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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
(Had to pause at 80% in March because my library copy got returned)
Very interesting book! Definitely feels like a love letter to New York City (except Staten Island lol), the personifications of ea h burrough embraced the flaws and praised the good. I have a new appreciation for the city as someone who doesn't live there and has only visited a couple of times. The multiverse sections were fun too, though i kept having to rewind the audiobook to keep up.
Very interesting book! Definitely feels like a love letter to New York City (except Staten Island lol), the personifications of ea h burrough embraced the flaws and praised the good. I have a new appreciation for the city as someone who doesn't live there and has only visited a couple of times. The multiverse sections were fun too, though i kept having to rewind the audiobook to keep up.
The first thing I would say about this book is it is super weird. It is unlike anything I have ever read before. It is this unique and weirdness that makes the book so interesting to read. It did have me confused for a lot of it but things did get cleared up a little. The setting of this book is modern day New York City, it is interesting coming into this book as someone who has never set foot in the city. I don't think most of us realise how big New York actually is! Basically this book is about New York City being born and there is a person that represents each of the boroughs. I ended up really enjoying this story after not being so sure to start with. I loved that it was a multiverse story and that actually it ended up making some sort of sense. I am very interested to see what will happen next as this is just the start!
adventurous
medium-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
The world was big and broad and vivid, the plot was surging and fast and had a gravitational pull - yet what disappointed me and pulled me out of this book was how on the nose the characters were. The characters felt forced, under explored, diverse but but really dynamic. I wanted to love a book where the villain was an allegory for white supremacy and is being defeated by a diverse group of characters that represent NYC - I really did. But alas, I did not.
challenging
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
fast-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
Flew through this one! The big draw is the characters and the New York vibes. As someone who has only visited once, I can't vouch for how "accurate" it is, but I can say this is a wild, trippy, really cool story
Audio book
I would have liked this book more if I'd read it. The narrator was great, but ... some of the audio affects from her voice and some from editing were way over the top for me.
I am a wee bit confused about how some of the characters became avatars. Maybe it will make more sense to me in the next book.
I appreciate what the author is doing with representing so many different races and genders and sexualities!
I would have liked this book more if I'd read it. The narrator was great, but ... some of the audio affects from her voice and some from editing were way over the top for me.
I am a wee bit confused about how some of the characters became avatars. Maybe it will make more sense to me in the next book.
I appreciate what the author is doing with representing so many different races and genders and sexualities!
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book blew my mind both in concept and in execution. I wish I could listen in on some New Yorkers discussing it because I am certain they would have gotten even more out of it than I did.
2.5 stars
I enjoyed parts of this a lot but equally didn't like others. The main thing that pushed it from three stars to two was the ending. I felt like there were a ton more things to solve and talk about but were glossed over. Also I found it, as someone who knows very little about New York, hard to keep track of the characters.
I did like the audio version of the creepy laugh from the woman in white, very Scooby Doo.
I enjoyed parts of this a lot but equally didn't like others. The main thing that pushed it from three stars to two was the ending. I felt like there were a ton more things to solve and talk about but were glossed over. Also I found it, as someone who knows very little about New York, hard to keep track of the characters.
I did like the audio version of the creepy laugh from the woman in white, very Scooby Doo.