The City We Became - by N.K.Jemisin

I just finished this story last night. This was a 4 star read for me. I enjoyed it. I really wanted it to "wow" me but it somehow missed that mark. I think there's several reasons for this. One is the ending, I wanted a bit more of a cliff-hanger, and the other is the world building.

The world building in this book is deliberately slow and what I liked about it is also what I didn't like about it -- I was a bit confused in the beginning, seeing things happening to my main character who I had no time to really get to know -- and being as confused as the character was disorienting. However, I would much rather "learn" as the characters do, rather than be "told" what's happening. It made for a slow start, however, whenever your discovery is the character's discovery time-frame it causes something magical. It bonds you more to that character.

 My concerns for this trilogy was that this first book did not end on enough of a cliff hanger. I'm not entirely sure that I need to read the 2nd book, however, due to the slow world building in this one, the next one will most likely not be as confusing. One thing is for sure - I will enjoy finding out how Staten Island turns out - will she evolve or be destroyed? Will NYC survive? Or will the multiverse survive instead? Which is the moral conclusion?

This story definitely finds ways to explore some heavy questions like - if our world lives - is it moral if it destroys countless others? Is it morally wrong for the Woman in White to try to save those multiverses, even if it means destroying ours?

The things I enjoyed the most about this story are the discovery and development of the "boroughs" - each with its own strengths and biases. I enjoyed the diversity in the book with excellent representation, although for once, the antagonist is not just white, but envelops everything in white "feathers" which controls people, or "influences" them to be racist against people of color. The symbolism of the "white" feathers was not lost on me. The racism of Staten Island and the portrayal of the only white woman in the story as a moronic racist was disappointing, but on the flip side, it was great to see that the city was being saved by a variety of people of color. White (the color as well as the skin) is definitely not "right" in this book, but I'm okay with it; I get it. My favorite character in the story was Bronca, the Bronx borough. Her reactions and commentary on things cracked me up and I loved that she represented an older woman. Older people are always shoved aside in literature, so it was great to see her character as an older native american woman.

I'm hoping it's sequel, now that The City we Became has laid the foundation, will deliver the wow factor I'm looking for. I'll be counting on it!