Content levels
Trigger warnings
Positive tags
Hero archetypes
Heroine archetypes
Protagonist archetypes
Themes
Synopsis
Here is a novel, glamorous, ironical, compassionate – a marvelous fusion into unity of the curious incongruities of the life of the period – which reveals a hero like no other – one who could live at no other time and in no other place. But he will live as a character, we surmise, as long as the memory of any reader lasts. "There was something gorgeous about him, some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life.... It was an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person and which it is not likely I shall ever find again." It is the story of this Jay Gatsby who came so mysteriously to West Egg, of his sumptuous entertainments, and of his love for Daisy Buchanan – a story that ranges from pure lyrical beauty to sheer brutal realism, and is infused with a sense of the strangeness of human circumstance in a heedless universe. It is a magical, living book, blended of irony, romance, and mysticism. --first edition jacket
Is The Great Gatsby appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 14 and up.
Contains adult themes of infidelity, materialism, and moral decay in 1920s high society, plus a tragic death. Sophisticated literary style requires mature reading skills.
What to know going in
This book has mild violence, mild sexual content, and mild language. Content notes include alcohol abuse, death, and cheating (see the full list above).
Who'll love this
Teens will find a compelling mystery about a wealthy man's obsessive love and the dark side of the American Dream.