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itsame_dio's review against another edition
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
- 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,
- 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
Graphic: Antisemitism, Homophobia, Police brutality, Xenophobia, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Domestic abuse and Abortion
amsswim's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
I saw this book recommended everywhere, and it was totally worth it. N.K. Jemison has such a way with word, the descriptions were so vivid. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND listening to the audiobook, it's not just a read it has sound effects, music, and more. Made the descriptions amd story really come to life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Xenophobia, Racism, Racial slurs, and Dementia
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Lesbophobia
jakepasseri's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
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
A really good read that flips (and critiques) the Lovecraftian ideas over the fear of the unknown to critique and comment on modern political issues (though it can be ham-fisted at times)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Pregnancy, Abortion, Alcoholism, and Colonisation
saucy_bookdragon's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-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
The City We Became is a really fucking cool concept. Cities have the capability of coming to life and choosing superpowered avatars to represent them. There's a multiverse. The cast is a diverse group of likable characters who are taking on the physical manifestation of white supremacy. The writing style is witty. The novel is clearly a love letter to New York itself, specifically the BIPOC and queer people who make it up.
The worldbuilding is the best aspect of this. Having read Jemisin's Broken Earth Trilogy and this, I like how she combines elements of both sci-fi and fantasy. It adds both a uniqueness and richness to her worlds. As previously stated this has a multiversal element (they don't travel to any parallel worlds but it is relevant), it's an urban fantasy, there's a bit of Lovecraft involved, and it's a reflection of a city's culture. It's an extremely ambitious world that I'll likely be thinking about for awhile.
And for the first hundred pages, I was having a blast. They're mostly from Manny's POV as he wakes up with amnesia and discovers he's now Manhattan itself and there are tentacle monsters he has to fight. However, after about a hundred pages there are a few too many POVs and they aren't evenly paced with each other. Just when I felt I was really getting into Manny and expecting him to be the protagonist, we jump to the other boroughs who did not all need to be protagonists. Manny becomes a side character drowned in a large ensemble, his interesting storyline the reader is introduced to becomes a subplot out of nowhere.
As the book is set in a contemporary world, it does deal with contemporary themes. As I'm not a New Yorker, I can't really speak for how accurately this represents the city, only that there seems to be a passion for it. I will say I don't think you can distill a city down to its core personality traits but whatevs. I also wish the themes of bigotry went a little deeper than "wow! Racism exists! And it's bad!" Like I know. The target audience should know too.
I also have a few qualms with the ending. Without spoiling, I found it anticlimactic and rushed. With spoilers,I really wished the plot twist with New Jersey wasn't so sudden, especially as it fucked with the established magic system and also was just kind of stupid how they were all like "oh wait New Jersey exists-" like if it's established Staten Island is needed to awaken New York, it's unsatisfying for New Jersey to just randomly be revealed to work in her place. And are we not going to actually unpack whether New Jersey is a valid borough? Are we not going to consider how it's status being tenuous would really act with the magic system? Or expand on that as a theme around cultural identity?
It also muddles the messaging if the Woman In White wants to stop the city from being born because cities being born destroys universes. I like the idea of cities destroying universes in theory as it makes the worldbuilding kind of fucked up. But it gave the Woman In White, the very on the nose manifestation of white supremacy, a little too noble of a motive for comfort. Also the fact cities being born has a death count beyond comprehension is never unpacked which idk that seems like a pretty big deal :/
The City We Became is filled with incredible worldbuilding and a passion for New York City, but its characters deserved better development and the plot is in need of some restructuring. I don't think I'll read the second book, but I definitely want to explore N.K. Jemisin's work more and would say The City We Became is worth checking out if the premise interests you.
The worldbuilding is the best aspect of this. Having read Jemisin's Broken Earth Trilogy and this, I like how she combines elements of both sci-fi and fantasy. It adds both a uniqueness and richness to her worlds. As previously stated this has a multiversal element (they don't travel to any parallel worlds but it is relevant), it's an urban fantasy, there's a bit of Lovecraft involved, and it's a reflection of a city's culture. It's an extremely ambitious world that I'll likely be thinking about for awhile.
And for the first hundred pages, I was having a blast. They're mostly from Manny's POV as he wakes up with amnesia and discovers he's now Manhattan itself and there are tentacle monsters he has to fight. However, after about a hundred pages there are a few too many POVs and they aren't evenly paced with each other. Just when I felt I was really getting into Manny and expecting him to be the protagonist, we jump to the other boroughs who did not all need to be protagonists. Manny becomes a side character drowned in a large ensemble, his interesting storyline the reader is introduced to becomes a subplot out of nowhere.
As the book is set in a contemporary world, it does deal with contemporary themes. As I'm not a New Yorker, I can't really speak for how accurately this represents the city, only that there seems to be a passion for it. I will say I don't think you can distill a city down to its core personality traits but whatevs. I also wish the themes of bigotry went a little deeper than "wow! Racism exists! And it's bad!" Like I know. The target audience should know too.
I also have a few qualms with the ending. Without spoiling, I found it anticlimactic and rushed. With spoilers,
It also muddles the messaging if the Woman In White wants to stop the city from being born because cities being born destroys universes. I like the idea of cities destroying universes in theory as it makes the worldbuilding kind of fucked up. But it gave the Woman In White, the very on the nose manifestation of white supremacy, a little too noble of a motive for comfort. Also the fact cities being born has a death count beyond comprehension is never unpacked which idk that seems like a pretty big deal :/
The City We Became is filled with incredible worldbuilding and a passion for New York City, but its characters deserved better development and the plot is in need of some restructuring. I don't think I'll read the second book, but I definitely want to explore N.K. Jemisin's work more and would say The City We Became is worth checking out if the premise interests you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Violence, Racial slurs, Domestic abuse, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Rape, Car accident, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia
rnbhargava's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Classism, Confinement, Grief, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Stalking, Violence, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Misogyny, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Xenophobia
How hard these triggers hit will vary person to person, hence why I put all of them in moderate, not that they were all moderate to me. Nothing kept me from wanting to read the rest of the book. I can’t wait to get to the next 2.litliz's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Misogyny, Racism, and Sexism
Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Cultural appropriation, Fire/Fire injury, Islamophobia, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Cancer, Car accident, Cursing, Death, Deportation, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Abortion, Antisemitism, Cannibalism, Classism, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Racial slurs, and Rape
harpoonholly's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Audiobook review. First thing, Robin Miles is an amazing actor who puts so much passion in the words written, even the post-credits and IP legalese. She is a full cast in a single person, her characterizations are so good. I'll be getting the sequel to this book, "The World We Make" to hear her act again.
I'll also get the sequel because NK Jemisin is an amazing writer. I'm fascinated in the personification of concepts and to personify cities is to maximize adds greater complexity because of course it has to. I also like how she goes about acknowledging Lovecraft's literary contributions (northeastern U.S. sublime, dread, and monsters) and shining a scalding light over his overt bigotry that was startling even for his time.
10/10, would recommend, especially the audiobook.
I'll also get the sequel because NK Jemisin is an amazing writer. I'm fascinated in the personification of concepts and to personify cities is to maximize adds greater complexity because of course it has to. I also like how she goes about acknowledging Lovecraft's literary contributions (northeastern U.S. sublime, dread, and monsters) and shining a scalding light over his overt bigotry that was startling even for his time.
10/10, would recommend, especially the audiobook.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Homophobia, Racism, and Body horror
Moderate: Misogyny, Police brutality, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Ableism, Addiction, and Alcoholism
brianneh's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Racism, Antisemitism, Racial slurs, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny
Minor: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders
literarycavy's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Colonisation, Homophobia, and Racial slurs
Minor: Genocide
stefhyena's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is a fantastic book. It's a super-hero fantasy but so anti-racist that white fragility may be very offended by it (if they understand what they are reading). 5 stars does not indicate perfection. I did find it overexplainy in parts and I am not a fan of the multiverse -everything you decide splits realities idea as I think the way it is written in most places (including here) has some logical flaws.
At the same time it's a good fast-paced, original and engaging plot. It's well constructed so you find out what is going on in increments and this keeps you curious. Probably the first half of the book was stronger than the second but by then you are well invested and there is still something of worth. I don't know how to talk about the main point without spoilers. Maybe I will just say that you can feel very sorry for someone and wish they would heal without liking how toxic they have let their pain make them. And I guess all the parts of the city had experienced pain and challenge. Perhaps the toxicity of white people is shown to be even squishing/abusing their own. No accident I would say that the woman wears white.
The terrible artists collective white-male-fragility was all too believable. I don't like to be snide about man-buns as over here they tend to be more lefty and it's right-wingers who mock that (Ok so my kids have sported man-buns)....but the rest of it so true. I've seen a similar scene in poetry circles. Your work is offensive but it is also crude and inept on a technical level. LOL every time there was a scene where racists get blasted or injured I was happy. I would have like more of that TBH.
The city ultimately was not completely loveable...I know this is realism but I was kind of annoyed at the helicopter parents and standardised tests at the end, TBH those seemed like weapons of the "Better New York" society (ie the bad guys). So at that point the author-capable as she is over-reached and her snark degenerated into preciousness...and then the ending was sappy too.
At the end of the day though it's a super-hero story. It would make a good film and is no doubt deliberately written that way. It almost demands a sappy ending doesn't it? With a hint that there may or may not be sequels. 5 stars because there was a lot here.
Make sure you Google-lens the cover. That was fun :)
At the same time it's a good fast-paced, original and engaging plot. It's well constructed so you find out what is going on in increments and this keeps you curious. Probably the first half of the book was stronger than the second but by then you are well invested and there is still something of worth. I don't know how to talk about the main point without spoilers. Maybe I will just say that you can feel very sorry for someone and wish they would heal without liking how toxic they have let their pain make them. And I guess all the parts of the city had experienced pain and challenge. Perhaps the toxicity of white people is shown to be even squishing/abusing their own. No accident I would say that the woman wears white.
The terrible artists collective white-male-fragility was all too believable. I don't like to be snide about man-buns as over here they tend to be more lefty and it's right-wingers who mock that (Ok so my kids have sported man-buns)....but the rest of it so true. I've seen a similar scene in poetry circles. Your work is offensive but it is also crude and inept on a technical level. LOL every time there was a scene where racists get blasted or injured I was happy. I would have like more of that TBH.
The city ultimately was not completely loveable...I know this is realism but I was kind of annoyed at the helicopter parents and standardised tests at the end, TBH those seemed like weapons of the "Better New York" society (ie the bad guys). So at that point the author-capable as she is over-reached and her snark degenerated into preciousness...and then the ending was sappy too.
At the end of the day though it's a super-hero story. It would make a good film and is no doubt deliberately written that way. It almost demands a sappy ending doesn't it? With a hint that there may or may not be sequels. 5 stars because there was a lot here.
Make sure you Google-lens the cover. That was fun :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia
Moderate: Domestic abuse
It's not portraying them as good. It's a pretty honest and useful look at these traumatising themes but it's not nice.