** Received ARC from NetGallery in exchange for my honest review **

This book is good for any fan of The Great Gatsby, I just probably wouldn’t recommend it to a die-hard who is a stickler for the canon text. I say that because obviously the author has shown a different colored light on the characters we know. And that could be good or bad, depending on how you feel. I personally liked the testing of my opinions on them. Like after reading this book, I now see Jay & Nick very differently. But I loved diving into the lives of the women in this story who felt almost like abstract forces that propelled the men & didn’t have their own deeper thoughts & emotions.
Overall, I enjoyed this story. I love getting a new view of the story thanks to the fact we are seeing it through the ladies’ eyes. Also who doesn’t a murder mystery with girl power. It was like a 1920s Big Little Lies.

**Many thanks to NetGalley, Harper Perennial, and Jillian Cantor for an ARC of this book!**

Who shot J.G.?

No, Dallas fans, that isn't a typo...the victim here is none other than Jay Gatsby.

Intrigue, gossip, sex, scandal, and heartbreak all simmer in this re-imagined murder mystery version of the Great Gatsby...can YOU figure out whodunnit?

Those familiar with Gatsby might know some of the names...but how well do you know the women?

Daisy Buchanan, the southern belle and unreachable object of Jay's attention after a rendezvous long ago, ends up marrying Tom Buchanan after family tragedy leaves her vulnerable... but BEFORE finding out her rich and handsome prince has a wandering eye that just can't stand still. Her best friend Jordan is a budding golf superstar with secrets of her own...just how far COULD she go to protect her own truth? Meanwhile, while pining for Daisy, Jay has become entangled with suffragette Catherine in New York City, and Catherine's sister is an unfortunate romantic entanglement of her own. ALL of these women are strong, bold, and potentially motivated to rid the world of one Jay Gatsby. And when a mysterious diamond hairpin is found at the scene of the crime by detective Frank, this crime is no longer chalked up to a murder-suicide committed by George...but which one of these femmes is a true femme fatale?

I haven't opened The Great Gatsby since high school, but that did not deter me whatsoever from picking this one up..and I am SO grateful for that! From page one, Cantor had me hook, line, and sinker, drawn back to the bustling (and roaring) 20s, effortlessly moving from POV to POV and learning all there was to learn about these incredible women. Of course, there is so much room here for development and creativity, because aside from Daisy, no other women from Gatsby stuck in my mind. This was a tale ripe for retelling, and I absolutely loved the angles Cantor explored. This novel has all the hallmarks of a classic whodunnit, the gasp-a-minute salaciousness of a gossip column, the heart-wrenching push and pull of a romance gone wrong, all wrapped neatly in a historical fiction package that kept me enthralled from beginning to end.

Even a slight borrow from Dirty Dancing ("And I'm afraid of leaving this room and never feeling the way I feel right now, ever again in my whole entire life.") couldn't kill my buzz on this one (and let's face it, that probably endeared me more than anything else anyway!) I rarely dabble in historical fiction, but something about this eye-catching cover and clever premise caught my attention...and I'm so thrilled to say held it from beginning to end, old sport. So grab a Gin Rickey (or a G&T, if you so prefer) and be ready to be fooled...in the best possible way!

4 stars

This re-telling of The Great Gatsby from the voices of three women in Fitzgerald's American classic does more than just shift the perspective of the story - it reimagines the world of Jay Gatsby and the Gilded Age as a modern day whodunnit - who really killed Gatsby and why? Three women - Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker and Catherine Wilson - all have secrets of their own and ultimately make their own pact to keep their truths to themselves as a path to self-preservation, with some obvious parallels to Big Little Lies. Greed, betrayal, love, and adultery were all elements of Fitgerald's novel but in this version, these forces take a modern day twist with the women empowered to determine their own destinies. While most of the men in this story are easy to despise, Detective Frank Charles, a relentless sleuth with financial incentives of his own to find the truth, is a perfect foil to the superficial men and women in Gatsby's world - and in the end, the perfect character for us readers to root for in his search for the truth. This engrossing novel was more thought-provoking on every level than I expected when I began reading it - I could not put it down until the very last page. Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Great Gatsby is one of the great American novels. It's technically perfect, not a word out of place, succinct, evocative, beautiful. However, Jillian Cantor's novel, Beautiful Little Fools, demonstrates that even a perfect novel leaves room for reinterpretation, for the offering of other possibilities and solutions.
Beautiful Little Fools has often been called a "retelling." I don't find this an accurate categorization of this novel, which doesn't take Fitzgerald's characters and place them in new contexts, new settings, and new situations. Instead, everything that happens in Cantor's novel, whether before, during, or after the events of the original story, fit within the parameters of Fitzgerald's masterpiece. Instead, Cantor's is a novel of filling in the gaps. One wouldn't expect there to be "gaps" in Fitzgerald's novel, and there aren't, not really, but that's what makes Cantor's work so brilliant. She finds ways to rewrite explanations and backstories that don't argue with Nick's perspective. Instead, Cantor shows us that even an impartial, "within and without," reliable first-person narrator has a limited perspective and doesn't have all the answers. How could he?
Cantor tells her story from Daisy, Jordan, and Catherine's perspective, mostly, with interjections from Myrtle Wilson and the police officer investigating Gatsby's death in order to earn money from Gatsby's business partner, Wolfsheim. The novel begins in 1917, the year that Daisy meets Jay for the first time. From there, it takes us on a journey through the events that lead up to the plot of The Great Gatsby. Again, it doesn't retell anything--all the details fit in perfectly with what Fitzgerald created, all the characters' backstories, everything fits together and makes sense. There is a strong sense of urgency and suspense as the novel builds up to the moments of Nick's story.
The only thing I found a little irritating about Cantor's novel is that Jordan's being an LGBTQ character seems a bit cliche. She's the only female athlete, and she has a crush on her female best friend. These traits to me make it all seem a bit too obvious. In fact, when I first realized where Cantor was going with Jordan's story, I rolled my eyes and said, "Why?"
Overall, I thought this novel was excellent and did an impressive job of adding dimension to a story that seems (and still is) perfect as is. I commend Cantor for even attempting this novel, given the high esteem Americans hold The Great Gatsby in. It takes courage to tell a story like this, and the title and the depths of meaning for women highlight her goals and perspective even further.

Although I have never read "The Great Gatsby" or seen the movies, I was eager to read this retelling from the women's point of view because I love Jillian Cantor's writing. The book follows the lives of Daisy, her best friend Jordan and Catherine, a suffragette, from Daisy's initial meeting with Jay Gatsby as a young woman to the aftermath of his murder. Jillian Cantor vividly captures the restrictive roles society placed on women in the early 1920's whether they have wealth or not. The established world of men being the dominant figure whether in business or relationships is evident by not only Tom, Daisy's unfaithful husband, but also by the obsessive manipulation's Jay Gatsby carries out to possess Daisy completely. I think this novel would lead to some lively discussions among book clubs especially those who loved the original classic!

I LOVED this book. I am huge fan of the Great Gatsby. For years, I have wanted to hear from the female characters. Perfect story empowering women in a captivating way.

I thoroughly enjoyed Beautiful Little Fools, a retelling of The Great Gatsby from the point of view of the women. Brilliantly depicts the limited options available to women in the early 20th century, especially those who were "gently bred." Cantor illuminates the Fitzgerald quote "Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me." While none of the characters were particularly likeable, the book kept my interest, and I was left with the same sense of loss in the end that I experienced after first reading The Great Gatsby,

I re-read “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald recently for the first time since high school lit. I was really feeling the Gatsby references in Taylor Swift’s music most specifically the line “I hope she’ll be your beautiful fool” in the song “happiness” and love exploring what drives other’s inspiration. It felt like it was meant to be when I received this ARC from Harper Perennial through NetGalley.

When I first heard of this book, I knew I had to read it! How clever to pull from Daisy’s line in the original book to use it as an underlying feature in telling the stories of the three women—Daisy, Jordan, and Catherine! It was incredibly well-written with clear imagery and powerful emotion. The author provided such a deep dive into the emotions, experiences, relationships, and stories of the women of “The Great Gatsby” which really made the whole story feel more rich.

If you’re the type to enjoy having stories told from the viewpoint of characters other than the main narrator, this is absolutely the book for you! It gave me even more than I was looking for! Even if I hadn’t read “The Great Gatsby” recently, there is enough detail provided to enjoy it on its own. The alternative take on the ending was a puzzle I didn’t even know I was trying to solve throughout. What a great read!

i’m losing faith in humanity. we had the story of the Great Gatsby set up as a murder mystery from the perspectives of the women.

and yet we still managed to screw it over 👏

So I think I’m just gonna break my traditional review structure and mash everything together because anyone who’s read the Great Gatsby knows these characters, and it takes away from the mystery if I say too much about the plot.

SO HERE WE GO:

As much as I absolutely admired Fitzgerald’s original Great Gatsby, the women never really got a voice. Everything was told through Nick’s perspective, and the main focus was on Jay Gatsby. Daisy and Myrtle were constantly sexualized, and Jordan and Catherine were constantly dismissed.
So in that respect, I love how this book gives those women agency, showing how Daisy, Jordan, and Catherine each have their own struggles and joys and traumas and past and life.

However, with that being said, I really didn’t like how the characterizations swung to extremes. In the original, all the women were desired and objectified. In this version, all the men were flat and villainized.
Case in point: throughout the story, there are eight named men with roles of varying importance.
and interestingly, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM WAS A LUSTFUL SELFISH MANIPULATOR.
like I know there are a lot of wicked men in the world, but not ALL of them are trash, and certainly not all of them struggle with being lustful selfish manipulators.

like if we’re gonna have trash, let’s at least have some variety 🙄

The most annoying thing about this villainization was that it made all the men cardboard flat. They had no lives outside of being jerks to the MCs. It ruined any sense of mystery or intrigue and certainly destroyed any of my desire to learn more about any of them.
I mean, I was bloody curious about Tom Buchanan’s childhood in the original, and for like 98% of this book I was just like OMIGOSH LOCK THIS PERVERT UP.

I’ve always loved trying to imagine the stories behind all the Great Gatsby characters. If you think about it, they were all mysteries. Nick was the plainest and least involved with their drama, and that’s why he made such a good narrator. Just like us, he came into this world of wealth and power and wine without any backstory. Everyone was a mystery. Their power plays, their sins, their loves, we didn’t know any of it.
But in this one, the women had all their stories laid out, and the men were so hecking obvious that any subtlety was yeeted in .02193 seconds.

In the end, I didn’t bloody care about any of the plot or any of the characters.

and as we readers all know, being dead boring is the absolute worst thing a book can be.

I don’t think there’s a single student who attended public school in the US in the last sixty years that didn’t have The Great Gatsby assigned to them at some point. My first encounter with the novel was in high school (the essay assignment we had was part of what decided me once and for all on majoring in English in college) but I became most intimately acquainted with it as part of my foundational literary theory class my sophomore year when our main textbook Critical Theory Today used The Great Gatsby as a consistent means of illustrating how to apply the different critical theories to a text. With such a long and deep history with The Great Gatsby, I suppose it isn’t surprising that I was drawn to the description for Jillian Cantor’s upcoming Beautiful Little Fools. Approaching the infamous novel from the perspective of the female characters, Cantor’s novel presents an alternative series of events to Nick’s version in the original – an alternative that gives the young women the depth and complexity they deserve, exposing the harsh realities of living as women in a world so largely dominated and manipulated by men.

Though the death of Jay Gatsby seems like an open and shut case, one of Gatsby’s influential acquaintances isn’t convinced. He asks a detective to take another look and figure out what really happened. So, Detective Frank Charles goes back over the case and decides that he might need to talk to a few witnesses again – namely Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and Catherine McCoy. But there’s so much more to each woman’s story than just what happened that fateful August day in 1922 when Jay Gatsby was discovered shot to death in his pool. Their stories start much earlier in 1917 when each young woman first meets him as a soldier preparing to go to war overseas – and living a lifetime in his absence that changes each forever.

When writing in and around something established – especially something as famous as The Great Gatsby – it can be tricky to get the feeling of everything right. In many ways, Cantor’s approach of telling the story from the women’s perspectives helps to avoid some of the biggest obstacles. With the original novel told from Nick’s point of view, there are plenty of gaps for Cantor to comfortably maneuver within. Off-hand comments and allusions to the different characters’ backstories are beautifully fleshed out, giving a great deal more nuance to the likes of Daisy and Jordan who can come across as passive and vapid in the original novel (in part because that’s how the male characters tend to view and treat them within the text). Cantor’s backstories for these women fit quite nicely within the parameters of the original novel, though it gets a little rougher and forced once it reaches the point where it catches up to the events of The Great Gatsby itself. While I enjoyed how she reframed so many iconic interactions and was able to show how all it takes is a different character’s perspective to color a scene in a completely new light, there was at least one glaring omission from the source material that felt like it was left out because it would undermine the angle she was going with for her versions of Daisy and Gatsby (an iconic scene involving Gatsby’s extensive wardrobe). I appreciated her versions of these characters and they do feel plausible based on much of the original text, but that and other omissions leave the impression of it being shakier than I’d like (for instance, we never see one of Gatsby’s famous parties in an extended first-hand way, only short morning-after memories once or twice).

Perhaps the biggest risk that Cantor takes is with the character of Catherine, Myrtle Wilson’s sister. She is the one where the most liberties were taken (because she was the blankest canvas from the original novel) and the position in the story that Cantor gives her is vital for the story she’s telling to work. That said, I was more than happy to suspend my disbelief in the convenience of her because of how much I enjoyed her as a character. Though each of the women seeks freedom and security, the form it takes is so different for each and Catherine’s version was the most recognizable and relatable to me personally. Actually, ‘happy to suspend my disbelief’ probably sums up my whole feeling toward this novel. It isn’t subtle about what it’s trying to do and sometimes it’s a little too convenient, but I found it to be an enjoyable ride and worthwhile exercise that, ultimately, fits nicely alongside the original novel’s examination of deceptive hope and the American dream.

Beautiful Little Fools will be available February 1, 2022.

A female forward expansion of one of the defining books of the 20th century. Just when you think that you know the story of “Gatsby”, this book is sure to blow your mind.

MV Rating: 6/10
•The story follows familiar Daisy & Jordan, and newcomer Catherine over a five year period around Gatsby’s death.
• These women have more to say than Fitzgerald ever thought, and their friendships and growth are both juicy and complex.
•As with the original story, tension is a huge main character as well. As detectives continue to investigate whether they have the whole story on Gatsby, these women discover truths about themselves that change everything.

A very positive addition to the original story, thank you Netgalley and Harper-Collins for the ARC access!

I was definitely nervous going into this one. Taking on a classic is a bold move, but Jillian Cantor nailed it with Beautiful Little Fools.

**If you haven't read The Great Gatsby, this will definitely contain spoilers**

QUICK TAKE: A new spin on the classic, The Great Gatsby, told from the perspectives of Daisy, Jordan and Myrtle's sister Catherine as a detective decides to take a deeper look into Gatsby's murder after further evidence leads him to believe it was not an open and shut case.

I adored this book. The Great Gatsby is one of my all-time favorites and this one has me rethinking basically everything about it. I loved seeing the story from the women's point-of-view and I enjoyed the deeper dive into the character's backstories as well as the aftermath of Gatsby's death. It's been awhile since I've read it, but I feel the telling of events in this line up pretty well with the events in the original. The creative liberties taken by the author were mostly with the women's thoughts and interpretations of the events which I felt only further enhanced the overall story.

I'd definitely recommend this one, but fair warning for Gatsby lovers - this may make you rethink Gatsby as the tragic hopeless romantic. This also gave off similar vibes to Big Little Lies, so if you were a fan of that one you should definitely read this too.

FINAL THOUGHT: 👍

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Perennial for the advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review!

A retelling of The Great Gatsby but from the alternating voices of the women.
Cantor has reimagined the story with a focus on the women and their role in the life of Jay Gatsby.
It’s a bit of a mystery, and full of the decadence of the 1920’s and characters who are much more complex than they seem.
Really well written and thoroughly enjoyable. Now I need to go back and read the original..

3/5 ⭐️ for BEAUTIFUL LITTLE FOOLS by Jillian Cantor
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Thanks to @harperperennial for an eARC! Beautiful Little Fools is 2/3 prequell, 1/3 retelling of The Great Gatsby through the lens of the women in the story. It follows Daisy Buchanan, her friend Jordan, and Mabel Wilson’s suffragette sister (a new character), all tied together by one man: Jay Gatsby. It begins and ends with his murder, and the question the author poses is: what if Wilson didn’t kill him? What if it was a woman?
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I was definitely intrigued to see how it worked out, although I had my suspicions of which woman killed him in the beginning and was right in the end. The chapters follow the 3 women as they grow up, how they each are involved with Gatsby, and eventually how they connect to the events of the classic novel. There are also chapters from the perspective of the detective investigating Gatsby’s murder, although they were were few and far between and didn’t add much except an extra layer of intrigue.
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I liked Daisy and Jordan getting their own time to shine as they aren’t super developed in TGG/their main roles were as love interests. The biggest revisionist aspect is in the portrayal of Gatsby. Here, he is not a lovelorn man desperately trying to recreate the past and reach his version of the American Dream; he is possessive(not simply obsessive), manipulative, and callous. Really, aside from the detective and Jordan’s father, all the men in this book are horrid, manipulative, possessive, self-serving creeps. While die hard fans might not like the author “messing with” the original novel, we not only get well rounded female characters, but a wider look at what the American Dream and freedom means for the women in the story
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I thought the detective chapters somewhat unnecessary, and the last 1/3 or so retelling TGG felt rushed. Gatsby’s machinations sometimes veered too far into unbelievable or caricature-ish for me. I also take issue with the fact that not only was one of Tom’s affairs with a minor, but it was also one of the more graphic sex scenes in the book. We already understand at that point in the book how much of a rotten dirtbag he is, so I felt it unnecessary. Ultimately I feel like just wasn’t the perfect book for me. I didn’t fully enjoy/love it per se, but I can appreciate what it adds back into the literary/academic conversation surrounding classic novels.

TW: familial death (parents and sibling), infidelity, homophobia (more implied than outright said), domestic abuse, attempted sexual assault, infertility, cancer, sexual content (mainly poetic or implied/fade to black but a couple more graphic scenes including with a minor)

My first book of Jillian Cantor's--have already added others to my tbr list.
Richly imagined, vividly told. A creative & original re-imagining of events from the beloved The Great Gatsby.
Told primarily via three different character's interrelated stories & perspectives, the pacing and voices are unique and true to each character.
The story documents the female characters' varying struggles--interesting that it takes place one hundred years ago and many of these issues [power, control, independence, domestic violence] are still prevalent today.
I now need to go back & re-read the original.
Gorgeous cover!
With great thanks to NetGalley & HarperPerennial for this much-anticipated ARC!

I have to start by saying that The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite classic novels of all time. I was instantly drawn to the premise of a reimagining of this literary masterpiece as told by three different female characters, but I was also nervous that any author would try to expand on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel. Jillian Cantor absolutely rose to the challenge and gave us a fully fleshed out reimagining worthy of reading.

As any reader of the classic knows, Jay Gatsby is fatally shot outside of his West Egg mansion by George Wilson, who then kills himself after the loss of his wife, Myrtle. But is that really what happened to the enigmatic Gatsby? This novel focuses on the three women who might know a little more about Gatsby’s final moments: his first love Daisy Buchanan, her best friend Jordan Baker, and Myrtle’s sister Catherine McCoy. It turns out all three women have a reason to want Gatsby dead, but who ultimately pulled the trigger? And how did they all come to be involved with Gatsby?

Can we also talk about the title? What a smart choice to pull one of Daisy’s most quotable lines for a novel focused on the women at the center of The Great Gatsby. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and appreciated the opportunity to re-examine my thoughts on Gatsby himself, the tragedy that surrounded him, and the themes evoked in the classic. Thank you to Harper Perennial and Netgalley for providing me with this ARC.

This reimaging of the women of The Great Gatsby mixes inspiration from the classic novel with new, interesting perspective.

I am admittedly pretty familiar with the storyline of The Great Gatsby from reading it in high school and again in college, then highlighting Daisy as part of my undergrad thesis. So I was incredibly interested to see what author Jillian Cantor would do by exploring the point-of-view of Daisy and Jordan, who some readers will recognize, and new characters Catherine (Myrtle's sister) and a Detective looking into Gatsby's death.

I loved how the story was part retelling of what led up to and what came after the original novel, part mystery with the murder investigation and part historical fiction storyline exploring women navigating the Jazz age. It's because of this multi-layered storytelling that I would feel confident saying that you don't need to enjoy or know anything about The Great Gatsby to still really enjoy this book!

The audiobook boasts a full cast to narrate the POVs, with my favorite narrator Julia Whelan accompanied by Cassandra Campbell, Elizabeth Evans, Brittany Pressley and George Newbern. Highly recommend listening to this, it was incredibly well-done!

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Perennial and Harper Audio for the advanced copy and the opportunity to share my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really love The Great Gatsby and enjoyed visiting these characters again. It is primarily the three female characters Daisy, Jordan and an additional character, Catherine, Myrtle Wilson's sister. Without altering the original work it delves further into the details of their lives and background fillers. I found that the most enjoyable part of Beautiful Little Fools and wish there hadn't been details that changed the character of Jay Gastby. I still enjoyed it!

Who murdered Jay Gatsby? As Detective Frank Charles tries to unravel the mystery of Jay Gatsby’s death, the principal characters of the story are the women who surrounded him, all of whom have secrets and lies about their relationship with Gatsby. Entertaining, fast paced read. Definitely will recommend this book.

I re-read the Great Gatsby before reading this one (highly recommend as it's a fast and easy read) which helped a lot with context. I think one of the reasons people love TGG is that there are so many things you're left wondering - the book sticks with you. You know you are only seeing things through Nick's perspective, and there are things happening when he's not there. He's also not the most reliable narrator as he has his own biases. So mostly it was very satisfying to read Beautiful Little Fools - it filled in a lot of those missing pieces and showed the story from other characters' perspectives - primarily the female characters. So from a plot perspective I really enjoyed it, and it filled in most of those gaps. I had a really different take on TGG this time compared to when I read it in high school/college, and as an adult, I didn't really see the love story between Gatsby and Daisy the way the movies make it look. So BLF was satisfying in this way too - instead of a great love, there's a teenage crush, an unhealthy obsession, and a grown-up ambivalence. The only downside to reading this is that the dialogue can be stilted at times - some of the charming dialogue from TGG (all the "old sports" etc) turns a little cheesy in this context. But I do love how the author took Jordan, who is an intriguing, but kind of unlikable character in TGG and transformed her into someone much more interesting.