Reviews with content warning for Violence - The City We Became

I love the concept of this book, that cities have souls, avatars that protect them, that are them. It's something I've never read before.
I loved the avatars of New York. They were all well-written and brought their own issues and world views to the table. It was interesting to read all their different ideas and approaches to finding themselves as the chosen ones. They needed a while to figure things out and work together, but in the end they did it because New York is their home and they will fight for it. I also enjoyed the other city avatars and I'm excited to see, who else we'll get to know in the next book in this series.
The Woman in White was a great villain. The way she used the hate people already have in them and oppressing structures that are in our world, to manipulate people and get what she wants, makes her really effective and realistic. It really drove home the points of the book.

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efratmaor's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.0

This is so disappointing. Stereotypic characters, a plot that would seffice to a short story. So much workd building, there isn't enough plot.
Just boring.
Read two other books that have an embodiment or the spirit of a city or cities in them, which were way better.

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accidentallyinspace's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

I'm definitely already biased towards N.K. Jemisin, but this was a fantastic work of urban fantasy and speculative fiction. I believe the first chapter of this book was first published in her book of short stories (or it was revealed to me in a dream, because somehow I recognized it) but the full experience was incredible and so well written. This is one of those books that starts with a concept that makes you groan a little at how corny it might be, but then turns out to be incredibly clever in ways that keep making you stop and reconsider. Or hits you with the magic and scaling system that just click into place so perfectly it's like okay, every new development just makes SENSE. Thank you, I'll have another.

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catastrophic's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional fast-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? Yes

4.75

It's like Marvel but fantasy and set very firmly in the post-2020 culture wars. It has the Marvel elements of "the city is doomed if us team of ragtag heroes don't stop the big bad" but with incredible layers of Jemisin's nuance and rich characters. So evocative and descriptive, it feels impossible that she was able to describe the visuals so clearly with words. And very contemporary in a way no other works have yet captured. Slightly too Marvel and heroic at times

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kmrose's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious tense medium-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? No

4.5

I loved this book! After I stopped being confused about what was happening, that is. I don’t read a lot of sci-fi, so learning to just be ok with being confused took a bit. I really loved it in the end.

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maritareads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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jjstallone's review against another edition

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4.0

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travelseatsreads's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I've always been in love with New York City so when I saw the cover for The City We Became and then read the blurb I knew instantly this was one I wanted to read. TCWB is a powerful and entertaining piece of urban speculative fiction/fantasy which takes multiple no holds barred punches at societies' issues leaving the reader with a lot to think about.

The world building and characterization are absolutely sensational. Jemisin's portrayal of each of the city's boroughs as humans with their own very unique personalities is absolutely spot on and so captivating and entertaining. It's hard not to be automatically drawn to some characters and then to take an immediate dislike to others. The people, culture and vibes of each individual borough are portrayed so well in their human form it's almost uncanny.

While I really enjoyed reading it and found it so hard to put it down, there were definitely sections where I did feel a little bit disconnected. Jemisin goes in hard repeatedly on so many issues such as prejudice, gentrification, racism, xenophobia and homophobia and while all her points raise fantastic questions for discussion at times due to the intensity and nature of her commentary it did become to feel a little preachy.

There's so much to unpack that I think maybe I would have enjoyed it more as a buddy read to have someone to bounce thoughts off of and to discuss themes with. However, overall I loved this book and its characters and I cannot to read The World We Make.

A captivating, gritty, speculative fantasy love letter to NYC with so much to discuss and ponder.

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