The City We Became

weish shared a tip "What if your city had a human avatar? What traits would be embodied in this person to reflect your city? N. K. Jemisin takes this premise and gives us 5 avatars, each one representing one of the 5 boroughs of New York City. It's like she's written a love and a hate letter to her city and built a story around it. It's only April, but I suspect this book will be in my top 3 of 2020."

sarah_brown_5943 shared a tip "I feel like the grinch saying so but I did not like this. Bland writing style and stereotypical characters. NKJ should have saved herself the writing time and just made a blog post about how much she hates Staten Island."

samantha_ayala_720 shared a tip "i loved the part where they all formed around the main city!!! and how jersey city joined them :) i also loved the ending with them at the beach! what about you?"

divant_malachi shared a tip "It inspires in you the raw and rabid will to lay claim to and guard your own home, your own city as they have New York. This work of art does wonders as infectious love letter that works so effectively that it may be called ferocious, there could never be a better ad for the NYC tourism industry, or a better call to join the ranks of the young newborn city yourself."

yogipeanut shared a tip "This book is so beautifully written. The personification and imagery is so tangible. The author paints the most incredibly vivid story. I loved it."

cathy_stoddert shared a tip "I have loved all Jemisen’s books and looked forward to this one, too. Its premise is really interesting not just to those who know NYC; it is an American story of cultural foundations, change, and White aggression of a more subtle, imaginative sort. I liked the ensemble characterization and their voices the most."

shesjustbookish shared a tip "The first time I was introduced to this storyline it was from N.K Jemisin's short story collection. Then I saw this They started the same and then there was a firm roundabout left turn and we got to this beautiful story with lots of heavy undertones of what it is to be a POC in America, to be an immigrant in America, to be new to New York City, and other important truths. THIS BOOK IS MAGIC 25/10"

littlelambe shared a tip "Very slow start, you get introduced to the characters bit by bit. It's hard to get attached until about half way through since you barely know each person. I love that they are flawed and human. Amazing representation of LGBTQ + and bipoc. Definitely would recommend but be prepared to take time getting into it. Very unique premise and slow unraveling of the story."

p_brodie shared a tip "A most unusual sci-fi, but the way that it interweaves personal stories with the culture of New York was absolutely fascinating. Give it a few chapters to grip you, but make sure your weekend is cleared for the last third!"

taryn_peterson shared a tip "I LOVED this book. Incredible LGBT/BIPOC representation and main characters. Extremely fun and absorbing storyline. Lots of sci-fi action mixed with heart-pulling dialogue. I can't wait for the next book in this series."