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laurenkimoto's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
- Amazing cover: the matte city scape with the shiny tentacles and colour detailing ties in so nicely to the story *chef kiss* The person who designed the cover deserves an award
- Chapter titles really should make a comeback
- We love some reluctant heroes who really just want to say to hell with saving the world just let me live my life in peace
- I am a fool I did not realize this was part of a series and now I’m sitting here waiting for the next book :(
- The petty book hill I will die on is that short chapters are superior to long chapters
- This is different than other fantasy books partially because it’s urban fantasy but also because the first half of the book the characters don’t know what’s going on so you don’t know what’s going on. Jemisin doesn’t info dump or use a naive character at the start to explain this world but rather you learn as the characters learn which I find is a fresh take.
- This book has the most diverse set of characters I have ever come across and it does so without any “token” characters because their identity and diversity is tied in to who/what they are. With this comes addressing so many timely and everlasting issues and Jemisin does so without sacrificing plot, pacing or anything else.
Moderate: Addiction, Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Transphobia, Violence, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Lesbophobia, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism
gattolinos_nerdy_nook's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This book will catch you right away with such a rich and unique cast, not only in design, but also in personalities, goals, fears, and struggles. I love how each character has a unique power to fight the "Woman in White". Each of them embody not only the borough they represent but also different minorities that can be over looked and harassed as the book touches on with each character. Each of them the boroughs are funny and loveable (well mainly) to read, the car scene in chapter 14 made me laugh.
As I was reading I thought this was a standalone book, when I learnt it wasn't I was so relieved as I has way too many questions. I want to know more about this world and its lore, how does everything work?
I will say this book does take a couple of chapters to get into, so keep that in mind if you are wanting to read it. Once you do get past the confusing beginning, it is really easy to get sucked into the story and love the characters as they are introduced. You also get the appreciate how much the first couple of chapters have set up. I think the magical realism and soft sci-fi is also good for those readers that want to get into the sci-fi fantasy genres but are intimidated by what is out there already and are unsure if they will like it.
Moderate: Hate crime, Racism, Xenophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcoholism, Abortion, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
kjoli's review against another edition
- 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
Minor: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Abortion, Lesbophobia, and Colonisation
celines_schemes's review against another edition
2.75
Graphic: Cursing, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, and Police brutality
Moderate: Homophobia and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Abortion, Lesbophobia, and Colonisation
grets_reads's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Bullying and Domestic abuse
Minor: Body shaming, Cancer, Genocide, Police brutality, Abortion, Colonisation, and Classism
skudiklier's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, and War
Moderate: Addiction, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Abortion, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Genocide, Gun violence, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Colonisation
chelseareads's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.25
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
Minor: Emotional abuse, Rape, Police brutality, and Abortion
its_van_vulpen's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Sexual assault, Police brutality, and Murder
Minor: Alcoholism, Confinement, Genocide, Abortion, Alcohol, and Colonisation
stephbakerbooks's review against another edition
- 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
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!
Graphic: Cursing and Racism
Moderate: Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual assault, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cancer, Transphobia, and Abortion
deedireads's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
TL;DR REVIEW:
The City We Became is a fast-paced, imaginative, super fun urban fantasy set in New York City. As a person who lives here, I ate it up. I can’t wait to see where the series goes.
For you if: You love New York City.
FULL REVIEW:
“This is the lesson: Great cities are like any other living things, being born and maturing and wearying and dying in their turn.”
Y’all, what a FUN book. You’ll see lots of people describe it as a love letter to NYC, and as a person who lives here, I had such a good time reading it.
The premise is really imaginative: All cities, when they reach a certain age or cultural tipping point, are born into living things. To help that process complete, there is always a human who takes on the city’s life force; a living avatar. Except New York has not one, but six avatars: one for each borough, and one for the city as a whole. But NYC’s birth gets disrupted by an ancient enemy who wants to stop it from being born, and so our six characters have to find each other to fortify and protect New York so it can finish being born and live on.
What makes this book so fun is how Jemisin infused these avatars with the culture, history, and lifeblood of their boroughs. You can tell she lives here and loves it deeply. It’s also very modern and of today, almost pop culture-ish. If you've ever lived here, you’ll recognize the city instantly through her eyes. It did occasionally feel a little TOO on the nose, but I also understand that Jemisin has to bring non-New Yorkers along for the ride too.
One thing I will say is that this is a very tough look for Staten Island, and it occasionally made me feel a little uncomfortable. The avatar, a girl named Aislyn, is a sheltered and racist daughter of a very racist and misogynistic police officer. And while it’s true that Staten Island is VERY red to the rest of NYC’s blue, it felt almost dismissive of the whole borough, like it’s a lost cause or full of bad guys, which doesn’t feel like a hopeful or helpful position. That said, I do think that Jemisin did a good job of showing how and why Aisyln became who she is, and she’s definitely got room for redemption, so I’m hoping that the next book focuses on the possible unity being hinted at.
Anyway, all told I had a lot of fun with this and I think you would too!
Graphic: Racism and Xenophobia
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Abortion and Sexual harassment