Welcome to Litsy!

1✨ I couldn‘t continue with this one. We have teens that only talk about drugs, drinking and sex. There is more depth to these characters, but it was rarely seen. I was holding out for the love story, but then it ended up to just be cheating. I know YA is turning into more adult than young, but this is a little much. I went 73% before bailing. Originally read for #FoodandLit South Korea 🇰🇷

3/5 ⭐️ This was an Anna Karenina retelling but with young rich teens in New York. I've never read the original Anna but this was wild. These kids were out of control, so much drugs, alcohol, and sex. I read it early for #FoodandLit South Korea as the main family is Korean, but it wasn't really a part of the story.

Bailed at 37%. I really gave it a try for the #booked2023 #RetellingofaClassic prompt, but I'll be selecting another one from my shelf. The audiobook narrator was fine - she was youthful and exuberant. But 5 hours into nearly 14 hours of the book, I just can't continue.

I don't mind the insipidness of the wealthy teens, dropping name brands and struggling with relationships. However, the brand dropping was a bit over the top. Sometimes,

I know I‘m late on this #retelling but I find my reactions to both rather interesting.

Original
Hard to read
Rooted for Anna

Retelling
Enjoyed it more
Didn‘t like Anna much

Anyone else feel this way??

I started out really liking Anna K. After a bit though, the brand name dropping and (intentionally) vapid narration started to remind me a bit too much of the Pretty Little Liars. I do really enjoy a retelling of a classic, though.🥂

Book 68/150.

As a high school librarian I try to read as much YA as possible. This one is a cute retelling of Anna Karenina but nothing spectacular. I‘m reading the sequel next only because my students love these books.

Book spin #4
I really tried to get into Anna K. However It did not work out for me. So it's a DNF for me. I hardly ever not finish a book.

#bookspinbingo

If you take the Russia, politics, and philosophy out of Anna Karenina, what‘s left? A Gossip Girl esque story with a couple of touching moments.

Pick with caveats. Picked it up thinking it would have more Asian characters, since pre-release most people were CRA x Gossip Girl. It was not. It did not disappoint on the modernized Anna Karenina front though. Or at least what I got out of Anna Karenina my one reading.

Started reading for #JubilantJuly and about 25% finished with Anna K! I haven‘t read Anna Karenina in a while but I watched the movie last month so the story is pretty fresh in my mind.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 this one was interesting, had a hard time finding a rating for it. At times I really liked it, and others I was just confused.

Trying to decide which one to read next. Thoughts?

Full review here: http://girlwellread.blogspot.com/2020/06/anna-k-love-story-by-jenny-lee.html.

This book was fun, but I definitely read it at the wrong time. I just don‘t care about rich people‘s problems right now. There was also a lot of ableist slurs and a weird, ableist subplot about Adderall.

I haven‘t read “Anna Karenina” in more than a decade, but I‘m still psyched for this modern AU!

This book reminded me so much of gossip girl. I just wasn't a fan of any of the characters. They all felt a little too whining for me. They acted so immature but dealt with older teen issues. Just wasnt for me. 🤷‍♀️

I have never read or seen Anna Karenina (I know, I know), the story which served as the inspiration. I think because I went blindly into it, I was able to enjoy it more since I wasn‘t comparing it to anything and didn‘t know what to expect. It was an insanely emotional roller coaster and I loved just about every bit of it. The characters were well developed and the flow of the story was so well done. Very hard to put down. 4.5 ⭐️

I really loved Anna K. For me it was the perfect balance of silly fun and genuine story. The setting was genuinely fun, and the characters were beautifully flawed-yet-loveable.
There really isn‘t a better way to describe this than to say it‘s like reading Gossip Girl meets Russian Lit. I would highly recommend this as a summer read!

#CoronaBreak Book 10. I wish I loved this book more than I did. I enjoyed it, but it took AGES for me to get hooked. That might be the pandemic getting to my brain, though. I‘m hoping that I‘ll have more motivation to read once e-learning is over. Overall, it was a fun and easy read!

Since I loved Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, I gave this modern day, YA take on his novel a go, but had a hard time getting into it... probably because I couldn't relate to the super privileged NYC teenagers it follows. But, by the end I did find myself feeling something for most of the characters. Class does not alleviate internal struggle. It is universal.
"...it was about celebrating the lives of those you lost by living your own life well."
⭐⭐⭐ 1/2

May someone today make you as happy as the postman made me #bookmail #munrosbooks #recordmail

Rated 2/5 ⭐️

✅: diverse cast, smattering of feminism, pop culture references (Hamilton, Billie Eilish, Rick & Morty), definitely gives a “feel” for the lives of the rich (but is it accurate?...), fast-paced
⛔️: not the most interesting, seemed a bit vapid, felt like the author bit off more than she could chew... wound up finishing it only bc I told my roommate I would 🥴 Would have been stronger if intersectional feminism had really been explored

Making my way through this very *of the moment* update of Anna Karenina. Well, of the moment before we all had to quarantine.

So angsty... 💁🏼‍♀️

Intrigued by the first page...I get the feeling I‘ll have to reference this a lot.

Whoa! Totally scandalous! Rich society kids in Manhattan...another Cruel Intentions!!!

I listened to the audiobook. To me it read like an episode of Gossip Girl. I didn‘t mind the book but I think if I read it I may not have liked it as much. It was nice to listen as I was working on my puzzle.

First book done for April #bookishbingo!
Anna K. made me nearly cry at the end, I was not expecting that turn of events. Though that might be because I haven't read the original Anna Karenina yet...

This a modern retelling of Anna Karenina set in New York with elite High School Students. I have never read Anna Karenina and I definitely think that was probably better, because I had nothing to compare it to.

For my full review, please visit my blog: http://obsessedbookaholic.com/2020/04/08/anna-k-book-review/

1. Anna K. (Tagged), and others
2. The Warriors series
3. Any indie bookstore really.
4. The Giver, Gossamer.
5. The Giver
6. All of my unread books sitting on my shelf and then some 😅
7. Probably the Sweep series where magic is more tangible
8. House of Salt and Sorrows, in a good way!
9. one book a week for this year!
10. at a cafe outside and always with coffee to drink.
11. The Velveteen Rabbit
12. @Sara_Planz

An over-written young adult modern version of Anna Karenina set in New York City of rich kids being complete douchebags. Dubbed a cross of Gossip Girl meets Crazy, Rich Asians. Humor is forced, characters unlikable, and exposition is long winded and boring. And if you've read Tolstoy's classic, "spoiler" there is a gender swap in the finale that makes you want to chuck this book in the garbage. AVOID!

Well, I finished it... I was down for an Anna Karenina reboot in a NYC setting, but this YA version of entitled teenagers behaving badly was a complete miss for me. It seems this book was influenced by the Crazy Rich Asian series which I really liked, but here the snarky, and often offensive narration, was the book equivalent of overacting in a bad way. I seldom thumbs-down a book and this is my first of 2020.

Yay! It was nice to dissociate from my life within this story.

I think this just passed me by, the blurb sounded great but it was one of these books that I just couldn't get into.
The idea was great but knowing it was a modern retelling for me it just didn't work somehow.
I couldn't engage with the characters much, the only one I actually liked was Dustin as he worked hard for what he had and was a good friend to the others where in the main the rest of the kids came across as rather spoilt and ungrateful.

Not quite sure what to say about this one. I liked it enough to read the entire thing and it kept my interest, but the ages of the characters threw me a bit too often. I know it‘s a YA novel but it just seemed a bit far fetched for 15-17 year olds to be doing a lot of this stuff. Wasn‘t ready for the sucker punch at the end. 3.5 🌟 only because of the age issue I had. Other than that it was a great retelling of Anna Karenina. #BOTM

Initially this felt like it would be right up my alley, but despite what seems on the surface to be solidly entertaining writing, it all became very tedious and flat. While I ultimately decided not to bail, by the end I was really ready to be done so I could move on to something else and I have no interest in the sequel #BOTM

(Also, just FYI that for YA this contains quite a lot of sex and drug use)

At first I thought that this #netgalley #arc would be a bit fluffy for my taste. However it‘s really quite dark in places as you might expect from a novel based on Anna Karenina. Lee stated that she wanted the book to be ‘soapy and fun and girlie and exciting, while also imparting a strong female message...‘ and I think that she achieved this.

One word of warning, for a YA novel, there‘s some rather explicit sex, as well as a lot of drug use.

#weeklyforecast

Just started Wolf Hall for #conqueringcromwell. Also just started the tagged book as a #netgalley #arc - it‘s maybe a bit fluffy for me but we‘ll see.

Last Walk in Naryshkin Park is for #lithuania for #readingeurope2020 - looks quite upsetting.

And finally, All the Rivers just called to me from the shelf - a gift from the lovely @BarbaraBB .

Rating: ⭐️
*sighs* DNF. The writing is stuffy and juvenile. Also, one dimensional characters. It was boring and I couldn‘t get into it sadly.
#botm #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookblogger #review #bail #dnf #bookofthemonth #ya #retelling #litsy #littens

Hoping this is good and light. I need something light with a bonus of being funny. My depression from my bipolar disorder is kicking my butt and the last book didn‘t help with how dark it was (even though it was good). Wish me luck.
#botm #bipolardisorder #bipolar #bibliophile #currentread #bookstagram #litsy #littens

I took today and tomorrow off so I'd have a nice, long, much needed 5-day weekend. Starting it off with coffee and a new #BOTM while my boyfriend makes breakfast ❤️

This book was difficult to get into at first. It took about half way through to get to the good parts, but after getting there it was so good. The slow burn, forbidden romance was amazing and the side romances just enhanced the story. It is a book that will cause readers to think about life and love. This was a beautifully heartbreaking story and I loved every minute of it, once it got started.

This is another shaky choice from #BOTM, and when I looked at the % dislike on their site, it seems others agree.

In this YA retelling of Anna Karenina, the writing was immature and unpolished with the feel of a college paper. The characters were flat. Only Vronsky had a bit of sparkle and snazz.

I also wish BOTM had shared that it is the start of a series. Then I definitely would‘ve went with The Holdout instead.

Bailing with 100 pages left.

Just a few pages in and really enjoying my #botm! #bookswithmycalico

"The whole thing was a fucking disaster." ?
#FirstLineFriday
@ShyBookOwl

#currentlyreading

I did not realize that the tagged #BOTM choice was the start of a series. I hate series!!

Also I‘m really enjoying the one @Cinfhen reminded me of and I did pick up the audiobook for $1.99, thanks!

It‘s a cold, gray day here, so I‘m snuggled in bed! 💙💙📚🎧🥂