The City We Became

DNF because I got spoilers that deeply triggered me

The borough who “betrays” them is an abuse victim and I'm really not good with... that

Shelving as DNF because I made de mistake of trying the audiobook version and the narrator was absolutely unbearable the mouth noises and background music/noise made me cringe so bad I couldn't make it past 5%. Will attempt to read in another format.

No rating.

I finished the book last night and I have been trying to put my thoughts together about it.

I am in the middle of a reading slump. And because of that, it took me a very long time to finish it. It’s not that I wasn’t enjoying it. The times that I was able to pickup the book, I would read for my usual time, about one hour. But most day, I just couldn’t find the energy to start reading. The part that I can’t put together is that if the book was helping me to stay in the reading slump or it was just life that got in the way.

Anyway, I found the whole idea very appealing, cities becoming real entities is such a good idea. She is able to build on it and create a very believable world. I have never been to New York, but from my limited knowledge, I was able to connect and move around with the characters.

The only part that keeps coming to my mind that feels off, is one character Manny’s flatmate that appears, it starts to be developed, but then it disappears. I guess there must be a reason why, but it totally eludes me.

This book focusses on characters that are personifications of (boroughs in) New York. I personally didn't really enjoy this book, but I wonder if that is because I'm not super familiar with New York and its boroughs and their characteristics.

The book was paced really quickly in the sense that a lot of action/important things kept happening and there was very little time of downtime. Which brings me to my main issue, which is that I didn't really get attached to the characters because I felt I didn't really get to know them, every time I felt I was getting a feel for a character either we switched to a different one or some action happened.

Just as a note: Manny's sudden obsessive love for the NYC avatar also felt weird and out of place.

It also didn't feel like the characters were making smart decisions, which doesn't have to be a bad thing, but often they talked about what would be a good idea and then would choose not to do that for some reason. Like when they left Long Island to fend for herself when knew they would feel left out and be less likely to work with them (but maybe this makes more sense if you're more familiar with the relations between the boroughs).

The ending also felt a bit contrived, even though some pretty important stuff went wrong, something magically happened to fix it in time to have a positive ending. Long Island didn't want to work with them, so we'll just immediately give up on her, but oh how lucky this other girl that's been helping, just happens to embody this other place that kind of belongs to NYC anyways, so she can just fill that spot and everything's fixed. I like happy endings, but it felt a bit out of nowhere.

I did enjoy the part where they had to heal a city's representative with things that are quintessentially related to their city of origin, I thought that was a fun idea that you could have interesting discussions about.

I liked the characters, but the way the world worked was a bit arbitrary at times, making the plot much less engaging.

As someone not from NY, Jemisin did a great job of showing what the city is like and portraying authentic experiences - She said she did a ton of research in the acknowledgements and I totally believe it.

This is a hard one to rate, it’s beautifully written, like poetry in some places. The first chapter didn’t feel super narrative to me and more like spoken word, was a little worried I wasn’t going to like it, but as it goes on it gets better and better. It definitely a slower book and long so it took me a while to get through, however it feels so wholly unique and wonderful that I think anything less than 5 stars wouldn’t be fitting. So even though idk if it was generally my style I absolutely love it and will be reading the next instalment for sure.

What good does it do to be valuable, if nobody values you? - Chapter 1

Severe, brutal, blatant commentary on society, racism, prejudice, the default nature of humanity to form cliques and to hell with those unlike you. And at the same time, full of unfettered joy and unrestrained pride and the beauty of humanity in all their flaws and triumphs. Unique in story and also so familiar in other ways that I found myself laughing out loud even as I had tears on my cheeks from the truth of the words. 

If you've ever been to New York, you'll feel the pulse of the city in every word of this book, and if you haven't, you'll still feel it because that pulse can be found in all cities, in all towns, in all groups of people. This book is every bit a glorious love letter to the city that never sleeps, and truly all cities and humanity itself. I've rarely read something this incredibly distinctive, with each character's voice so special in its own way. 

Yes, it will force you to confront your internal prejudice (and we've all got it, even you) and yes, it does not hide the message in some soft, easy metaphor. This is a clear, vibrant, loud call to arms, merciless in many ways as it shows the vitriol that minorities face, as well as the environments that foster and fuel and create that narrow minded culture that The Woman in White personified so well throughout this book. Truly a masterpiece and I'm so eager to read more by N K Jemisin now. Read this. 

This one was a bit of disappointment. I didn't really understand what was going on for half of the book and then I just couldn't bring myself to care.

Wonderfully weird! A great combination of sci-fi and fantasy. It makes just enough sense to work; and now I want to visit New York.

Jumping right into the second one!

Really wanted to like this a lot more but some of the characters (especially Padmini) felt shallow.  Would hugely recommend to anyone who likes Neil Gaiman books like Neverwhere and American Gods because it's of the same ilk (although I think I prefer Jemison's punchy way of writing action). It did hit on a couple pet  peeves for me though (eg. Bel talks in a very stereotypical English way not really representative of how people in our area speak).

I absolutely loved this book. I love how the diversity doesn't feel forced but is also a major part of their identities. The book reminded me of a Spike Lee film as it deals with gentrification and racism in NYC and also Across the Spiderverse. However I did think the ending was rushed which is why I haven't given it a full 5 stars but I am definitely going to read the sequel and Jemisin's other books.

I enjoyed reading this! I haven't read much “weird fiction” before (the only one to mind is [b:The King in Yellow and Other Horror Stories 129798 The King in Yellow and Other Horror Stories (Dover Mystery, Detective, & Other Fiction) Robert W. Chambers https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1416873291l/129798.SY75.jpg 954927], which I found rather boring); I appreciated this book's take on “weird” fiction and the modernization of it.The concept of cities as people / living entities resonates. I am originally from a very small town and moved to Chicago when young, and cities certainly have an individualized energy to them that I have always enjoyed. While I'm not familiar with Staten Island, Jemisin's description of a more rural-like, “simple” life and beliefs rings true. The power of fear in these communities, particularly, rings true.I like that Jemisin doesn't bog us down with long, technical explanations of how things work. Even Bronca, our link to this world's knowledge, doesn't bother us with that. We're expected to accept magic at face value because it's magic. I do have some quibbles with powers being inconsistently used, but I think for the most part this can be excused as our heroes don't really know how to use their powers.The elevation of different cultures and ways of thinking elevated the story and provided some A-plus social commentary, without devolving into tweets. I think that's been my #1 criticism of recent speculative fiction I've read - the commentary comes tweet-sized and shaped. Not so for Jemisin's work, where the thoughts are more nuanced, more deeply integrated into the story and characters, and shine the truer for it.I'll talk about more specifics in the spoiler section below - but two things stick out to me in the book that I'm not super satisfied with. I think things come very easily to our characters, all the way through. At almost no point do I see consequences for anyone in the story - what are the stakes? The problem with the main stake in the story being the end of the world is that it is intangible. There are two plot points that go against this, but one of them is rather lost, and the other quite short-lived.Secondly, the pacing of the final third or quarter of the book felt a little rushed. The ending in particular, came all at once and resolved in a really unexpected and bizarre (even for weird fiction) way, that I don't think works very well. I do wonder if the story was more complete at some point before the decision was made to write a sequel. Perhaps the sequel addresses some of my concerns.SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE BOOK FOLLOW:I have a lot of mixed feelings about Staten Island's character. We get a lot of good backstory for SI, but the story paints them as irredeemable. I was really surprised that the redemption of SI's character was not the major plot point of the final parts of the book - this would seem natural to me. Instead, Jemisin seems to say that the Island has dissolved itself of the City and is a lost cause. Why would we connect a character who we know lives in an abusive household, who does long for more, who is nearly the victim of attempted rape in this story - does it track that our story would abandon this person? Is the message here that the programming this person has gone through is impossible to reverse? So much of Staten Island's fear, insecurity, and false facades ring true to rural, more conservative-leaning life. And yet, maybe because I know so many people like this, I don't believe that SI is a lost cause. Her father? Yes. Her? No. To add to the above, it seems really strange and totally out of nowhere that Jersey City suddenly appears as a new borough at the end of the story. I guess the commentary here is that what something says on a map doesn't matter, because a City is a concept more similar to a nation - a collection of thought and culture - rather than lines on a map (like a State). Fair enough, but it seemed to me more like the writer making a rapid adjustment to bring the book to a rapid close than something well thought out.

This was good! 3 stars Becayse I don't know that I'd recommend it to anyone other than folks that were fans of SF and had read a lot of the genre. The premise is SUPER interesting.

3.75.

Amazing concept; unimaginative, generic execution 

had a lot of promise, but lacked character development and subtlety

DNF at 48%. It wasn't bad, but I had to return it to the library. When it became available again, I let it pass, realizing I didn't feel any investment in finishing the story.

It's an interesting concept, but I found the Power Rangers-style mechanics a bit juvenile and the politics kind of incoherent. It's a novel dealing with racism and New York City in which Lovecraft gets name-checked 9 times and Robert Moses not once. Overall, a rather surface-level take on both Lovecraftian horrors and social justice.

Read while in the mood for something fun during a long weekend. This is indeed fun; an assemble-the-avengers action-filled adventure with a ton of deliberate representation. Special call out for the Tamilian with H-1B lottery problems from whom I learnt a new Tamil phrase: kan kettu piragu Surya namaskaaram. Favourite quote: “Home isn't where the heart is, it's wherever the wind feels right.”

Imagine a world where great cities lay slumbering, waiting for the time they become something else, something sentient. New York City is waking, and it’s chosen six avatars to bring about its rise. But another being is trying to take over the city for its own gains. Planting seeds of distrust among the people and bringing their darker intentions to the surface. The avatars will find citizens of their boroughs turning against them as their adversary moves between bodies, searching for a proper foothold in their world to destroy them.

N.K. Jemisin has embodied New York City in a creative and startling way. The avatars are walking and talking human representatives of their borough. Even though they are all from the city, each of the avatars is surprisingly different. The attitudes and cultures of those within the boroughs influence how the avatars react to different situations. Readers are also given background information on each borough and how the people within them have grown to be so different from each other. I loved the drops of history and world-building woven into the story to create a complete picture of each borough. The amount of detail and attention that is given to each borough’s perspective fascinated me.

I also enjoyed the vague and mysterious antagonist. Leaving the reader in the dark about the extent of its power and abilities gave an added layer of complexity. As the boroughs struggled to learn their new responsibilities they were also forced to defend themselves. And the battle wasn’t just on a metaphysical front. The antagonist infected people with racist and bigoted views. It sent these people to spew their hatred through various public displays and acts of violence. But the avatars went toe to toe with them and used public support to fight back as well as their latent powers given to them by the boroughs.

The characterization of the boroughs was stunning. Each avatar’s personality matched their borough’s people and the way they interacted with one another. Their separate histories were laced with emotion and explained the biases they carried. As some came to realize their biases, they inwardly began to work on re-evaluating how they viewed one another, but not everyone was able to do so. From their dialogue to their mannerism, and even how they presented themselves, everything came together to showcase New York City’s diverse culture. And I loved every minute of it.

The City We Became is an amazing deep dive into modern society and all its complexity and nuances. The depth of imagination in this book and the brilliant way N.K. Jemisin portrayed prejudice is astounding. If you have the chance, listen to this one as an audiobook. The narration was fantastic. Being able to hear the different dialects used in New York City will add to your experience. Not to mention the wonderful audio effects added when characters were hearing audio cues differently. I highly recommend this to fans of complex world-building.

Promising idea; disappointing execution. The villains were cartoonish, full-on evil with no depth or nuance whatsoever; I kept hoping for a mustachio twirl, it would've made them more believable. Going with the Lovecraft mythos—not just inspired-by, but literal straight-out-of-his-books stuff—annoyed me; it brings attention, indirect validation even, to someone who doesn't deserve it. And, far too many convenient little miracles: even with the handwavey “the city takes care of its own” rationalization, the improbabilities were too much for me. So were the plot inconsistencies.

Possibly fun for a resident of New York, especially someone with tribalistic attachment to one of the subdivisions (Brooklyn, Bronx, whatever). Probably a lot of insider references that they can enjoy and relate to. For the rest of us, fun light reading with interesting, likable, strong female characters and passable tension. Just don't expect anything as rich and complex as Jemisin's earlier work.

I just can't see what seemingly everyone else saw in this book. Bland prose (everyone's thoughts and motivations are listed like we might otherwise miss them, like “[character] thinks dark things are evil because she sees that in the media” is essentially an actual sentence in this novel) padded with pointless bickering and boring New York in-jokes. Every character is an ethnic stereotype and they all sound so similar to one another that I kept forgetting one of them was supposed to be 70 until she brought up Stonewall again. The antagonist's minions are like cartoon villains and they're all written in the most cringe-inducing way possible.

I did like the idea behind how the antagonist's plan worked, and using white and light colours as something dangerous. Unfortunately, the one interesting city formation concept is dropped almost immediately after it comes up and the ending didn't make any sense with what was already established.

I feel like the author could have saved me a few hours of reading time by just typing up a Tumblr post about how much she hates Staten Island and leaving it at that.

I was so disappointed.

Keep in mind, personally when I read a story, its characters will always be the most important element to me.

That being said:
1. The characters here have no agency. They never get an opportunity to do what they want to do rather it's always what they HAVE to do.
2. They are barely three dimensional, they all feel like caricatures, especially the villains.
3. There is no chemistry between any of them, it's even expressed multiple times that they dislike one another.
4. There is MINIMAL character development for each of them.

Other complaints include:

A lot of exposition through dialogue. Like, a lot.

A lot of “how do I know that? I guess I just do.” THAT IS NEVER EXPLAINED.

There are no clear rules to the magic in this universe, including the use of the character's powers. It's just whatever is convenient for the the plot at the time.

Just a nitpick at this point, but there were a lot of “quirky” one liners or lines that were clearly put in to feel heavy and badass but just feels flat and unearned in the context of the story.

Speaking of trying to be badass, GOD that ending was cheese. To have all the buildup then be saved by divine intervention? Climax killer. RIP.

It's not garbage but I had much much higher expectations and was let down less than gently.

The book starts off quite abstract as we are introduced to the concept of New York being “born” into a human body. Once we are introduced to the five boroughs of NY, also in human form, it becomes a lot easier to follow. Basically there's a big bad enemy trying to kill off New York (the city and the person) and the boroughs have to team up to try and stop them.

Overall this was an alright read. Since there was a lot of character introducing to do, and the book is fairly short, it feels like this one did a lot of setup for book #2. Might give it a read if it turns out good or I might not.

Makes me want to go visit New York again! Fun and really unique story and unique characters. Really liked the True to New York solution to problem solving. Some set ups that I wanted to see in action (Queen's ability especially) just were forgotten.

A novel about New York by someone who clearly loves it. I think the book trades heavily on the interactions between the boroughs, but takes a while to get going and the actual plot is a little slow. Full of hilarious moments nevertheless, and I look forward to more worldbuilding in this universe.