This was super easy to get through. I liked the art style even though at times it felt a bit rushed. There were several times I felt a bit lost, but this was my first ever introduction into The Great Gatsby. Overall, really enjoyed it!

The story in itself is a well know classic but having a graphic novel adaptation makes it more accessible to a wider audience. I felt that this story was a lot easier to read in this version.
The character design and style were not very complex, and I found that while their bodies were very expressive, their faces were not, and I didn’t love that.
On the other hand, I really felt like the color choices fit the narrative perfectly. Having previously read The Great Gatsby, I had always felt like the story had a slow hazy yellow tinge to it and that was exactly what they used here. The light blues and the yellows were a great choice in my opinion. I also thought the use of reds to represent the moments that disrupted Nick’s life was a really smart choice.
Overall, I really enjoyed this graphic novel. I think it’s a great way to read a classic.

Full disclosure: I have never read The Great Gatsby in its entirety. That being said, I really enjoyed this graphic novel adaptation provided to me by NetGalley.

This, unfortunately, fell extremely flat for me. Let me start off by saying that in my final year of college, I learned how to teach The Great Gatsby to high schoolers, I also taught the book to Juniors for the first time in that same year- so I have a profound attachment and absolutely love The Great Gatsby and all it has to offer. I empathize that this is a graphic novel so obviously in order to keep it at a decent length, they had to cut much of it out and hope that the words and imagery work well with one another to tell the story in a different way. It just unfortunately did not do that for me. For much of the book I was left confused and it seemed like the text used in the graphic novel was placed randomly and if I did not know the story of The Great Gatsby, I would have been left extremely confused and wouldn't understand what's going on at all. I also just feel that the art is just a bit much at times, Daisy was actually a flower at one point and all I could do was shake my head. I appreciate the metaphor, but... no. Overall, I won't be purchasing a copy for my classroom library, but would encourage those already familiar with the story to read it for yourself and come to your own conclusions- who knows, I may be in the minority!

Many thanks again to Candlewick Press for an early copy in exchange for an honest review!

I love The Great Gatsby. It's one of my favorite novels to teach. Every time I reread it, I discover new things. While this graphic novel does a good job in conveying the most important plot points, the simple illustrations do not do justice to the Gatsby.

This graphic adaptation of Fitzgerald's Jazz Age classic hits all the beats of the novel’s plot and, while it isn’t quite able to carry all the richness of the symbolism and metaphor of the original, the illustrations add atmosphere and mood.

The palette of pastel yellows, terracottas, and lilacs fit the 1920’s setting of East and West Egg and Gatsby’s house and parties are evocatively brought to life, along with the famous green light. Woodman-Maynard recreates the “valley of ashes” where Tom Buchanan’s mistress lives with sickly grays and New York is washed in darker reds and blues.

The character illustrations, however, feel a little caricatured, perhaps deliberately: Nick has no definition, Gatsby’s jaw is absurdly square, and Tom looks like a Tintin villain, though the author deliberately avoids stereotyping Wolfsheim.

The author plays around with interesting placement of text, frequently using block capitals across parts of the scenery to share Nick’s commentary.

Gatsby is still read in high schools and this graphic adaptation might serve as a good introduction to students before they get immersed in the novel.

Thanks to Candlewick and Netgalley for the digital ARC.

As the author noted in his notes on this adaptation, he was trying to capture the feeling of the original. While that spirit is there as well as many of the ic ic lines, it doesn’t have the depth that the original had. While this would work as a great companion piece, I would not suggest it to use to understand the full depth of The Great Gatsby.

I loved the great Gatsby when I read it in highschool. I appreciate all versions of the movie. But I think that is where my appreciation wanes. This adaptation is beautifully illustrated but I feel like some of the story is lost. It does not have the richness of language that the book did, and the graphics take away the dazzle and give it a soft loving feeling instead of a bright excitement. Overall it’s not badly done, it’s just no for me.

The Great Gatsby was one of my favorite novels back in highschool English, so when I saw this ARC on @netgalley by @candlewickpress, I had to get it! It’s a great graphic novel adaptation of the classic, highlighting memorable lines from the original piece and capturing the atmosphere of the roaring twenties. I really liked the style of the art which also draws out some of the ongoing themes in the book. Definitely a book to have in your classroom library.

Everyone knows the classic. But no matter if you love the book or only vaguely remember it from your English class, this graphic novel adaptation will make you look at the story in a wholly different way. The art style fits the mood of the book perfectly, and the artistic interpretation of the well-known lines adds a whole new layer to the story. The adaptation stays faithful to the original text, but feels undeniably modern, managing to tell a graphic story with an unreliable narrator in a convincing and innovative way. The graphic novel manages to bring the feeling of the classic to the page; I loved it so so much!

I enjoyed this graphic novel adaption of The Great Gatsby a lot. I already knew and loved the story, and this was a fun way to revisit it. I think it’s simplified a little too much for people who haven’t read the original story to enjoy it as much, but I think it would still be a great read for them. The illustrations by Katherine Woodman-Maynard are gorgeous and give off a perfect 1920s vibe.

I love The Great Gatsby. I mean - it's been 7 years since I've read the book but I remember really enjoying it. This graphic novel adaptation was a bit off for me. The art is beautiful, I love the watercolor feel but the placement (and font) of the text was a bit off. Some of the quotes just seemed out of place or didn't make sense, I had to reread some of the pages a couple times to understand the context.
Overall - it's pretty but I wouldn't keep it on my shelf...

This is a beautifully illustrated adaptation of The Great Gatsby. It does not contain the full text of the novel, but does feature many of its iconic passages and is generally faithful to the source. The illustrations also capture the personality of the characters quite well.

In the classroom, I think this would be a very helpful companion for students who find the original novel challenging to understand.

As a lover of classic novels and graphic novels, this book fulfilled my love for both genres. The story is as compelling as ever and the illustrations are amazing. The illustrations depict the story-line very well.
I would recommend this to anyone who enjoyed any other graphic novel adaptions of other classics.

The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite classic stories, so when I saw this graphic novel I didn't hesitate to request it. I am glad I did. While the drawings in this book were different than your traditional graphic novel, they were beautiful non the less. I loved how narrated details were often written within the picture of the story instead of in a box, like those found in a superhero book. For example, on one page words are added to the side of the building. While apart of me would have liked to see bolder colors in this story, the pastels also work and I can see the appeal. One thing that did not appeal to me was the faces of the characters. I found that they often lacked emotion- thus taking away from the story. I did appreciate how the graphic novel remained true to the classic without exactly replicating it.

I remember having to read Gatsby in high school and then I ended up teaching the novel later on when I became a teacher myself. It is a staple in the high school classroom. I would have done a lot better as a student if I'd had this graphic novel version. It takes the most important parts of the story and illustrates them beautifully. It even includes some of the most important quotes. A very well-done adaptation of this classic novel.

The Great Gatsby: Graphic Novel Adaptation is exactly what the title says it is. This graphic novel takes F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic tale and transforms it into a visual form. If you have read the Great Gatsby I highly recommend reading this Garfield novel adaptation as it is a beautiful and new way to read the classic story. If you have somehow managed to not read The Great Gatsby and possibly have some hesitancy towards picking it up, I recommend taking this graphic novel route instead. You will be able to read the amazing story and get the. Wonderful additions of the artwork. Lastly, if you need to read the Great Gatsby for school, read the original and then come back for this graphic novel.

The artwork is different than I had expected it to be when I heard “Great Gatsby Graphic Novel,” but I do not mean that to be taken in a bad way. The watercolors create these delicate scenes and I love how each character is true to their descriptions from the original book. Another interesting detail I found to really enjoy where the different shaped word bubbles. It is not something I have seen done before, but I love how it helps give a tone to each character and their speech.

Overall this graphic novel was a great way to revisit a favorite story and I highly recommend it to anyone looking to read or reread The Great Gatsby.

I am not a huge fan of the story the Great Gatsby. I find the story incredibly vapid which I understand is part of the point but don’t enjoy. So, I was incredibly excited to see that there was a graphic novel version, not only for myself but for my students.

I feel like this story (with the outrageousness of the time and the fact that the characters are caricatures) naturally lends itself to the graphic novel format. I was excited for the subtleties I’d what’s going on in the background of panels, and I was also pumped for being able to have my students visually track the metaphors.

Unfortunately, none of that happened. This book fell far, far short of my expectations. The font was childish and somewhat difficult to read. Also, for the lavishness of the roaring 20s, this art was incredibly simple in terms of the fact that the colors were muted and there was no background action. Each page had one image and one small piece of the story. I would have liked the author to have multiple panels or maybe play with the space more so that we see the plot moved through background.

The sentences seemed to be all short, simple sentences. Which made this rather boring to read except for the quotes pulled directly from the book. This made much of the dialogue stinted and awkward.

I never felt like I got to know the characters as much as I did in the novel, and Nick’s unreliable narration doesn’t come through as much.

There was a severe lack of transitions which makes the already airy, vapid, and mildly confusing story unfollowable. The book moves so fast as to hardly make sense.

Perhaps this will be good for ELL students, but I will not be using it in my classroom.

This is my first time writing a review for a graphic novel, so it should be known that my rating is for the presentation and artwork rather than the original source material of The Great Gatsby.

The watercolors in this are absolutely beautiful. I've noticed that multiple graphic novels of The Great Gatsby are starting to be published, and I'm hoping that eventually, one will use the vibrant and extravagant artwork and colors that match with the facade Jay Gatsby puts on for everyone. This is not that novel, but I appreciated the colors and style all the same. Important quotes are presented in a unique way that helps them stand out on certain pages. Some of the symbolism and overall themes are presented in a way that could make them more accessible to struggling readers. I think some worthy analysis could be done of the color choices for the artwork in this text and how that matches the mood of certain scenes, as well.

Chapter 7 with the scene of Tom finding out that Myrtle is going West was done well; it chooses quotes that I think would help students focus on the significance of that scene without getting caught up in all of the language, which some students often find difficult. I also felt that Chapter 9 with the flashback of Gatsby and Daisy was particularly beautiful, and possibly one of my favorite scenes in this version of the text.

I think it's worth saying that this definitely isn't a replacement for the novel in a classroom setting. However, I do feel this would be a great supplemental text to have students compare to the original as well as other graphic novels of Gatsby. Truthfully, the author's note is what is most worth teaching. It is mentioned that Meyer Wolfshiem's depiction was changed to avoid the anti-Semitic caricature he is originally described as in the novel. This would be an easy way to help teachers discuss the problems of Fitzgerald's work. The author also explains their inspiration and reasoning for all of the artistic choices made, which could be valuable in showing young readers the choices that go into creating a novel or any work of art.

Overall, if you still teach The Great Gatsby, I recommend checking out this version.

This is my first reading of The Great Gatsby and knew little of the original when reading the graphic novel. I read the graphic novel through students’ eyes and was immediately drawn to the artwork. The artistry within this graphic novel is amazing and fits the time period so well. The art adds so much to the story. The story has a few surprises and events that will surprise students, but many (my students) may not understand the lives that are ready about. Students will probably have a hard time relating to the characters but most should be able to continue the story until the end. Once the title is released, it is something I will probably reread again at a slower pace and recommend it to students.