#Remixed Classics

[transbookoftheday]

Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa

In the Remixed Classics series, authors from marginalized backgrounds reinterpret classic works through their own cultural lens to subvert the overwhelming cishet, white, and male canon. This bittersweet Pride & Prejudice remix follows a trans boy yearning for the freedom to live openly, centering queerness in a well-known story of longing and subverting society’s patriarchal and cisheteronormative expectations.

London, 1812. Oliver Bennet feels trapped. Not just by the endless corsets, petticoats and skirts he's forced to wear on a daily basis, but also by society's expectations. The world—and the vast majority of his family and friends—think Oliver is a girl named Elizabeth. He is therefore expected to mingle at balls wearing a pretty dress, entertain suitors regardless of his interest in them, and ultimately become someone's wife.

But Oliver can't bear the thought of such a fate. He finds solace in the few times he can sneak out of his family's home and explore the city rightfully dressed as a young gentleman. It's during one such excursion when Oliver becomes acquainted with Darcy, a sulky young man who had been rude to "Elizabeth" at a recent social function. But in the comfort of being out of the public eye, Oliver comes to find that Darcy is actually a sweet, intelligent boy with a warm heart. And not to mention incredibly attractive.

As Oliver is able to spend more time as his true self, often with Darcy, part of him dares begin to hope that his dream of love and life as a man to be possible. But suitors are growing bolder—and even threatening—and his mother is growing more desperate to see him settled into an engagement. Oliver will have to choose: Settle for safety, security, and a life of pretending to be something he's not, or risk it all for a slim chance at freedom, love, and a life that can be truly, honestly his own.

[fourthleafluckart]

I was sold on this book from the moment I heard "trans Pride and Prejudice", and then it was indeed SO SWEET. Love these cuties

This 2BDC: a bookmark for Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa

[lgbtqreads]

Better Know an Author: Gabe Cole Novoa

This author and I go waaaay back, so I’m thrilled to be chatting today with Gabe Cole Novoa, who’s made a serious name for himself in trans YA both historical and fantastical. He recently released two YAs back-to-back, the Remixed Classic Most Ardently and the fantasy The Diablo’s Curse, and he’s here to talk about both of those, getting The NYT Call, what comes next, and more. Welcome, Gabe! Q:…

[thatonemouseykid]

I’m reading Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa right now, which is a retelling of Pride and Prejudice where ‘Elizabeth’ is a closeted trans boy called Oliver, and it’s really interesting as a (recently outed, formerly closeted) trans guy to read his internal monologue in third person. There’s a lot of affirmation in it, because in real life you don’t have to gender yourself in your head so much which is why I think a lot of trans people accidentally misgender themselves sometimes. Because of the way it’s written, you have a lot of him being treated and referred to as a girl, but it’s always undercut by that narrative voice gendering him correctly.

[aspeccharactersoftheday]

Juliet from Teach the Torches to Burn is aromantic asexual!

[verdantmeadows]

i think the derivative of pride and prejudice where elizabeth is a trans man and darcy is a gay man and theyre gay for each other is the best most indulgent book to come out in 2024 actually

[tuhkasirius]

I’ve been reading Most Ardently (by Gabe Cole Novoa) and it’s GREAT I love good historical-setting trans rep in books. Remixed classics are so cool.

[theboyatthebustop]

ngl, I have this theory that the Remixed Classics series is (or could be seen as) Feiwel and Friends' response to the infamous Barnes and Noble Diverse Editions incident. Because you have to admit that it’s better to have diverse retellings of classics than just putting POC on the covers.

[pridepages]

Henry Jekyll: How do we hide from the people who will judge us? Gabriel Utterson: We can't. We still deserve to live, Henry. We still deserve a chance to be happy.

[curlyhairedbibliophile]

Cover Art | My Dear Henry: A Jekyll & Hyde Remix by Kalynn Bayron

A teen boy tries to discover the reason behind his best friend’s disappearance—and the arrival of a mysterious and magnetic stranger—in misty Victorian London, in Kalynn Bayron’s My Dear Henry, a gothic YA remix of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, sixth in the Remixed Classics series. London, 1885. Gabriel Utterson, a 17-year-old law clerk, has returned to London for the first time since his life— and that of his dearest friend, Henry Jekyll—was derailed by a scandal that led to his and Henry’s expulsion from the London Medical School. Whispers about the true nature of Gabriel and Henry’s relationship have followed the boys for two years, and now Gabriel has a chance to start again. But Gabriel doesn’t want to move on, not without Henry. His friend has become distant and cold since the disastrous events of the prior spring, and now his letters have stopped altogether. Desperate to discover what’s become of him, Gabriel takes to watching the Jekyll house. In doing so, Gabriel meets Hyde, a a strangely familiar young man with white hair and a magnetic charisma. He claims to be friends with Henry, and Gabriel can’t help but begin to grow jealous at their apparent closeness, especially as Henry continues to act like Gabriel means nothing to him. But the secret behind Henry’s apathy is only the first part of a deeper mystery that has begun to coalesce. Monsters of all kinds prowl within the London fog—and not all of them are out for blood…

Release date | Mar 7, 2023 Goodreads

[fourthleafluckart]

This QBDC: My Dear Henry by Kalynn Bayron

Another one of the Remixed Classics, My Dear Henry explores an alternate version of Jekyll and Hyde where a young Black medical student in victorian London undergoes some concerning changes, and the fella who loves him is determined to find their happiness together.

Next QBDC: My Dear Henry by Kalynn Bayron (the other side of the tarot card heheh)

[reviewsthatburn]

Xiang feels ignored by her mother, treated as a thing to be kept safe rather than a person who can want things and pursue them competently. She's been surrounded by people paid to teach her and keep her safe, part of a village where she's free to roam to hills and read, but is kept away from anything more adventurous. Her prized possession is a pendant from her presumed-dead father. When her mother agrees to let her try to learn one aspect of the business, it appears as though her mother might finally take her seriously. Instead her mother keeps trying to arrange a marriage for Xiang, a prospect which feels stifling. She meets Anh, a sailor, and feels close to her almost immediately, but takes longer to realize just how different their perspectives are, due to their vastly different life experiences. When she runs away and joins Anh's crew she finds a place where she is valued for what she does and for how she fits into a larger whole. 

Full review at link.

[theobviousparadox]

Review: Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa

Most Ardently: A Pride and Prejudice Remix (Remixed Classics #9)Gabe Cole NovoaFeiwel & FriendsPublished January 16, 2024 Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads About Most Ardently A trans boy searches for a future―and a romance―in which he can live and love openly as himself in this heartrending young-adult reimagining of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, part of the Remixed Classics series. London,…

[aspeccharactersoftheday]

Friar Laurence from Teach the Torches to Burn is aromantic asexual!

[ashes-555]

Does anyone else feel like queer romances just hit different? Like, reading straight romance makes me feel a bit sweaty and slightly embarrassed. I have to walk away from some books and take a breather because it's just... I don't even know. But I read books like Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston or Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli or Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa and they feel like... I don't know how to describe it other then clean air.

Red, White, and Royal Blue is probably one of the spiciest books I have ever read, but it also really captured my own experience. I didn't have a super elicit relationship with any foreign dignitaries, but I did go though most my life thinking I was straight. It wasn't until I was like 23 when I realized that some of the things I did were not normal straight behavior. (What do you mean everyone didn't sneak Attack of the Clones from their parents movie library and watch it on their laptop under the covers while making heart eyes at Padme because she was so smart and sophisticated and political savvy and gorgeous???) Reading Alex go through a similar experience was just... so nice.

Since it is pride month, I decided to read more books like that and I just finished Self-Made Boys by Anna-Marie McLemore and man. FEELINGS. I need to read it again with the knowledge of how it ends so I can get all the tiny details I missed the first time.

But these books are so different from the books I have read before. The romance in them is just so pure and sweet and innocent. Even the spicier stuff is easy to read. I don't know. I guess it feels like I can feel the emotions of the character better. Like, they may be doing something in that closet right now, but I don't feel grossed out like I sometimes do when I read a straight romance because I felt how much they loved each other first. (Even if the characters themselves didn't know yet).

There is a whole line of reimagined classics and I plan to read them all, and if the few I have already read are any indication, they are all INCREDIBLE and I highly recommend! If you want a full list, here's the link :)

Thank you for reading this convoluted explosion from my brain. I hope you got something from it haha

[haveyoureadthisqueerbook]

Stonewall Honor recipient and two-time National Book Award Longlist selectee Anna-Marie McLemore weaves an intoxicating tale of glamor and heartache in Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix, part of the Remixed Classics series. New York City, 1922. Nicolás Caraveo, a 17-year-old transgender boy from Wisconsin, has no interest in the city’s glamor. Going to New York is all about establishing himself as a young professional, which could set up his future—and his life as a man—and benefit his family. Nick rents a small house in West Egg from his 18-year-old cousin, Daisy Fabrega, who lives in fashionable East Egg near her wealthy fiancé, Tom—and Nick is shocked to find that his cousin now goes by Daisy Fay, has erased all signs of her Latina heritage, and now passes seamlessly as white. Nick’s neighbor in West Egg is a mysterious young man named Jay Gatsby, whose castle-like mansion is the stage for parties so extravagant that they both dazzle and terrify Nick. At one of these parties, Nick learns that the spectacle is all for the benefit of impressing a girl from Jay’s past—Daisy. And he learns something else: Jay is also transgender. As Nick is pulled deeper into the glittery culture of decadence, he spends more time with Jay, aiming to help his new friend reconnect with his lost love. But Nick's feelings grow more complicated when he finds himself falling hard for Jay's openness, idealism, and unfounded faith in the American Dream.