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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
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
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Violence, Xenophobia
Minor: Cannibalism
I was first introduced to The City We Became through Jemisin’s short story collection, How Long ‘Til Black Future Month. The first chapter of The City We Became is included there as a stand-alone story, and was one of my favorites in the collection. So when I saw the premise of The City We Became, and that it opened with that piece, I was invested.
I loved both the idea for this book as well as the execution. The City We Became revolves primarily around five people, each representing one of New York City’s five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island. There’s a sixth person, representing the City as a whole, but his character is more amorphous throughout the book, appearing in person only briefly.
Like so many other cities before it, New York is evolving, being “born” into a living being. While that’s happening though, other universes are stepping in to try and stop it. It’s the job of the five boroughs and the city itself (himself?) to prevent those other entities from succeeding.
There was a (very) minor romantic subplot which, in my opinion, was introduced out of left field and felt very “love at first sight” without even the “at first sight” part. But this was extremely minor to the rest of the story, so I wasn’t bothered too much by it.
This book is wonderfully written with beautifully developed characters. It was also right up my alley because I love fantasy and magical realism and, as a high school classmate once said to me, I’m “one of those people who just think cities are completely beautiful”.
I loved both the idea for this book as well as the execution. The City We Became revolves primarily around five people, each representing one of New York City’s five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island. There’s a sixth person, representing the City as a whole, but his character is more amorphous throughout the book, appearing in person only briefly.
Like so many other cities before it, New York is evolving, being “born” into a living being. While that’s happening though, other universes are stepping in to try and stop it. It’s the job of the five boroughs and the city itself (himself?) to prevent those other entities from succeeding.
There was a (very) minor romantic subplot which, in my opinion, was introduced out of left field and felt very “love at first sight” without even the “at first sight” part. But this was extremely minor to the rest of the story, so I wasn’t bothered too much by it.
This book is wonderfully written with beautifully developed characters. It was also right up my alley because I love fantasy and magical realism and, as a high school classmate once said to me, I’m “one of those people who just think cities are completely beautiful”.
great writing but was struggling to actually be immersed in the setting. got almost halfway thru and it was still world building… once i found out their was a sequel couldn’t be motivated to finish it.
I must be getting curmudgeonly as this was the 3rd 2020 book that good rave reviews that I was unenthusiastic about (other two were Uncanny Valley and Leave the World Behind). I felt that this traded too heavily in stereotypes, failed to grab my attention for the first 75% and generally felt flat. I read it for book club and everyone else liked it, and I will concede that there were some fantastic details and moments in the story. Just not enough to justify the pages turned.
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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:
Complicated
The City We Became is a riveting science fiction novel. A brilliant, confrontational exploration of white supremacy through the deconstruction of H.P Lovecraft, the dissection of intersectional indenities and the unflinching depiction of white complicity in societal distruction. It also features a diverse cast of characters who are unapologetically human and flawed. Even the character I could by no means like, was written to be understood, her background and current situation lending to her mindset.
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
hopeful
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:
Yes
the fact that someone's brain can just do this is wild to me, i love nk jemisin sm so bad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I struggled to finish this one. I really liked the first few chapters, but as I reached the middle/ending, it felt slow to me. I liked the diverse cast of characters, but felt I didn't know much about them aside from their boroughs. I did like it overall, but I don't think I'll be continuing the series. Also, the audiobook was a little difficult to listen to in parts and felt overly edited.