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hobbithopeful'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? It's complicated
4.5
Aden Polydoros wows in this gripping tale about the demons inside all of us, and the consequences of guilt.
Set in Chicago in the 1890s Alter works himself to the bone, numbers running through his head all day as he saves up to bring his Mother and sisters over from Romania. His plans become derailed when his best friend is found dead, and soon he finds himself embroiled in the mystery of missing and dead Jewish boys. To make matters worse he has become possessed by Yakov's dybbuk, his past has come back to haunt him, and it seems his only solution is to ask his ex friend Frankie for help. (Frankie who is doing very well for himself with his mini crime empire, overall attractiveness, and assimilation into "American ways")
Please check your trigger warnings, as this does go to dark places. (It's worth it, I promise!)
I loved how incredibly honest and angry this book was. Every page just felt raw, not in an unpolished and unedited way, but as if the author was baring his heart and soul for us to see, his emotions bleeding through every page and character. (Seriously y'all, you can feel the rage and injustice) I saw so much of myself in so many of the characters, but most of all Frankie. I wanted to scream at the police officers who refused to help, and when
I honestly went in with pretty low expectations after reading The Bone Weaver, and to say this book blew me away was an understatement. The City Beautiful has won a ton of awards, and rightfully so.
The only reason this isn't a 5 star read for me is I felt it kinda slowed down near the end. It was all going so well and great and then
I highly recommend this book, and with a renewed interest in the author, I look forward to what he will write next.
Graphic: Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Racism, Racial slurs, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Child death, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Rape
spookily'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Antisemitism, Blood, Death, Hate crime, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Violence, Homophobia, and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol, Vomit, Classism, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, and Terminal illness
Minor: Suicide, Bullying, Child death, Excrement, Misogyny, and Police brutality
leahkarge's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Antisemitism, Child death, Blood, Classism, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Xenophobia, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
jessthepiratess'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
4.5
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Death, Gore, Racism, Antisemitism, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, and Death of parent
Moderate: Racial slurs, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Genocide, and Grief
Minor: Police brutality, Suicide, and Homophobia
thecriticalreader's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
If you are anything like me and do not recognize the many Yiddish words and phrases used in this book, the glossary is at the back of the book!
Graphic: Death of parent, Homophobia, Murder, Antisemitism, Blood, Death, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Violence, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Racial slurs, Rape, Alcohol, Child death, Misogyny, Gun violence, Genocide, Pedophilia, and Sexual violence
Minor: Suicide, Drug use, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Abandonment, and Forced institutionalization
ezwolf'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? It's complicated
5.0
One of the things I think this book does so well is mix real historical settings along with Jewish mythology. It also delves into (one of) the ways death is treated in Jewish culture. The antisemitism that Alter experiences and danger of being visibly Jewish is something that can be related to even now.
I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for queer Jewish representation!
Also I greatly appreciate that Aden Polydoros posts content warnings on his website for each of his books. I've copied a link to the ones specifically for this book below.
https://adenpolydoros.com/the-city-beautiful
Graphic: Xenophobia, Classism, Homophobia, Antisemitism, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Blood, Child death, Hate crime, Religious bigotry, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Pedophilia, and Rape
Minor: Animal death, Alcohol, and Death of parent
lanid's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Antisemitism and Body horror
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Murder, Racism, Rape, and Religious bigotry
nniikkaa's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Death, Religious bigotry, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Rape
paracosim'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: Antisemitism, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Xenophobia, Violence, Rape, Pedophilia, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, and Child abuse
Minor: Alcohol
jamielikestoread'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? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Antisemitism and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Sexual violence