Review by Booklist Review
Title: A Matter of Infinite HopeDek: McLemore's triumphant retelling is for anyone who read The Great Gatsby and thought, this book needs to be much gayerWhen Nicolás Caraveo, a 17-year-old Mexican American trans man, arrives in Long Island's West Egg, he's eager to start his new job as a quantitative analyst and find a way to pay back his parents in Wisconsin for their easy acceptance of his gender. His older cousin Daisy has other plans, though, and Nick fits neatly into her scheme. She has remade herself into Daisy Fay, lightening her hair and skin to escape the racism of the wealthy society she means to join. She's hoping to secure an engagement from Tom Buchanan, with whom she stays in East Egg, where everyone of old money resides. And Nick soon finds that Daisy hasn't told anyone that they're cousins; instead, as proof of her fabricated background, she's cast Nick and his family as her family's maids.Following a path familiar to fans of Fitzgerald's original, Nick is folded into the glitzy world of the Long Island upper crust. He meets the infamous Jay Gatsby, his new-money next-door neighbor who throws garish parties, but there's more to Gatsby than his wealth. Nick notices that a variety of people are welcome in Gatsby's mansion, including people of color--and not just as the staff. When Nick and Gatsby have their first time alone, they share a moment of recognition, and Nick realizes that Gatsby is also trans. Their exchange underscores the novel's theme of seeing and being seen: "I think we just recognize each other. Boys like us always know one another about a thousand years before anyone else knows us, don't we?"Nick, concerned about Daisy's involvement with Tom as well as her hiding of her true self, decides to help Gatsby win her affection, since they were previously romantically entangled, but it is in the pairing of Gatsby and Nick that this absolutely shines. Their camaraderie carries the story effortlessly, and their perspectives on the world perfectly contrast one another: Gatsby is a hopeless romantic who sees the beauty in what could be, while Nick is a realist who prefers to figure out the math behind everything. As Gatsby envelops Nick in his diverse, heavily LGBTQ+ community, Nick learns the safe ways that people in 1920s New York have found to be their truest selves. In one of the book's most affecting moments, they bond at a gay bar filled with celebrating queer and trans people. Their slow-burn partners-in-crime-to-lovers romance is tender and unflinchingly honest, depicting two self-made boys who have had to discover and create the people they want to become.This retelling, while examining class divides and capitalism, deftly explores racial divides of the roaring twenties, both through Nick's frustration with how white men treat him and Daisy's attempts to pass as white. Nick's and Daisy's feelings about their Mexican American identities are at the crux of the tension, and their relationship suffers from her distancing herself from their family. McLemore goes deeper still, exploring the layers that make up Daisy, a socialite who wants more than just to marry and dress in elegant gowns and jewels. She cares deeply for her family and knows the sacrifices she must make in order to give them the life they deserve. Her emotional arc is given just as much weight as Nick's, and her turning point, when she enters her debutante ball on the arm of her truest love, Jordan Baker, is resonant and beautiful. McLemore's writing balances accurately portraying the oppression and racism of the time with celebrating what it means to be Mexican American and giving their characters agency and joy.Just as the title says, Self-Made Boys is about a community of people who are designers of their own lives, working within the constraints of their time period and still finding ways to honor their truest selves. Nick's journey to seeing that he deserves to be accepted is splendid and well-earned. Daisy is the complicated, layered character readers deserve, who frustratingly makes awful choices for the right reasons, in the name of coming to terms with her own Latina and lesbian identities. In this satisfying, emotional journey that celebrates love, family, friendship, identity, and forging one's own path, McLemore captures the spirit of the original while adding nuance and depth, setting a new bar for what a great retelling can be.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Transgender Latinx 17-year-old Nicolás Caraveo has just left his rural Wisconsin hometown to work as a New York stock market mathematician in this tender, intelligent The Great Gatsby retelling by McLemore (Lakelore), part of the Remixed Classics series. Determined to repay his parents for their unconditional acceptance, Nick enlists the help of his cousin, Daisy Fabrega-Caraveo, in persuading them to let him move to New York to work in finance. He arrives in West Egg to find Daisy "engaged to be engaged" to wealthy, racist Tom, who believes that Daisy is white. Hurt by Daisy's rejection of their heritage, Nick finds comfort while attending a party thrown by his trans Irish American neighbor Jay Gatsby, Daisy's 19-year-old ex. Though Nick is down-to-earth and Gatsby is idealistic, the boys' friendship and mutual attraction grows--but Gatsby's obsession with winning Daisy back, and Nick's agreement to help, stalls potential romance. McLemore cleverly and subtly weaves in imagery from the source material while crafting a unique look at queer relations in 1920s New York, and lush prose skillfully depicts the characters' yearning for freedom and acceptance. This is a compelling reimagining, and a stunner in its own right. Ages 14--up. Agent: Taylor Martindale Kean, Full Circle Literary. (Sept.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A reimagining of The Great Gatsby that counters Fitzgerald's tale of hegemonic power, centering people with marginalized identities. Seventeen-year-old trans boy Nicholás Caraveo is ready to start his career as a Wall Street analyst, hoping to provide financial security for his beet-farming family in Wisconsin. He's excited to live near his cousin Daisy in West Egg, where she's promised to set him up for success, but is shocked to discover that Daisy has lightened her skin and hair to pass as White and hide their shared Latine heritage from her rich, racist promised fiance, Tom. Feeling unmoored in a sea of racism, classism, and toxic masculinity, Nick is drawn to Jay Gatsby, his enigmatic neighbor whose glamorous parties are infamous. Jay, who is also gay and trans, shows Nick the ropes of stealth living and crossing class lines. Despite their undeniable chemistry, Nick agrees to help Jay win over Daisy. The duo teams up with Jay and Daisy's friend Jordan to give Daisy a dazzling debutante season. The tightly structured plot twists are compelling and satisfying for Gatsby fans, critics, and neophytes alike, avoiding and subverting tropes and giving the main quartet the happy endings they deserve. In this absolutely stunning work, McLemore delivers their signature lyrical prose and rich symbolism. The exquisite slow-burn gay romance is surrounded by Sapphic relationships, lavender marriages, and queer community, giving authentic representation of queer lives in the 1920s. Richly imagined, fiercely tender, and achingly beautiful. (content warning, author's note) (Historical fiction. 13-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
