A delightful novel, part murder mystery, part historical fantasy and part queer social commentary. Alter Rosen is a Romanian Jew in World's Fair Chicago who ends up looking into a series of Jewish boys who have gone missing in the area. Along the way we get labor politics, queer romance, local journalism and Jewish tradition all mixed together. Couldn't put it down.

The City Beautiful is an excellent piece of historical fiction. Polydoros does a great job blending historical elements with the realistic fiction of a murder mystery and the supernatural elements of the dybbuk. The story is compelling and the characters are engaging. A great read!

I got an advanced reader copy of the book from NetGalley.

The City Beautiful is an ambitious book that ultimately has too many things going on. The book is set in Chicago in 1893. The World's Fair is going on, there may be a serial killer stalking members of the Jewish immigrant community, and the protaganist is trying to find whether or not his friend was murdered.

Along the way there is a gay love story, commentary on capitalism, a pickpocket ring of young Jewish kids, a woman who wants to be a reporter, sketches of the lives if Jewish immigrants, some fantastical elements, some thriller-y bits, and a well meaning matchmaker who is also psychic.

There's a lot happening in the book. At times I wished that there were fewer ideas being explored in the book. At other times I wished that the book was longer to get deeper into the ideas presented.

It wasn't a bad book at all. The story is engaging and there is a lot going on. I'd be interested in reading more from this author in the future.

The City is Beautiful is described as a queer Jewish historical fantasy, and it definitely delivers there. Featuring a protagonist. This is probably one of the best books I have read in all of 2021 and I would definitely suggest picking up. It delivers everything it claims to and keeps you guessing the entire time.

I just didn’t fully jive with this book. I liked the world building and the plot, but the writing and characters didn’t fully click for me.

DNF @ 23%

If you like the sound of <i>queer Jewish historical fantasy</i>, this book delivers on all those elements from the opening. The protagonist is a hardworking immigrant from Romania, a dedicated member of his local Jewish community, with an interesting past: exactly the kind of hero I want to root for. Personally the prose and pacing just didn't click for me (I'm a very picky reader with a very long TBR, so I tend to DNF accordingly), but I bet it'll be a hit with many readers.

The City Beautiful, by Aden Polydoros, is a queer, Jewish historical fantasy. In this world, the question isn’t about whether dybbuks are real, but how to handle dybbuk possession.

It’s Chicago in 1983, right at the World’s Fair, and Alter Rosen is working hard and saving his money to bring his mother and little sisters from Romania to join him. He works long hours, shares a room with other boys in the same situation, dodges the nosy matchmaker across the hall, etc., sharing a lifestyle that’s very familiar from Jewish-American fiction. The whole thing has plenty of Yiddish insults and jokes too. I think the horrors and supernatural aspects of the novel worked so well for me because the setting felt familiar and realistic.

In the weeks leading up to the World’s Fair, Jewish teenage boys are somehow disappearing from Chicago’s streets. The local police claim the young men must have run away, and with no bodies or evidence of the missing boys, it’s hard for the families to contest that, even when they’re absolutely sure their son or their friend didn’t just take off. This is just background as Yakov works and saves, and tries to keep a certain secret that dare not speak its name. But when Yakov — Alter’s friend, roommate, and maybe more — disappears one night, Alter is pulled into the mystery.

The City Beautiful is a supernatural mystery involving very real criminals plus intense magical elements from Jewish lore. Yakov’s spirit is intent on getting revenge for his murder, but this takes the form of an angry dybbuk who may take Alter down with him in the process, creating serious tension as Alter tries to unravel Yakov’s last days, before supernatural terrors and regular enemies come for him.

The investigation leads to basically everything Alter doesn’t want to think about, personally and socially. He has a wonderfully complicated motivation throughout most of the book. I was never quite sure how much was powered by his affection for Yakov and desire to see justice for someone he loved, and how much was the terrifying dybbuk possession, and it sort of doesn’t matter. There is never any question in this world that dybbuks are real (along with certain other supernatural abilities and dangers brought over from the old country), so we don’t waste any narrative time making excuses or trying to think up other explanations.

Without revealing too much, the investigation points to many forms of social inequality. Some of this is direct, with competing Yiddish newspapers directly discussing Jewish immigrant life. But some are more subtle. Who is important enough to get police protection? Who is too powerful to be questioned by the police? Which immigrants have good English, and which ones have to obfuscate their home countries? Alter is a good narrator of this, because it’s all just background to him as he copes with his personal events and memories.

This is a beautiful story in a dangerous and dark world, but powered by friendship and justice. And The City Beautiful is also a queer love story, with believable, complicated affection. (I don’t want to give spoilers, because I want you to read this one yourself, but I have to say that I do really enjoy finding stories where a girl and a boy can just learn to like and respect each other without that growing compassion automatically becoming a romantic plot.)

This book was received as an ARC from Inkyard Press in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was so intrigued by this book and the thrilling story that is comprised from it. I have read so many books of families immigrating to America for a better future for their families but in the case for Alter, it was an adventure he'll never forget especially when someone he deeply cares about is in danger. Alter's best friend Yakov get taken hostage and murdered because of the fact he is Jewish and then a boy from Alter's past returns in the midst of all this that happened to be involved with Alter once upon a time ago. This book was the twist of the century and I love when I can expect the unexpected. This book I think will be well received with our library community and our teen book club, we will consider this book as one of our choices.

We will consider adding this title to our YA collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

I think this is a lovely, engaging novel that is well written and well paced. If it sounds like somethign you'd be interested in, I'd definitely recommend giving this one a chance!

I loved this book so much. I went in with no knowledge about the plot and there was a surprisng twist I was definitely not expecting! The characters were great and the setting was amazing. Another bonus I didn't expect but wholly appreciated: I learned so much about Jewish traditions. Super 5 stars. Love.

This is a gorgeous novel about love and vengeance and religion and faith and the immigrant experience and the labor movement and being Jewish. Full of compelling and interesting characters, this story of a man possessed by a dybbuk in 1893 Chicago is also about the kind of romance you can have with a place, and as a reader who loves Chicago (and has read so, so many books set in New York as if New York is the only US city for historical fiction,), I thoroughly enjoyed running from the stockyards to the lake to the tenements to the mansions of the rich alongside the protagonists. And while there are thousands of books out there that deal in magical realism or the supernatural, it's much rarer to read works where the supernatural elements are distinctly Jewish, and author Polydoros has created a fantastic ghost story drawn from Ashkenazi folklore.

The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros is going to be one of my top books of 2021. Alter, a young Jewish immigrant in 1890s Chicago, is possessed by the dybbuk, or spirit, of his murdered best friend. Alter must find the killer and help his friend's spirit move on before it is too late. He is joined by Frankie, his wise cracking, street smart friend, who may be becoming more than a friend.
This book is DARK. As far as trigger warnings, it deals with violence, antisemitism, and sexual assault. However, Polydoros is an amazing writer. He navigates the tough material beautifully and delivers a rich story. Props to him for the inclusion of a queer romance in a historical novel. It always felt authentic and true to the time period. I hope this is the beginning of much more queer stories in historical YA fiction.