The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin
Synopsis
"Every city has a soul. Some are as ancient as myths, and others are as new and destructive as children. New York City? She's got five.
But every city also has a dark side. A roiling, ancient evil stirs beneath the earth, threatening to destroy the city and her five protectors unless they can come together and stop it once and for all."
My Thoughts
I listened to the audiobook of this one and if you're debating whether to read or listen to this one, I highly suggest listening. Not only is Robin Miles one of my favorite audiobook narrators, but this book was produced with sound effects fitting the situations happening in the story. Robin Miles is also so amazing I completely didn't notice that this was not a full cast reading of the book. The combination was an immersive experience that I highly recommend!
And the story! Oh wow was this an amazing story. N.K. Jemisin knows how to craft characters. This story is a sci-fi/urban fantasy that takes place in New York City and follows the five avatars of the city, who have just woken up to their destiny as avatars. There were some creepy Lovecraftian references and vibes coming from the antagonist of the story. And this story was as wonderfully diverse as I would hope from a story set in New York City. This book carried a lot of stereotypes that could have easily fallen into cringe-worthy territory, but each character had the depth and nuance needed to make them wonderfully rounded characters.
“People who say change is impossible are usually pretty happy with things just as they are.”
― N.K. Jemisin, The City We Became
So in short, this book was amazing and I highly recommend it! If audiobooks are your thing, I would definitely recommend the audiobook of this as well!
Genre: sci-fi, fantasy, urban fantasy, lgbtqia+
Representation: gay/queer, trans, lesbian, BIPOC, Native American, South Asian
Content Warnings: Abuse, Alcoholism (referenced), Amnesia /loss of identity, Bigotry, Child abuse (referenced), Doxxing, Drowning, Drugs (discussed), Eviction, Gentrification, Homophobia, Miscarriage (referenced), Nazis (neo), Police brutality (referenced), Profanity, Racism, Rape (paintings of), Rape threats, Sexual assault, Suicide baiting, Violence