Daisy : a novel

BOOKLIFE PRIZE QUARTER FINALIST A reimagining of The Great Gatsby from Daisy Buchanan's point of view. No empty-headed fool, Daisy Buchanan tells her side of the story of that tumultuous summer in the 1920s when she reunites with her first love, Jay Gatsby. Unlike her cousin Nick's recounting, her version tells readers what was in the letter that Jay sent to her on the eve of her wedding to Tom Buchanan that almost had her calling off the ceremony, and who was really driving the car that killed her husband's mistress. Although she wishes sometimes she could be a sprite (akin to the flickering green light at the end of her pier), Daisy comes to realize that charting her own destiny means making hard choices, for herself and her precious daughter. ** "Introducing a feisty protagonist with a girlish charm, Sternbergs book shifts the storytelling genius from Fitzgerald to Nick Carraway...The author writes with a poised composure that reads like a continuation of Fitzgeralds prose...(and) reconstructs a timeless American novel by adding compassion to Fitzgeralds superficial relationships. Rather than defining her characters by wealth, she strips her story of financial interest and focuses on romance and female empowerment. Her book offers a new perspective that alters how one perceives Fitzgeralds characters. In Fitzgeralds novel, Daisy acts as an ornament to the male species, yet in this book, the author gives her agency...A delightful portrayal of a female character claiming the story as her own, repossessing her own voice." BookLife Prize Contest A fresh take on classic characters, Daisy gives readers insight into Daisy Buchanan's viewpoint of the events of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. While simultaneously remaining true to the original and adding new information, Sternberg weaves Daisy's perspective and Nick Carraway's account together, correcting what Daisy knows is inaccurate from her cousin's novel. Sternberg pulls readers in from the first page, and while the outcome of Daisy and Gatsby's affair is universally known, readers still cannot help but root for the pair. As the novel progresses, the tension in Daisy's love life heightens the stakes, and while it's easy to want to see Daisy and Jay make it work, the reader can also feel Daisy's ambiguous feelings about leaving her husband for Gatsby. As the story climaxes, readers are left feeling as confused as Daisy is in regard to the decisions she needs to make. While there are noticeable changes to the overall story—it is a different perspective, after all—Daisy provides readers of romantic and/or feminist fiction and fans of The Great Gatsby alike with a satisfying story that is faithful to the original, yet unique in its own right.