The Chosen and the Beautiful

Jordan Baker moves through the wealthiest circles of Jazz Age America with money, education and a talent for golf. Invitations do not amount to acceptance, however. As a queer Vietnamese adoptee, she is treated as an intriguing exception by people whose world still keeps crucial doors closed. Around her, dazzling parties coexist with ghosts, dangerous bargains and magic hidden in ordinary materials. Jordan’s own relationship with paper promises a power she has yet to understand. Recasting the world of The Great Gatsby through her perspective, this novel follows a young woman negotiating desire and belonging within a society delighted to display her difference but reluctant to recognize her on her own terms.