steven (Anna’s brother), Lolly (Steven’s girlfriend), Kimmie (Lolly’s sister), and Dustin (Steven’s friend and tutor), all of whom I grew to love and adore as well.

With so many characters, it would’ve been easy to get lost throughout the story, but Jenny Lee’s writing was incredibly easy to follow. Her history as a screenwriter adds so much dimension into the book because it truly reads like a movie you can’t stop watching.

Their character development was also *mwah chef’s kiss* wonderful to see progress throughout the story. Characters who I originally found to be annoying and bratty end the story in a truly transformative manner, and character’s who viewed the world in an idealistic sense gained so much more depth.

In an almost surprising way, this book contains so much insight and depth despite it coming off as mainly fun, money, and parties. We explore the double standards of cheating when it’s done by a man versus a woman and how the consequences and judgement is much more severe for women.

Most outstandingly, Jenny Lee’s discussion of drug use was incredibly well-done. We explore how drugs use is such a nuance topic but also how it’s prevalent among our society whether it’s for fun at parties to handling academic stress. We tip toe the fine line between what is seemingly harmless to how it can devastate a family.

At the same time, while we explore Anna and Steven’s experience as part of 1% elite, we also see the impact of their half-Korean heritage coming into play. Even as part of the uber-elite, they’re not immune to racism and judgement.

Reading this book was like eating dark chocolate—you literally just can’t stop but you love it so much. It’s comfortingly sweet and tragically dark, and in the end, you’re left with a hauntingly beautiful yet bittersweet feeling in your chest. (The author’s note high-key made me cry.)

I sincerely hope you decide to give this book a try because I enjoyed it so so much. My book club ‘subtle asian book club’ is actually reading it for our March book of the month, and you’re more than welcome to join along!

♥ 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐊 𝐛𝐲 𝐉𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐋𝐞𝐞 ♥

Did you ever see GOSSIP GIRL? EUPHORIA? Have you read CRAZY RICH ASIANS? Anna K reminds me of Serena van der Woodsen with the amount of outlandish drama like in Crazy Rich Asians, sex and drugs like in EUPHORIA. This one was definitely a guilty pleasure.

Going in knowing that this one was going to be full of drama, I was ready for all of it (yes, I was also part of the group consumed by #LoveIsBlind). I have never read Anna Karenina, so I didn’t know what to expect.

Anna K is 17 and has her life planned out. She has the perfect life, the perfect boyfriend, but is it really what she wants? I was invested in Anna’s character, but the secondary characters were also entertaining. Although, this is labeled as a YA, it’s an intense book and since I have a teenage sister, I freaked out. The only issue I had with the book, were parts in which dogs are injured or killed. I can’t handle those themes, but that’s just me.

I'm so glad to have been able to pick this one up. This was such a fun, quick and easy read. I have never seen or read the original Anna Keranina, but I bet this was an amazing modern retelling that people will enjoy. I love the Jenny Lee's writing she made her story so easily enjoyable and fast to dive into. I definitely recommend if you want a light read this month.

My first thought on looking at this book, despite knowing the length of the original work that inspired it, was "Wow this is long!" It did prove to be an easier read than the original, but for a YA novel it's very slow reading. Early on it was very easy to put down, but it was also easy to pick back up, and as the story progressed the characters and their stories tended to stick in my mind after I'd put the book down to do other things. Just because it was a slow read and easy to put down doesn't mean it wasn't a good book though. Not by a long shot!

Placing the story in a modern context worked really well, partly because the story itself is pretty timeless, but also because Jenny Lee seems to be a genuinely talented writer. From the start I found myself digging the narrative voice, which was so reminiscent of Gossip Girl or Crazy Rich Asians. It made the increasingly heavy subject matter more fun and accessible, doing a great job of showing the disparity between living feminist ideals and being a teenager who wants teenager things, frequently discussing feminism and the double standards for men and women when it comes to sex and fidelity. Lee accomplished this by balancing hard topics like the depressive effects of the ubiquity of smartphones on teenagers, drug use, love, and betrayal with frivolity and copious name dropping. It was also really good to see a more racially balanced cast of characters that was more in keeping with the modern setting.

Another thing I genuinely liked about the book was that there was a fantastic example set of siblings who love and support each other, even though they are none of them perfect human beings. The acknowledgement of characters' flaws and failings was also well done, with characters feeling genuine sorrow and guilt when their actions resulted in others' pain (especially with Vronsky and Frou Frou). More importantly, though, Lee's telling lacked the obnoxious moralizing that characterized Tolstoy, where a fallen woman stayed fallen goddammit! Instead, there was a positive message that people, especially young people, screw up or get screwed over, but they can choose to push through and find or create a support system. That said, I give the author major points for not shying away from the hard ending.

Finally, there was a line in here that I liked enough I wrote it down word for word. I searched Google to see if it was taken from the original, and the only result was this book, so, Jenny Lee, I applaud you. "I have to be where you are, so here I am." Damn.

My request to read this book was approved by the publisher the same day the book was Archived on netgalley. Would love to have read it, but now I can't :(

Sent March 3, 2020
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I tried with Anna K.
I really and honestly tried.
I just knew that after a few paragraphs this was not going to work but I pushed because the premise seemed interesting and the synopsis was cute enough. The writing however just was not engaging and read like amateur fan fiction. Fanfic can be AMAZING. Up to par to published books! But this...this was just not good.

This year I made a vow to myself to only finish books I am enjoying and I could not do so with Anna K.

Thanks very much to Netgalley and the publisher.

Not quite sure what to say about this one. I liked it enough to read the entire thing and it kept my interest, but the ages of the characters threw me a bit too often. I know it’s a YA novel but it just seemed a bit far fetched for 15-17 year olds to be doing a lot of this stuff. Wasn’t ready for the sucker punch at the end. 3.5 🌟 only because of the age issue I had. Other than that it was a great retelling of Anna Karenina.

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.

This book in emojis 🗽💰🐶🐎🚄🍸📱💔

*** Big thank you to Flatiron Books for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***

| Roses & Thorns Review |⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Title: Anna K.⁣: A Love Story
Author: Jenny Lee⁣
⁣⁣
Quick Take: This modern YA retelling of Anna Karenina was pure escapism. Don’t judge but I’ve never read Anna Karenina so I went in pretty blind and really enjoyed this book!⁣
⁣⁣
Rose: I looooooove stories about rich kids behaving badly and this book has some seriously wealthy kids behaving extremely poorly. It was fun to learn about the many characters backgrounds and their lavish lifestyles. Even though they are making questionable decisions you really start to care for many (not all) of the characters. I enjoyed some of the side characters story lines more than Anna K but overall was hooked and couldn’t stop turning the pages to see what they were going to get up to next. I will note it’s not all fun and games and this book covers topics like mental health, addiction, racism, and sexism. Make sure to read the authors note at the end I loved hearing about why Lee wrote this book and her process.⁣
⁣⁣
Thorn: This book did feel a bit long. There were large sections of the book that were fun but when you finish and look back they seemed unnecessary.⁣
⁣⁣
Rating: 4 ⭐️ and highly recommend picking it up when it comes out March 3rd.
⁣⁣

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for a gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

In this modern retelling of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, we dive into the lives of the wealthy teens of Manhattan. Anna K is 17 and is at the top of Manhattan and Greenwich society; she’s goes to the best private school and has the perfect college boyfriend. Basically, she is the envy of every teenage girl in Manhattan and Greenwich. One day, she meets Alexia “Count” Vronsky who is a notorious playboy and they begin an affair that will lead to disastrous consequences. And as you know, the higher you are, the farther you have to fall.

I’ve never read Anna Karenina so I had no idea what to expect in this retelling. It’s been described as a mix of Crazy Rich Asians and Gossip Girl and I think it’s pretty spot on! Since I’m a fan of drama (yes, I watch the Bachelor), I was hooked from the very beginning – I felt invested in Anna’s story and wanted to know where it goes between her and Alexia. However, my favorite storyline has got to be Dustin’s. Warning - this story is not for everyone as there’s a lot of difficult content and omg so much drugs and sex. I’m not even sure if this book is suited for young adults with all the sex and drugs mentioned. Ultimately, I really enjoyed it and now I want to pick up the classic by Tolstoy!

CW – infidelity, drug overdose, drugs, opioid addiction, abortion

Dazzling. It has all the feels and the ups and downs of a teen's life. This story will have you reliving your first love. All of the good, the bad and the ugly because there's only one first love. I absolutely loved this book. Happy reading!

Anna K. is 17 years old and at the top of Manhattan society. She has a seemingly perfect life with her perfect long-term boyfriend, Alexander, and has much of her life planned out. That is, until she meets Alexia "Count" Vronsky while meeting relatives at Grand Central Terminal. Something about the notorious playboy catches her attention, and she suddenly finds herself willing to give up everything for him.

ANNA K is a retelling of ANNA KARENINA set among ultra-rich teenagers in New York City. I first read the original book a few years ago and, while I enjoyed it, I often found myself thinking, "these people are acting like hormonal teenagers!" So when I heard about ANNA K, I knew I had to read it.

And I was right - Lee maps Tolstoy's story perfectly onto this modern, diverse group of friends and relatives. Society balls become raging club nights, sending covert courier messages becomes texting via Words With Friends. Additionally, despite the glamour and abundance of name brands, ANNA K retains the melancholy feel of the original, while layering in modern understandings of privilege, racism and sexism the characters must navigate.

Anna K is everything I imagine a modern day remake of Gossip Girl would have looked like. I am obsessed with how diverse the characters are. I need to see Anna K come to life on screen and am so glad it's already been optioned by HBO Max!

I have to admit, the beginning of Anna K was a bit slow for me. I also had a hard time keeping the characters straight at first. It took me a little bit to get into the book, but once it got good, it got GOOD. It also became easier to keep track of the characters as the book went on and you learned more about each of their backstories. One of my favorite things about this Anna K is that you get to know a decent amount about each of the characters. Anna K is so juicy and such a guilty pleasure read.

I can definitely see why some people make have some issues with the book. The characters are all in high school but get into some real life shit, but that happens in a lot of books about high schoolers - Gossip Girl included! Anna K may not be everyone's cup of tea. I would recommend it to anyone who is obsessed with Gossip Girl or needs a scandalous, fun read.

As soon as I heard about this book I was so excited to read it. I loved many things about this book like the diversity of the characters. It was dramatic and all of the different relationships in this were awesome. I'd suggest this to older teens due to some of the things in it. The cover is amazing!

I have mixed feelings about Anna K. It was hard for me to get into at first because of how removed the characters’ lives were from mine, with the vast majority of them being part of the literal 1%. I grew up comfortably middle class, but faced with this level of wealth, I felt like I was observing an alien culture. There is wild shit in a lot of contemporary YAs, but add in extreme wealth and you get next level wild shit. The high class setting also comes with an even more rigid set of social expectations and pressures than your average teen might be subject to.

It was also hard for me to get into the story toward the beginning because the characters felt a lot more shallow, and everything happening to them simply felt like petty drama. What the characters were calling love felt more like infatuation. And yeah, I get that this is a common experience for teens, confounding the two, but I wasn’t understanding even the source of the infatuation except the stereotypical teen hormones and encounters between people who conform to hegemonic beauty standards. Even as the story progressed, I still wasn’t convinced that the two main characters were really in love because I felt like the narrative placed so much emphasis on their physical/sexual attraction to each other over more substantial emotional bonding. I wasn’t invested in the main romance at all.

On the plus side, I got to experience the train wreck of this story with no expectations or prior knowledge since I have never read Anna Karenina, the original story this is a retelling of. So I was just popping my figurative popcorn watching shit hit the fan more times than should be possible in a single novel. Whether there was True Love or not between the leads, there was definitely a lot of teens making Truly Terrible Life Choices and facing the consequences, and that was a source of entertainment for me, somewhat.

The final third of book was probably where the story hit the hardest and I started to feel the story pull its own weight. And despite some of the petty drama aspects I alluded to, the book did also explore (to varying degrees) serious topics such as drug addiction, depression, grief, misogyny/slut-shaming, and there was even a bit of commentary race and class (though far less of it than I wished there had been, but maybe that’s just my ethnic studies background speaking).

My disappointment in the main couple aside, the supporting characters’ story arcs and relationship dynamics were comparatively more engaging and interesting to me, especially those of Dustin and Kimmie. Another point in this book’s favor: Anna, a teen girl, unapologetically owns her sexuality, is shown taking initiative in sex, and sex isn’t treated with kid gloves. I’m actually fairly surprised by how explicit some of the scenes were; it was not your usual figurative language-laden, fade to black kind of fare.

I guess if I had one more comment/critique to add, it’s that this book was overwhelmingly heteronormative (and completely cisnormative; there was no mention of trans people even existing). There were three named queer characters, one with a more important role than the other two and one that made zero actual appearances, and a few unnamed queer characters mentioned once in passing (they were literally referred to as “gays,” which, coming from an author who is as far as I know, straight, was kind of off-putting to read?). However, the overarching framing of the narrative was completely focused on the m/f relationships and gender dynamics, so the commentary on patriarchy and misogyny lacked nuance.
In conclusion: I didn’t hate the story, but I ultimately didn’t love it either, though I wanted to. It might just be a taste thing.