Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - The City We Became

This is one of the coolest books I've ever read.

It's so unique and innovative. The way Jemisin personified each borough of NYC was brilliant. The writing is descriptive and the world building is excellent, bringing each borough and character to life in this metaphor for gentrification. Each avatar had a separate and distinct voice from one another, and it's hard to choose a favorite (although the least favorite is obvious 😂 IYKYK).

Although I've never lived in the city, it's just a train ride away, so I'm sure it helps having experience with NYC and understanding the references. But if you've never been here, you can still enjoy the book for sure. The connections to the city are just a bonus for us New Yorkers.

This was just so damn cool and N.K. Jemisin is a genius and I need to get my hands on book two immediately.

Content Warnings

mementomoriiv's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Jemisin has a fascinating twist on issues of xenophobia and the recent upsurge of the alt right and men's rights movement. It's cleverly written and keeps the reader's interest throughout the text. I look forward to the sequels!

Content Warnings

kayberlyn's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging funny informative mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

takarakei's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

First of all - I read this in combination with the audiobook - which is FANTASTIC! Absolutely phenomenal narration AND sound design/effects, it was almost like listening to a graphic audio dramatized version! So I can't recommend the audiobook enough (especially if you are someone who listens to SFF audio). Although I will note it was helpful to be reading along at parts due to the effects.

Now could I explain the dynamics of all that happens in this book? Absolutely not, it's one of those books where you just have to accept the concepts that are being presented to you without a lot of questioning. I mean, people becoming the embodiment of cities? weird concept. You just gotta go with it! Along the way you'll get discussions of race, art, and what it means to "belong" to a place.

If you're a NYC area person I def think this is an interesting read! Very NYC-prideful. I personally am NOT from NYC or know all that much about it, so I couldn't pick up on if there were any inaccuracies in any way, but Jemisin has lived there for a long time and did a lot of research so I trust that she got it right. I really enjoyed all the little history bits of information thrown in about the city.

There's no one out there really writing SFF like Jemisin, and I am very excited to continue with this series.

Content Warnings

salemander's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

i really didn’t know if i was gonna like this one but nk jemisin DOES NOT MISS !!! this was such a fun and cheesy and action packed read and the audiobook was a whole theatrical production! this gave me the same feeling as reading percy jackson and american gods did when i was a kid, on the edge of my seat half the time and laughing the other half. and the characters are just so loveable and fully formed, what’s not to love!

Content Warnings

itsame_dio's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I liked it but:

- The chapters were sooo long, I listened to the audiobook and every chapter was at least an hour. It made me feel like I wasn't making any progress in the book, so it was tough for me to stick with it.

- Could be a dealbreaker for you: there's so much racism, and its VERY prominent (one of the POV characters is a racist) so if that's too much for you don't read this book. It was kinda of off-putting for me (a Black Woman), I don't feel like a lot of reviews addressed this. I don't feel like it was put in there willy nilly tho, it was very purposeful.

- Nothing really happened,

they each experience something weird happen earlier that day, half of them meet up, then the next day they meet another one, come up with a plan (that doesn't work), they meet "the heart" then they have the "final battle" and that's the end

the plot literally happens over 2 days max and it's mostly them running around confused.

- The ending was anti-climatic

- The sound effects seemed to be thrown in at random

- The narrator has a beautiful voice but the accent she uses for some of the characters sound like the accent I do when I make fun of New Yorkers so I couldn't take it seriously lol

- It throws me off that New York would be the first city to become like this in the US, there's a lot of distinct cities in the US so if anything I would think New York would maybe the oldest or the most intense but the only??? IDK about that

Content Warnings

lilly_dav_reading's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.75

Gentrification and racism personified? Yes please!

Content Warnings

bookedbykiki's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

Rating: 4.5/5

Genre: fiction, contemporary, fantasy, adventurous, mysterious, medium-paced

CW: racism, xenophobia, sexual harassment, sexual assault, homophobia, police brutality

For my first urban fantasy, this book did NOT disappoint. But Jemisin could never disappoint me.

I tend to be a binge reader. Always trying to get to the end as fast as I can, but something about Jemisin books makes me what to sit and savour the ideas. Maybe its the beautiful prose, or maybe its the unimaginable magic and rules she slowly reveals to us in her books. Whatever it is I’ll ALWAYS be here for it.

The City We Became is both a love letter and critical analysis of New York City and their institutions. When as ancient evil tries using the existing evil within the city as a tool, a unlikely group of people is left to figure out what is going on.

Having visited NYC for the first time last year, it was so interesting being able to see aspects of the city I experienced myself and things I’d learned through my chats with @bigbooklover69 about urban spaces.

I think so much can be pulled and leaned from this book to be applied to any city. The city is the people that make it and the culture they create together. It’s a divinely beautiful thing that many (often those with power) could give less of a fuck if it can’t be capitalized off of.

I highly recommend for those interested in:

Wanting to try an urban fantasy
Black future focused fiction
BIPOC queer representation
NYC social commentary

Content Warnings

More...