e-ALC, 10:40:05
Narrated by: DeSean Terry
Release Date: January 27, 2026
Published by: HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
Read from: December 24-27, 2025
Stand-alone
Source: Netgalley (I received this ALC free from the publisher and Netgalley. This did nothing to influence my review!)
Content Warning: Racism, Death of a Parent, Violence, Death, Fire/Fire Injury, Police Brutality, Homophobia, Grief, Hate Crime, Bullying, Classism, Drug Use, Outing
For Readers Interested In: 2sLGBTQ+, Audio, DEAR, Historical Fiction, Racial/Ethnic Diversity, Retellings, YAFrom New York Times bestselling author Ryan Douglass comes a gripping and tender reimagining of The Great Gatsby about the pursuit of happiness—and love—in a society built on cruelty and secrets.
Seventeen-year-old Nick Carrington wants nothing more than to leave Greenwood, Oklahoma, behind and make a name for himself in the papers. But when tragedy strikes, dreams turn into a twisted reality. Forced to start anew in Harlem, only a letter of acceptance from the prestigious West Egg Academy is able to pull him back into the world.
But the supposedly integrated private boys’ school is more of a catchy headline than a fact, with the same prejudices Nick left behind back home. And his secret but growing feelings for the founder’s wickedly charismatic son, Jay Gatsby Jr.— who dances past society’s conventions with practiced ease—only add more complications.
When Nick’s cutting pen exposes dangerous truths about West Egg and leads to perilous consequences, he and Jay must decide whether to spend a lifetime outrunning trouble or be the ones to light the match. Can they not only fight back but triumph? Or will the powers that be win yet again?
*MY THOUGHTS*
I loved this! Gatsby is actually my favorite classic or school book, so I love to find and read any retellings I can find. But then I saw this and I knew it was going to be the one for me. It’s described as Gatsby meets the Harlem Renaissance?! Definitely right up my alley.
Soooooo many people I know are surprised when I say this is my favorite classic. And it’s really so simple when I say why I liked it…. There’s a death and some bomb ass parties. (Yes, I am a child and I don’t care lol) But those things are interesting to me, so I was interested in seeing how this would play out in this book. And sure enough there is a death in the book and there is a party lol As for the rest of it, I thought it really was a good loose retelling of Gatsby that had Douglass’ own spin on it.
I think the characters of this was my favorite part. I mean how could you not like Daisy? And how could you like Tom at all? I was a little disappointed because I thought Nick was becoming the background of his own story, but I remembered this is basically how he sounded in the original too. It was basically like he was recounting what happened to him, so yeah, I thought that solidified why I love this so much.
To make this even better, this tied together two of the most important times in history. If you don’t know about the Tulsa Race Massacre you might miss what’s happening at the very beginning. When he moves to go stay with his cousin, it’s to Harlem. This marked a time period during the Harlem Renaissance. You usually see one or the other of those events in books, (if that) so it was cool to actually see the two of them together in one book.
I had a lot of fun with this one. This queer Black retelling of one of my favorite classics really made me want to go back and revisit the original. I think I’ll put that on my list for the year as well as any more classic retellings that I might find.
Overall, I give this
