I liked this book a lot, but being from South Jersey and someone who would move to New York if circumstances aligned, I am disposed to. I got the references and to me it was almost painful how New York the story was, and the ending with Jersey City pleased me deeply on several levels. I've heard from other people that it was actively offputting for those who don't know the city as well.

However. The stuff about other world cities was…eeeennnnnhhhh. Like, I'm just not sure about Hong Kong's portrayal. And the more time passes since I finished the book the more Manhattan, and the fact that none of the borough avatars are Jewish, bother me. I get, structurally, why she had to do the stuff with Manhattan that she did and it works pretty okay. But like, make him Jewish! There are plenty of Black Jews, even! That more than anything felt like the perspective of an outsider on the city, or at least on Manhattan, in a way that made me uncomfortable.