Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin

7 reviews

shoshin's review against another edition

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The ableism got to be too much for me.

The treatment of
the Staten Island avatar's panic attacks and abuse history
were bad, but I was willing to give Jemisin more of a chance because sometimes it takes more than one time showing a character to work through complicated issues. Then the fact that making buildings accessible makes them "not New York enough" 
so that the enemy can attack them
made me pause reading. I usually read a few reviews when I'm considering quitting a book. What I found out is that
the treatment of the Staten Island character gets even worse
. I'm not willing to invest more time in this series based on that, and I'm reconsidering whether I ever read other Jemisin books.
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jaysaysnope's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny inspiring mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I want to love a place the way N.K. Jemisin loves New York City. The ending was a little anticlimactic for me, but
the betrayal of Staten Island
was so good (and honestly, realistic to the character), I cannot wait to find out how it’s dealt with in The World We Make.
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rnbhargava's review against another edition

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

4.25

This book is near perfect for me. Some dings for variable pacing and maybe wrapping up a bit too cleanly and vaguely abruptly. Overall, I loved this adventure steeped in what makes NYC the city it is. 
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druppelregen's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

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leannanecdote's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional 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

3.75

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sarah984's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.0

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.
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lisacanteven's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book is a couple of things that I have had trouble finding in a book: unique and abstract. I loved the plot of this book and the use of personification. As unique as it was, I never had trouble understanding. Jeminison writes so beautifully and clearly. I have lined up some of her other books to read this year.

The only reason I took off a star is because the pacing seemed a bit off. For 3/4 of the book they are going in circles and having the same conversations over and over for pages and pages at a time. It felt very slow and very redundant. The last 1/4 of the book was a punch in the gut and a great setup for sequels.

I finished the last 50 pages on audio because I was just struggling to keep going. It was very enjoyable on audio, and if I ever reread for the sequels I will do so on audio. The audiobook is a production and more than a reading. I definitely recommend the audio. 
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