It took me a while to get through this relatively short novel, but that's no fault of the novel--things got in the way of my reading time. However, I found it interesting that each time I picked the book up, I was able to get right back into the story. There's a simplicity to the plot and the telling that helped me keep track of things even when I'd been away from it for a while.

This classic novel basically tells the story of the mysterious Jay Gatsby, and his obsession for Daisy Buchannan. It's narrated from the first-person perspective of Gatsby's neighbor, Nick Carraway. If you want more detail on the plot, you can see the Goodreads summary above.

Fitzgerald's narrative is easy to follow, and there were definitely parts that made me smile, particularly observations he makes to which I nod my head. For example, at one point he describes a scene where Tom is arguing with Gatsby. Nick wants to leave, "... but Tom and Gatsby insisted with competitive firmness that we remain--as though neither of them had anything to conceal and it would be a privilege to partake vicariously of their emotions." How true it is that often, when people argue, they like an audience as if they are doing you a favor by letting you listen in. I've seen that more than once.

As you might expect, I would rate the book PG--maybe PG13--for some occasional mild language. The only reason to recommend it as upper YA and older would be more for style that any potentially objectionable content.