The first few chapters were pretty rough, especially since Anna Karenina is one of my favorite classics and this felt like it was trying too hard - especially with the excessive brand dropping and slang. But once it found it’s footing it ended up being pretty damn good.
Is this as good as Anna Karenina? No. But it translated well. I'd even say it’s just as magical as Clueless was for Emma. This Anna is just as captivating as Tolstoy’s Anna. Actually, all the characters are great in their own way. Even though you kind of hate all the characters for acting like rich assholes, you kind of love them too. On the other hand, all of the characters act a little too old for their age, and parts of the story were just a little too unbelievable.
I can't give it 5 stars because there were some weak parts. Especially Dustin and Kimmie’s story - particularly the parts with Natalia and Nick (which is a shame because I love Levin and Kittie’s story). Every time one of these characters showed up, it just seemed too coincidental - especially at the end there. I could probably forgive it, but the ending was also whack. I thought I knew what to expect, but nope!
Also I would not classify this as a YA novel.