I just can't see what seemingly everyone else saw in this book. Bland prose (everyone’s thoughts and motivations are listed like we might otherwise miss them, like "[character] thinks dark things are evil because she sees that in the media" is essentially an actual sentence in this novel) padded with pointless bickering and boring New York in-jokes. Every character is an ethnic stereotype and they all sound so similar to one another that I kept forgetting one of them was supposed to be 70 until she brought up Stonewall again. The antagonist’s minions are like cartoon villains and they're all written in the most cringe-inducing way possible.

I did like the idea behind how the antagonist’s plan worked, and using white and light colours as something dangerous. Unfortunately, the one interesting city formation concept is dropped almost immediately after it comes up and the ending didn't make any sense with what was already established.

I feel like the author could have saved me a few hours of reading time by just typing up a Tumblr post about how much she hates Staten Island and leaving it at that.

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. 

I generally like N.K. Jemisin's work. Like her other series, The City We Became is a mature speculative fiction story with diverse characters who are used interestingly rather than as tokens. I will say this isn't my favorite work of hers. I feel like, even at the end, I still don't really understand how the whole instantiation thing works. Regardless, I enjoyed it. 

Jemisin does it again! As a New Yorker, this pleased me greatly, but even objectively this is an enjoyable as hell read. Everything you love about Jemisin’s work is here: genuinely innovative fantasy, an extremely lovable and interesting ensemble cast, fantastic worldbuilding, pump-your-first-in-the-air awesome moments, and more! I’m eager for the next installments in this series!

This book was really inventive and interesting. I read the short story that formed the base of this novel, and I like the way it was expanded. I have never read a book with a Lenape character, and  it is so important that one was included. This was beautifully diverse and funny overall.

It was also super intense. The white supremacist groups and individuals mobilized by the enemy hit very close to home. I also observe that the book was clearly in conversation with Lovecraft. The ending was

definitely a deus ex machina, but I still liked it. I just hope there isn’t a contingent trying to have a redemption arc for Aislyn but I mean cmon there probably is one isn’t there.

The City We Became fits a lot of sff into a place big enough to handle it. I loved the boroughs as people and the conclusion left me wanting more. It makes NYC feel ordinary and epic at the same time; a glimpse of how much someone loves this place I've never seen. 

I don't have great sense of place or home but this book made me feel how much someone can care for a space, for a city. I loved that experience, this book felt really good to read. The characters are vibrant and distinct from one another, and I was really engaged with the story once it got going. As I neared the end, though, I kept checking to see if there were really that few pages left. This is book one of a trilogy, and some really cool things happen in the resolution of this part of the story, but my main complaint is that book two isn't here already. 

As for pacing, it starts out kind of slow; there's a lot of characters to introduce and so when the large cast was combined with an air of mystery (for some of them) it took me a little bit to get into it. I connected with one of them right away and then used that to slowly get the whole picture. At least part of that feeling is I've never been to New York, and so when some of the initial characterization is built on how much different characters embody parts of the city it meant I was learning the boroughs and the people instead of just learning new characters. That being said, I read the last 60% of the book in an afternoon, once I got into it I didn't want to put it down. Books don't have to create that urgency in order to be good, but I like how this one pulled me in. 

I feel very invested in this world and I definitely want to know what happens next. This is a story that needs to be continued, so it's very good that it's the start of a trilogy.