I’ve always loved THE GREAT GATSBY, but after one summer in Europe when it was the only book I had with me, I memorized large portions of it. So I had to read this companion book by Jillian Cantor that retells the story from the points of view of Daisy, Jordan, and Catherine (Myrtle’s sister), giving their back stories and expanding on their known plot lines.

For someone once so invested in the Gatsby, I might have expected to find fault in this novel, but really I can’t. It’s nearly perfect, starting with the absolutely gorgeous cover. Daisy is much more likable than she is in the original novel. In my younger years it was easy to recognize that Tom Buchanan was a selfish asshole but age has helped me see how manipulative and borderline creepy Jay Gatsby is. So Daisy is really trapped. The expansion of Catherine’s character adds a lot to the story, and emphasizes Myrtle’s vulnerability. Jordan has always been one of the more intriguing characters in Gatsby. I undecided about the storyline for her character; without giving anything away, there’s something sort of cliched about it.

I supposed some literary historians might object to this retelling of Fitzgerald’s classic novel, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. #BeautifulLittleFools #NetGalley

This was a really unique and very well written retelling of The Great Gatsby! I thought the author did a really good job with this retelling but still making the reader feel like they are in the original world of Gatsby. I think that readers will love this retelling and people who aren't Gatsby fans are still bound to love this historical fiction story!

This novel takes on the female characters of The Great Gatsby through alternating viewpoints - Daisy, Jordan, Myrtle (in just a few chapters), and Catherine (Myrtle's sister, barely seen in the original but given a bigger role here). The story takes place mostly before the events of The Great Gatsby, partially during it but obviously from alternate viewpoints, and afterwards as a detective tries to probe deeper into the murder that happened at the very end of The Great Gatsby.

I loved Great Gatsby when I read it in high school, and I re-read it a few months ago when my daughter was reading it for AP Literature, plus I love a good spin on a classic, so I jumped at the chance to read an early copy of this one. I'm definitely glad the story and characters of The Great Gatsby was fresh in my head, as I am sure I would not have gotten as much out of this book otherwise. It's not really a re-telling or a re-imagining per se, as it is not trying to re-do the original, just give us glimpse into what some of the characters in the original might have been thinking, as the original is told all from Nick's point of view. You can choose to believe this take on the characters or not, but there is no question that deep thought went into writing this and all the POVs were interesting and definitely believable and made sense of various possible aspects of backstory and story.

Because I don't think this book could really stand on its own, and because I admired it rather than deeply loved it, I'm giving it a 3.75.

Book friends, reader confession…I have historical fiction fatigue. I love this genre but the bar is high so it’s got to be really good. Please give me something original, a fresh perspective. This season I’m so pleased to be finding both! Beautiful Little Fools by Jillian Cantor takes The Great Gatsby from the perspective of three women. It’s a tall order on such well known content and boy does she deliver!
Jay Gatsby falls into his pool, murdered, the only clue a diamond hair clip. Perspective is everything in this immersive, atmospheric tale set in the 1920’s. Told in alternating voices, Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and Catherine McCoy tell their stories. Filled with hope and fear, anguish and rage, any of the three had motive. It’s a story that explores the lines between love and obsession, safety and suffocation, the capacity to both delude oneself and others. It’s a story of loss and survival of three women who are bound by society, family, men, and their own past. I highly recommend this for lovers of historical fiction, feminist retellings, and those of the original Gatsby story. I could not put it down!
Many thanks to Netgalley and Harper Perennial for the Advanced Reader Copy and the opportunity to review Beautiful Little Fools by Jillian Cantor. All Opinions are my own.

Love! The Great Gatsby is one of my forever favorite books and here is a new spin on this magnificent tale! This book is so full of rich characters that surround the Great Jay Gatsby. I found it refreshing to hear the story from the women who knew Jay and their backgrounds that brought them into his circle. I look forward to reading more books by this author!

Happy publication eve to this book! The Great Gatsby is my favorite book all time so I was excited to read this Gatsby as told from the female characters perspective. This is one of several books in the expanding Gatsby-verse that has taken shape in the past year or so and the choice to focus on the female characters is in contrast to the original Gatsby another recent Gatsby story that was focused on Nick Carraway. In this one, our previous narrator really takes a back seat and the story turns into more of a whodunnit mystery. This narrative structure works and retells many of the events from the original novel while adding some new events on the same timeline as well as whole new storylines. While this isn't destined to be a great American classic like the original, I really enjoyed the fresh take and deeper development of characters like Jordan Baker and others, who aren't always center stage in the original. I think this novel will definitely satisfy Gatsby fans and can also stand on its own as a strong novel.

Courtesy of Netgalley I received the ARC of Beautiful Little Fools by Jillian Cantor. This creative revisionist story about the women in the world of The Great Gatsby is captivating as it unfolds. During the Jazz Age, these women, interconnected through Jay Gatsby, come to realize the destructive power of the men in their lives, and the lack of power in their own lives. The undercurrent of a murder mystery adds to the suspenseful thread in this historical novel.

Beautiful Little Fools was a unique retelling of The Great Gadsby, from the women’s point of view. I LOVED The Great Gadsby in high school and admittedly did not really understand Daisy. It’s been several years since I’ve read The Great Gadsby so this was really fun for me to read and see things from a different point of view. I got a fresh perspective and I really enjoyed this novel!

NetGalley ARC - This book is everything that I needed for a The Great Gatsby retelling and more! From the perspectives of Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and Catherine McCoy (sister of Myrtle Wilson), Cantor gives us a murder mystery that leads to the climatic ending of The Great Gatsby, with a feminine twist. The multiple perspectives of the women shown give so much detail into the narratives of these characters and their motivations behind their actions. This is especially poignant given that in the original novel, the only perspective available is from Nick Carraway.

I was initially very hesitant to read a retelling of The Great Gatsby - to say that this book did not have a chokehold on me as a teenage would be a complete lie. This is one of my all time favorite books (I even named by cat after Jay Gatsby). With that being said, this book is such a clever whodunit. It's sexy and mysterious and so satisfying. I was not at all disappointed.

Through Jillian's storytelling, we are able to explore the background of three of the most misunderstood characters in the original novel, besides perhaps Mr. Gatsby himself. As a Louisville, KY resident, I appreciated the storyline's inclusion of Daisy and Jordan as young women, experiencing the high life of Louisville in the late 1910s. I found everything depicted about the city and surrounding area to be pretty accurate, which is also a plus.

Another surprising addition that I loved was the character Catherine McCoy. As Myrtle Wilson's sister, we were able to get so much background information about Myrtle, her life, and her decisions. Although she didn't appear in the original novel, Catherine is a willful, independent young woman making a new life for herself in New York City. She was a suffragette and had such a refreshing personality. The way that her character becomes ingrained in the story through little Easter eggs that you discover along the way feels like a stroke of genius by Cantor.

I cannot recommend this book enough. Whether you hated reading The Great Gatsby in high school English class or it's your all time favorite novel, this retelling will not disappoint.

Thank you to Harper Perennial for the Advanced Reader Copy.

A wonderful re telling from the the perspective of the three women in his life. Hauntingly beautiful. This stellar book deserves a top spot on your bookshelf. Not to be missed. Mesmerizing and engaging. Happy reading!

I'm typically a fan of Gatsby re-writes and this one is a good one. I didn't love it, but it was fun to imagine things from the womens' points of view in a decently-written story. I will be purchasing for the library as we have patrons who will gobble it up.

With BEAUTIFUL LITTLE FOOLS, Jillian Cantor takes us back to a favorite classic, exploring the world of THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald from the perspectives of three women: Daisy, Jordan, and Catherine (Myrtle's sister). The narrative explores the paths that lead these three women to a destructive collision at the conclusion of the book, but more than the conclusion, the story is really found in the life experiences of these dynamic, complex female characters and the cultural and societal norms they're each driven to push back against.

BEAUTIFUL LITTLE FOOLS is beautifully told and engaging from start to finish, where we get a glimpse of these women beyond the men at the center of GATSBY.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for an ARC of this book.

Whoa, Nelly! Jillian Cantor has some nerve! Taking on The Great Gatsby but from the girls’ points of view. I was pretty skeptical, as Fitzgerald is one of my favorite authors of all time, but she did it! She wrote a story that gripped me from page one even though I knew the story well. One difference is that more time is spent in the years leading up to where The Great Gatsby picks up, when Daisy and Jordan are just girls growing up in Louisville. I was thrilled when Daisy visited her aunt in Jeffersonvillle, IN, the city where I lived for 16 years in my young adult years. I wonder if that helped to buy my trust in the author? Maybe so, but even when Daisy, Jordan, and Catherine’s (Tom Buchanan’s mistress) stories collide, I couldn’t put it down. The writing is authentic to the original story while also feeling relatable for the current day situations women deal with. I was pleasantly surprised! I’d recommend this to fans of the literary classic story of Jay Gatsby, as well as those who just like women’s fiction.

BEAUTIFUL LITTLE FOOLS by Jillian Cantor was an excellent read. Until completing it and going back and re-reading parts of THE GREAT GATSBY, I didn’t realize how critical the missing female voices were to the telling of the story. Where the original is all told from Nick Carraway’s point of view, Cantor’s tale captures the possible viewpoints of Myrtle, Jordan, Catherine, and Daisy. There were some elements of the story that I wouldn’t have expected to see in Fitzgerald’s version but the story comes across as a fantastic telling on it’s own and as a companion piece. It dives very deep into all the connections that existed in Cantor’s version of the story. I always have enjoyed Cantor’s writing style and this is no exception. The descriptions are vivid, the characters developed, and the story engaging. I couldn’t stop reading it. I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Genre: historical fiction, retelling
Pub date: 2/1/22
In one sentence: We've all heard the story of Jay Gatsby, but the women in his life are finally getting their say.

True confession: I didn't love The Great Gatsby when I read it in high school, and I rolled my eyes a bit at the film and the recent trend of "Gatsby parties". Regardless, I couldn't resist this gorgeous cover and the chance to get Daisy's side of the story. And I was not disappointed!

I loved that the novel started years earlier than the events of TGG and gave the reader the chance to see Daisy and Jordan's friendship. Daisy is such a misunderstood character, so I appreciated getting her family/romantic backstory. The story alternates between Daisy, Jordan, Catherine, and Myrtle's perspectives, with each woman well represented. Once the plot catches up with Nick's arrival in West Egg, it proceeds as in TGG, but with a few choice changes. I especially enjoyed the alternate explanation of Gatsby's death.

The blurb bills this as TGG with echoes of Big Little Lies, and I agree with that description! Whether you're a Gatsby lover, hater, or simply indifferent, there's a lot to love in this retelling.

Thank you to Harper Perennial for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review posted to Goodreads 1/29/22, to be posted to Instagram 2/11/22.

Beautiful Little Fools
by Jillian Cantor
Pub Date: February 1, 2022
Harper Perennial
I love when authors take a well-known story and reimagine it from different points of view. In this case, Cantor has taken the classic, The Great Gatsby and told it through Daisy, Jordan, & Catherine’s (Myrtle's sister) viewpoint. The story was engrossing though at times it felt a bit rushed. I did get frustrated with some of the choices these women made, however, the choices they were given were much more limited than what women have today.
Fans of the original may or may not like this perspective, but on its own, I found it well written & entertaining
Thanks to Harper Perrenial and NetGalley for the ARC.
4 stars

If you’re a fan of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby or of one or more of the film versions, pick up a copy of Jillian Cantor’s Beautiful Little Fools. Taking her title from a passage in the Fitzgerald classic, Cantor examines the story of Jay Gatsby’s murder from the points of view of the female characters: Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and the very minor Catherine McCoy--sister of Myrtle Wilson, who was run down and killed by Gatsby’s car.

Detective Frank Charles has been called in to reinvestigate Gatsby’s murder. Was it the murder-suicide it was thought to be? What does each woman recollect about Gatsby and events preceding his murder? Although the facts of the story remain largely the same, Cantor demotes narrator Nick Carraway to a minor role and moves the women from the background to center stage. As Detective Charles uncovers the women’s possible motives, they each become a suspect.

Jillian Cantor tells a good story, and she is certainly not new to reexamining stories from a different point of view, from penning “what if” plots. In her novel Margot, she reimagines Anne Frank’s sister as having assumed a new identity in Philadelphia but eventually must come to terms with her past and the family she lost. In Hours Count, Cantor relates the story of accused, convicted, and executed spies Ethel and Julius Rosenberg as seen by a neighbor. In Half Life, she tells Marie Curie’s story in alternate timelines: the life of Nobel Prize winner Marie Curie and that of Marya Sklodowska if she had never left Poland and become the famous scientist. With her past experience relating historical events from fictional points of view, Cantor manages to make Jay Gatsby's fictional story resemble true crime.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Perennial/HarperCollins for an advance reader copy of this imaginative and entertaining literary who-done-it.

LOVED LOVED LOVED!!
FIVE STARS!

I haven’t read The Great Gatsby but I am obsessed with Leo’s movie! I knew I had to get my hands on this book from the women’s viewpoints!! It was more than I could have hoped for!

Connection to characters: I was so invested in each character’s POV!

Setting: Love the 20’s!

Storyline: *chef’s kiss* perfection!!! I loved that it differed just enough from the original story that it had me trying to figure out the mystery and the twists and turns!

Life changing/eye opening: Honestly, just getting to know the women’s backstory from this author’s point of view and imagining was so fun! I think about the book often and it will definitely be an every year re-read I think!

Narration: Loved each woman’s voice and was hooked on every word!

Quotes:
“She was always telling me to be good. Always wanting me to see the world more like she did.”

“Grief, she told me once when she was talking about Charlie, was forever. An endless, winding river.”

“All I knew was that I ached for some sort of
justice for my sister, some sort of way to ease this
pain in my belly, this empty space that was
already beginning to eat away at my insides.”

This book was so much more than I expected. This is the Women's side of The Great Gatsby and I am here for it!

I won't say much because I think that this book will be better with the shock factor in place. But I honestly like this story more than the original.

It is still a bunch of people who aren't extremely likable; however, it is seems very realistic.

I really didn't want to stop reading it and flew through it pretty fast. I think it would be a great book for people who liked The Great Gatsby and those who didn't as well.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for this eARC.

** 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.