Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin

17 reviews

marissasa's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This wasn't a book I think I'd pick up on my own but I'm glad I did for the Read in Color Book Club's February pick and stepped out of my usual reading genres. I genuinely enjoyed the weirdness and creativity of the concept of cities in the world personified, despite the story being a little slow at the start. Once we got a look into each character and their personalities I started to enjoy the book and felt compelled to know what would happen once they all came together. I love "found family" tropes, especially ones where the characters have to work to trust each other and build relationships. It was also great to see a diverse range of protagonists not just in ethnicity, but sexuality, age, and general walk of life too. The enemy in this narrative is so fascinating that it can be so foreign and alien-like yet also all too familiar in the way it uses white-supremacist and colonizer language as weapons. Overall I'm intrigued and curious to see what happens in the next installments of the series, especially when the scope gets wider and we learn more about the summit what effects a city's birth or downfall have on the rest of the world. Also, the audiobook played a huge part in my enjoyment of this one and I don't think I would have been as immersed in the story without it. The narrators were great and did a lot for the overall characterizations of the main cast, as well as great world building with the sound effects and editing.
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kjoli's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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grets_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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skudiklier's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

By the end of this book I really enjoyed it! For a while there it felt a little too slow and repetitive, and like I just didn't appreciate it enough because I don't know NYC at all. But it was definitely interesting and engaging overall and I'm glad I read it. I love the idea here. 
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stephbakerbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

It's been a while since I've read a fantasy book that felt so unique and creative and imaginative—but that's exactly what this book was. The world that the author has created here looks a lot like our world, but expanded, and I loved it.

Our characters are introduced to us slowly and without much explanation; we figure out what's happening to them at the same time they do. So there's a fair amount of confusion at the beginning but things start to become clear and we do know more than the characters in that we know they are the embodiment of each of the boroughs—but that's about all we know at first. I loved all of the word play happening in this book—from the character names to the chapter titles, it was making me smile the whole time.

The plot was also intriguing. From the prologue, it moves at a steady pace, and an imminent threat and danger is clear. The ending doesn't end on a cliffhanger but things are definitely not resolved, and I am very anxious for book two!

This book is very New York and if you have any love for the city, you'll enjoy reading it. If you've lived in NYC at all, you'll recognize a lot more references in this book than I probably did. I can't wait to see where this story goes, because honestly the things you could do with the concept of cities as people...I just love a unique fantasy story!
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apersonfromflorida's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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troisha's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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