Great look at the characters and their surrounding lives from The Great Gatsby. Fills I’m the past story of Jay and Daisy, Jordan’s golfing life, and how everything finally led up to the death of Myrtle. Great read for book clubs.

Because everyone in my book club loved The Great Gatsby, we were eager to read this feminist version. Chapters were short, each told from a different viewpoint, so the book moved quickly and was very engaging. We all decided that this would be a very different book if the reader was unfamiliar with Gatsby -- though it might still have been interesting, just different. We had such expectations for familiar characters that it was good that Cantor had introduced two new characters -- Catherine, Myrtle's sister, and the Detective investigating the truth behind Gatsby's death for Meyer Wolfsheim. This is a very modern tale, not really from the mindset of the 20s -- and the female characters are more like modern women than period pieces. We didn't agree on whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. It is Gatsby's character who is most changed from the original, and a few of us found that unacceptable -- but we kept reading anyway.
Cantor is a gifted writer, able to reveal character in subtle ways, so it was easy to keep chart tees straight and follow the intricate plate she has constructed. Her writing style is much simpler than Fitzgerald's original -- more accessible vocabulary, less figurative language, more action.

Jillian Cantor, you have a new fan. The Great Gatsby is my all-time favorite book and I loved that Beautiful Little Fools shines a light on the women who were in Jay Gatsby's life and their lives leading up to the day that he was shot dead. The chapters alternate perspectives between Daisy Buchanan, her best friend Jordan Baker, and Catherine McCoy the sister of Myrtle Wilson, and interspersed along the way are chapters from the perspective of the detective hired to investigate who really killed Gatsby. Making appearances throughout the story are Tom Buchanan, Nick Carraway, and George Wilson.

I loved traveling back to the 1920s as Daisy and Gatsby initially meet and imagines Daisy's life in between the time her and Gatsby are reunited in West Egg. Jordan's arc to me felt the strongest as she struggles with her identity. The liberty Cantor took in adding in new information was refreshing as she brought a classic story into modern times. If you enjoyed The Great Gatsby, I think you will enjoy Beautiful Little Fools and I highly recommend reading it.

"I hope she'll be a fool -- that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool." - Daisy Buchanan, The Great Gatsby

Big Little Lies meets the Great Gatsby in this forthcoming novel by Jillian Cantor, out everywhere January 4th, 2022. BEAUTIFUL LITTLE FOOLS is a glittering feminist reimagining of the Great Gatsby that expands upon the most prominent female characters in the original and turns the story into a big whodunit murder mystery.

Who really killed Jay Gatsby?

Was it....

Daisy? A classy debutante who always seems to attract the wrong guy.

Jordan? The ambitious tennis player that has a secret and will do anything to keep it.

Catherine? The fiercely independent suffragette and Myrtle's sister.

This historical fiction reimagining kept me turning the page as all three women found themselves in Gatsby's web. Cantor blossomed these one dimensional characters in the original into complex and developed characters in BEAUTIFUL LITTLE FOOLS. It is probably a challenge to reimagine the Gatsby story, but Cantor does so flawlessly -- it is the perfect companion to the original. It's atmospheric, thought provoking, and consuming.

I look forward to sharing this title with our audience and will keep it as a serious contender for a monthly book pick for our organization's book club.

Thank you to Harper Perennial and NetGalley for an advanced copy of BEAUTIFUL LITTLE FOOLS in exchange for an honest review.

At first I wasn’t sure where the story was going with the characters. It seemed very piecemeal. But then there was that one crucial point where it all makes sense.

From there, the story grew even bigger. I loved how everything got pieces together. I didn’t really care for the male characters, but their personality traits flowed great with the storyline.

You need not have read The Great Gatsby to thoroughly enjoy Beautiful Little Fools, although I had and it certainly added to the delightful experience. Jillian Cantor's imaginative retelling of the familiar story from the points of view of the female characters and the fleshing out of their backstories felt fresh and modern, even thought it was set in the 19-teens and twenties. By alternating the narration of each chapter, the book read like a mystery/thriller as Cantor uncovered plot twists and beautifully maintained the pacing that had me speeding through to the very last page. I am very much looking forward to recommending this book widely and am certain that will appeal to a full range of readers!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for the opportunity to read this ARC and provide an honest review.

Beautiful Little Fools was an empowering story about the women in the world of The Great Gatsby. I thought it was very creative for the author to frame the story as a whodunnit surrounding Gatsby’s murder. The story follows Daisy, Jordan, Myrtle, Catherine, and the detective trying to get to the bottom of this case. I loved learning more about these women as actual women rather than the objects they were to the men. I especially enjoyed Jordan’s backstory as a queer woman living in an unaccepting time. This secret drove a lot of the plot and fueled the ending. I also enjoyed the depths of Daisy and Jordan’s friendship that were explored. All of these women were progressive and powerful and desperate to escape the man’s world that they were trapped in. This narrative allowed the reader to understand the actions of these women in The Great Gatsby, especially Daisy. While one may see Daisy as heartless at the end of Gatsby, that is not the case with Beautiful Little Fools.

Due to the feminism of the novel, the men were heavily villainized. I agree that the men in The Great Gatsby were all monstrous in some way and treated women as objects they could manipulate and control. However I didn’t like how cruel Gatsby was in this rendition. This was especially highlighted when Gatsby forcefully tries to advance his relationship with Daisy by his pool. Despite Daisy’s pleas, he didn’t stop until they were interrupted. I really didn’t like this because I am a Gatsby fan. He was certainly blinded by love and I’m not saying he wouldn’t have taken these actions had The Great Gatsby been written today but I always took his love to be genuine, pure, and desperate. Out of his deep love for Daisy, I don’t think Gatsby would have acted this way towards her or threatened her friends how he did in this story. I understand that it aided in proving how awful these men were but I specifically didn’t like this side of Gatsby.

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel. I loved the allusions to The Great Gatsby throughout, even the allusion to the movie soundtrack with the phrase “young and beautiful” being utilized. I also thought it was a great feminist take on the classic, specifically when certain scenes from The Great Gatsby were rewritten and explained through the lens of one of these women. The title alone holds so much power because in the end Daisy realizes that she doesn’t want her daughter to be the fool she was, she wants her to be powerful and free. Give Beautiful Little Fools a read if you want to delve further into the world of Gatsby!

This is by far my favorite Jillian Cantor novel. The female characters, their strength and voices are amazingly spectacular! Beautiful Little Fools is a murder mystery that is eloquently written and will leave you with a smirk, smile and feeling pleased.
Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I approached Beautiful Little Fools with some trepidation but was quickly captured by the feminine/feminist slant. A retelling of The Great Gatsby's main events told from the viewpoint of Daisy, Jordan, and Catherine (Myrtle's sister) took some chops, and a load of talent. Well done, Ms. Cantor, well done.

BEAUTIFUL LITTLE FOOLS is a smart and entertaining read that serves as a worthwhile companion to the Fitzgerald classic. The premise, telling The Great Gatsby from the females' perspective, is noteworthy and, for the most part, well-executed.

At times, the dialogue, particularly conversations between Daisy and Gatsy, don't ring especially true, i.e. don't seem to match up with how they speak in the original. However, I'm sure it was a real challenge for the author and I admire the attempt. Perhaps I am being too picky.

I very much enjoyed the story and the addition of a mystery gives the narrative new life and a fresh feel.

Recommended for fans of The Great Gatsby and historical fiction.

The Great Gatsby is such an amazing work of art that it takes a special person to even attempt to author a companion piece. The majority fail. Jillian Cantor, however, has wrote a masterful piece that lets us into the hearts and minds of the four main women in Gatsby. While the original in itself was beautiful, this book sheds more light on why they acted the way they did and what drove their actions. While it's an imaginary piece and may not be exactly what Fitzgerald thought while writing Gatsby, it still holds its own as a beautiful imaginative book that takes you right back to the 20's.

Daisy, Myrtle, Catherine and Jordan all know Jay Gatsby in various ways. Jay is still in love with Daisy, who's unfortunately now married to Tom. Tom is a serial cheater and currently has a married lover of his own, Myrtle. Myrtle is trapped in an abusive marriage of her own, and her sister Catherine tries to find a way to get her out. And Jordan is Daisy's life long best friend. A golf pro hiding an explosive secret of her own. When Jay Gatsby is found dead in his pool in the summer of 1922, a detective is hired to find out exactly what happened to him. Finding a single diamond hairpin in the trees by the pool, the detective follows each woman in an attempt to find out which one if any killed him and why.

A beautiful romp through Fitzgerald's Gilded Age with a murder mystery thrown in for good measure, this read is an exquisite addition to The Great Gatsby story. Using language a bit easier to read than the original Gatsby, this just may make this story more accessible to those who don't love the original Gatsby. Told in alternating voices of each character, every chapter is necessary and easy to follow. This book will make you pick up Gatsby again, or dive in for the first time. Reading it, however, isn't necessary to love this book right on its own. I adored every single page, and loved to watch each woman find her strength as the story progressed. Five HUGE stars. This gem drops January 4, 2022.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

Thank you to NetGalley, Jillian Cantor, and Harper Perennial for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Beautiful Little Fools should be read with Fitzgerald's classic in every literature class! This feminist point of view of the women in Gatsby was far better than the men's!

The Great Gatsby but through the lens of the female characters and with a murder mystery angle? Sign me up!! This is probably one of the best books I’ve read in a while. Cantor pulls you back into Fitzgerald’s Gilded Age where you follows 3 main characters Daisy, Jordan, Myrtle’s sister Catherine with occasional chapters from the perspective of the detective working to solve the case. The book starts before the events of the Great Gatsby so you learn a lot about the relationship between some of the characters which helps to understand some of there motives. Trust me, all 3 characters have a motive.

This book does a great job in sticking to the original story, but expanding the world and characters in a way that fit them which is truly made me not want to put this one down. Cantor shows readers the experience of some women in the 1920s and ideas of power and gender. When reading this, make sure to check the trigger warnings since there are intense depictions of domestic violence.

I’m so excited to read this one again when it comes out officially! Please do yourself a favor and pick up this book!!

Thanks to Harpers Perennial and Netgalley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I look forward to recommending this book to readers who enjoy sophisticated stories that feature complex characters who are navigating the everyday challenges of family life, romance, money, careers, and aging. Realistic situations, fascinating characters, and a well-paced plot make this such a pleasure to read..

Beautiful Little Fools by Jillian Cantor is a wonderful historical fiction novel that takes several fascinating women from The Great Gatsby and gives us their own story. I loved it!

This is such a great and engaging book. I will always remember reading The Great Gatsby in high school and have a special place in my heart for the novel, so I knew I had to read this book due to its association to it.

I loved how she took three female characters: Daisy, Jordan, and Catherine and presented the story in alternating viewpoints/chapters and allowed it all to unfold piece by piece. There were characters and bits of information that were traditional and some a bit new, but it all came together flawlessly to give us the insight into these complex and fascinating women associated with the classic novel.

The characters were well-written, the attention to detail, superb, and the novel itself was flawlessly executed. I loved everything about it.

5/5 stars

Thank you NG and Harper Perennial for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 1/4/22.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this amazing book. Beautiful Little Fools is an amazing journey into the women of The Great Gatsby. I love this book!!! Jillian Cantor is an amazing author and frankly, one of my favorites so naturally I was thrilled when I was able to read this so early! To be honest, I didn't read Gatsby and wasn't impressed by the movie. This book I completely enjoyed. The characters are deliciously flawed and oh so human. This is a book I am giving to my daughter as she loves Gatsby, the book and movie, and I am buying an actual book for my library as I will absolutely read this one again.

A retelling of The Great Gatsby's main events told from the viewpoint of three women - Daisy, Jordan, and Catherine (Myrtle's sister). This a well executed novel which gives the females from Fitzgerald's work more history, more personality and more agency than the original work. Highly recommend!

An interesting take on the Great Gatsby by focusing on the women in the story. While it did not provide any real insight into the authors perspective, it was a fun read that makes one want to go back and re read a classic.

Daisy, Jordan, and Myrtle's sister Catherine share their own points of view in alternating chapters in the years leading up to (and through) the events of The Great Gatsby. A detective named Frank has chapters that take place right after Gatsby's murder (uh, spoiler?) as he tries to figure out who killed him and why.

I really loved the voices of all three women--two we are familiar with and one new. The struggle to define oneself as a woman is a prevalent theme explored throughout. I rooted for them and ached for them, while being incredibly impressed that Cantor created an original and believable backstory for a classic we know so well.

Nitpick: the story's language is very straightforward and plain, lacking Fitzgerald's dreamy nuance and stunning metaphors. These characters deserve a richly described world and I was missing that.

Still, Beautiful Little Fools is not to be missed. These characters are so close to my heart and I relish any opportunity to revisit them in a new and interesting way.

So many authors have tinkered with THE GREAT GATSBY, but most have failed, until Jillian Cantor. She got it right, very right, when she extrapolated the female stories from the novel. Oh, she made me reread GATSBY and helped me understand interesting new interpretations of the dynamics of the characters.

Her portrait of Jordan Baker was especially intriguing. It was perfectly written and made so much sense in light of the novel. I enjoyed placing the new Jordan in the novel. I loved the character of Catherine, since she was able to shed so much light on GATSBY.

Obviously, both this and the original are both fiction, there is no way to know the backstories of the characters, but Cantor has brought them to life.

I found this book hard to put down and I loved fleshing out even superficial characters in the book.

Thank you Netgalley for such a thought provoking novel.