A love letter to New York City indeed - Jemisin's prose is, as always, nuanced and immediate here. I am no NYC native having visited only a handful of times, but this book left me slightly in awe of the city as Jemisin displays it through her characters (not a neutral sort of awe either, the awe of seeing something that can be both great and terrible).

Like any other love letter, The City We Became displays compelling and deep emotion that occasionally makes the reader into a voyeur - an observer to the intimacies that would repel some and attract others.

I find myself unsure how to rate this book. It is undeniably skillful in its execution, yet I would hesitate to recommend it to some readers. It has extra-dimensional beings (quite literally), dark turns, vivid emotions, and some truly startling characterizations. Do you love NYC? Read it. Do you hate NYC? Read it. Do you not care about NYC or the idea of concepts inhabiting flesh? Perhaps don't read it - or perhaps do (challenging book here to recommend).

In the end, I can only say that I enjoyed it and that Jemisin wove this together masterfully. If you're thinking about reading I will happily discuss with you!