Name: Riley's review of Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix by Anna-Marie McLemore
Item: Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix
Rating: 5
Author: Riley

Anna-Marie McLemore

Stonewall Honor recipient and two-time National Book Award Longlist selectee Anna-Marie McLemore weaves an intoxicating tale of glamor and heartbreak in Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix, part of the Remixed Classics series. New York City, 1922. Nicolás Caraveo, a 17-year-old transgender boy from Minnesota, has no interest in the city’s glamor. Going to New York is all about establishing himself as a young professional, which could set up his future—and his life as a man—and benefit his family. Nick rents a small house in West Egg from his 18-year-old cousin, Daisy Fabrega, who lives in fashionable East Egg near her wealthy fiancé, Tom—and Nick is shocked to find that his cousin now goes by Daisy Fay, has erased all signs of her Latina heritage, and now passes seamlessly as white. Nick’s neighbor in West Egg is a mysterious young man named Jay Gatsby, whose castle-like mansion is the stage for parties so extravagant that they both dazzle and terrify Nick. At one of these parties, Nick learns that the spectacle is all for the benefit of impressing a girl from Jay’s past—Daisy. And he learns something else: Jay is also transgender. As Nick is pulled deeper into the glittery culture of decadence, he spends more time with Jay, aiming to help his new friend reconnect with his lost love. But Nick's feelings grow more complicated when he finds himself falling hard for Jay's openness, idealism, and unfounded faith in the American Dream.

Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix

Riley

Some people wore their broken hearts with careful grace. I didn't. The pieces of mine scraped against everything, and everyone could hear the grinding noise, even if they didn't know what it was.

I tried to acquaint myself with the idea that an insult could be reclaimed into something softer, something fit for the space inside a heart or between sheets.

Kayleigh Septer

listennnn i do not have eloquent enough words to speak how i feel about this book so i'm just gonna share a couple of my favorite quotes....

“i was a moon for him to throw sunlight on. in the glow of gatsby’s gaze or laugh, i was luminous.”

“we were the boys who created ourselves. we had formed our own bodies, our own lives, from the ribs of the girls we were once assumed to be.”

ash (smokedshelves)

listennnn i do not have eloquent enough words to speak how i feel about this book so i'm just gonna share a couple of my favorite quotes....

“i was a moon for him to throw sunlight on. in the glow of gatsby’s gaze or laugh, i was luminous.”

“we were the boys who created ourselves. we had formed our own bodies, our own lives, from the ribs of the girls we were once assumed to be.”

I understand why, but the lack of death is why I detracted 1 star. To me, the deaths in gatsby were indicative of the true horrors beneath the decadence. Something that wasn't really required in this specific retelling. However, it all just seemed to come together too perfectly. 

That said, again, I understand why this specific retelling didn't include that element. 

Christine Bruce

I understand why, but the lack of death is why I detracted 1 star. To me, the deaths in gatsby were indicative of the true horrors beneath the decadence. Something that wasn't really required in this specific retelling. However, it all just seemed to come together too perfectly. 

That said, again, I understand why this specific retelling didn't include that element. 

Kayleigh Septer &
Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix by Anna-Marie McLemore

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Kayleigh Septer &Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix by Anna-Marie McLemore

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Kayleigh Septer &
Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix by Anna-Marie McLemore