Reviews

Summer in the City of Roses by Michelle Ruiz Keil

beethbarrett's review

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

obsessed with the vibes and the world but the change of tone at the end threw me

sverville's review

5.0

the setting and characters in this book are absolute magic.

kkrato's review

I liked the Portland stuff, the characters, the mysticism, the music, the representation.

zellm's review

4.0

I loved the way this book was mostly realistic for the first 2/3s, but has enough of a hint of magical realism that when it becomes the main plot of the story, it doesn't feel like as abrupt a change as it might otherwise have been. The characters here are all so fantastic, and I loved Iph and Orr's distinct voices, as well as the different ways they relate to their shared experiences.

reese_lanier's review

adventurous emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This book has such flowery and pretty writing based off of the Greek tale of Iphagenia. It incorporates aspects of theater, poetry, music, dance, and sex work. It deals with aspects of familial trauma, and finding your tribe away from your family. It looks at what it was like to be Queer in Portland during the 1990's, while also being a racial minority (several characters have varying racial identities), as well as trying to find yourself in a world that does not know how to interpret neurodivergency and non-binary genders. It incorporates aspects of magical surrealism, which is peppered throughout the book up until the final 100 or so pages when there is a huge tonal shift to close out the story. There is a very tender and impactful ending that I suspect I will think about for a long time. 

weenyreads's review

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

dlberglund's review

4.0

I loved the first half of this book. I loved siblings Iph and Orr, I loved biking around Portland with them and discovering their own independence. I loved the touches of magical realism sprinkled throughout. The world and the characters and the story were all so well developed!
Then, the last section of the book took a few turns that were just too hard for me to follow. It didn’t feel like a natural extension of what had come before. The ending shook me, as well. I’d love to read other books by her, but this one wasn’t cohesive enough to give it full stars.

rubyseemorebooks's review

mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.0

Good YA fiction, great nods to Portland. 

dreamofbookspines's review

5.0

An updated Francesca Lia Block for the Pacific Northwest. Beautiful and touching story.

youlizyoulearn's review against another edition

slow-paced

2.5