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troisha's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Racism and Xenophobia
Moderate: Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, and Body horror
Minor: Ableism, Abortion, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Cancer, Colonisation, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual content, Transphobia, and Violence
azrah786's review
4.0
CW: racism, racial slurs, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia, sexual assault, rape threats, violence, body horror, gore, police brutality, religious bigotry, emotional abuse, doxxing, hate crime, abortion, addiction/alcoholism, attempted drowning
My first N. K. Jemisin book and I can only really describe it as wonderfully whacky.
The City We Became is more or less a story about the 5 boroughs of New York being personified to fight off an eldritch being that is hellbent on destroying the city. How cool of a concept is that?!
It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea as it is a little strange and slow going and took me a lot longer to get through that I expected but I did enjoy it.
Jemisin’s writing is absolutely fantastic. The atmosphere created immerses you right in, from the creeping elements of Eldritch/Lovecraftian horror to the rich descriptions of the life, diverse cultures and stereotypes of New York that meticulously shape both the setting and the characters that embody it. One downside though is that as someone who has never seen or experienced the city in person, I did feel like I couldn’t fully appreciate every aspect of the book.
The storyline gave me major comic book vibes – The Wicked and the Divine or Watchmen were some that came to my mind - with how it focuses on a bunch of individuals being reluctantly bestowed powers and coming together to save a city. So although the written novel form worked well to vividly portray all of this in lieu of a comic strip, I can’t help but think it could have worked even better in graphic novel form – it would have particularly helped with the pacing.
The ending was also quite abrupt and hence gave the overall feeling of a prequel novel setting up a bigger story. All that aside however, it was still an impressive work of fiction as well as an immense homage to the city of New York and I can definitely see why Jemisin is such a big name in modern sci-fi and fantasy. I look forward to the sequel and picking up her other work.
Final Rating – 4/5 Stars
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Homophobia, Transphobia, Sexual assault, Hate crime, Violence, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Police brutality, Body horror, Gore, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Abortion and Alcoholism
meganpbennett's review
- 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
The City We Became doesn't have the exposition or information dump that a lot of magical realism books have. The reader learns what is happening as the characters learn. I'm very interested to see where she goes with the trilogy, given what happens during the climatic scenes.
Graphic: Antisemitism, Body horror, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Violence, and Xenophobia
sj_54's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
Two parts 'New York is just the best!'
And one part 'Are you sure you noticed the racism? Let me repeat it again over an extra 10 pages just to be sure. And then apply every racial stereotype to the other characters so you're aware they're not white.'
With a couple of ageist and fatphobic comments to round it all out.
Also the twist at the end? Absolutely predictable.
Graphic: Racism and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Body horror, Colonisation, Cursing, Emotional abuse, and Fatphobia
Minor: Cannibalism, Domestic abuse, and Police brutality
therainbowshelf'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
Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Transphobia, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Grief, Gun violence, and Rape
Minor: Drug use, Body horror, Genocide, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship
georgiakirkegard's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Homophobia, Sexism, Xenophobia, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Body horror, Gore, and Police brutality
aardwyrm's review
- 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
Graphic: Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Violence, Body horror, and Sexual assault
Minor: Ableism, Abortion, Addiction, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Sexism, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Islamophobia, and Homophobia
zombiezami'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
It was also super intense. The white supremacist groups and individuals mobilized by the enemy hit very close to home. I also observe that the book was clearly in conversation with Lovecraft. The ending was
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Antisemitism, Xenophobia, Transphobia, and Body horror
Moderate: Genocide
Minor: Sexual violence, Rape, Ableism, Miscarriage, Abortion, and Slavery
katie_the_librarian's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Violence, and Racism
Moderate: Death, Murder, and Car accident
Minor: Fatphobia, Homophobia, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Slavery, and Xenophobia
malloryfitz's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Abortion, Xenophobia, Violence, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, Hate crime, Body horror, Cursing, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Gun violence, Drug use, and Body shaming