3.5/5 stars
this was a slow but sweet read. my one critique that stops me from giving this a higher rating is that so much of the setting, context, and plot feel like they’d lend themselves better to a visual storytelling format than to a novel. i rarely say that, i love getting to use my imagination to picture a place, and i love when visually-complex descriptions are used in writing, but i was having trouble getting myself to visualize some things in this book. namely the setting (a future flooded san francisco, with rooftop vendors and markets and floating art galleries and abandoned libraries, whole floors of housing flooded out) and the culminating art piece created by our main character (many projected slides with collage, photo, painting, etc somehow drone-flew projecting images onto various buildings and the sky). would love to see this made into a beautiful, different take on a coming-of-age film.
i liked:
-themes of grief and mother-daughter relationships
(“to a daughter, a mother was an entity to vast to know”)
-discussion of history and how we remember, who decides what we collectively remember, and how we can impact that
-descriptive in regards to setting and how people are feeling
i disliked:-a bit slow for me, had difficulty getting invested until i was further along
-some of the descriptions of our main character’s art journey felt a little tacky. perhaps it’s because i’ve read multiple art-related books lately, but some of the things intended to be bo’s meaningful artistic choice to the reader just felt blasé to me.

overall a simple but enjoyable read! thank you to netgalley & the publisher for this eARC.

Awake in the Floating City by Susanna Kwan is a debut novel set in a near-future San Francisco, now submerged by relentless storms. The story follows Bo, a reclusive artist living in the decaying remnants of a city abandoned by most of its inhabitants. Just as Bo plans to leave, she receives a plea for help from her elderly neighbor Mia, who is 130 years old. Mia asks Bo to care for her, and despite her initial hesitation, Bo’s growing bond with Mia pulls her back into both her art and the fading history of the city. In addition, Bo holds on to the hope that her mother may one day return, adding to her decision to stay. As the city literally struggles to stay afloat, their connection highlights the power of human relationships to inspire purpose, even in the bleakest of circumstances.

The novel thoughtfully addresses themes of memory, loss, and resilience, as Bo grapples with preserving a way of life that’s rapidly disappearing while confronting the inevitability of change. Though the book was marketed as being similar to Station Eleven, it has a slower pace and lacks the same emotional pull from its characters. Bo’s effort to document the city’s history and Mia’s story is a compelling idea, but it ultimately didn’t captivate me as I had hoped. The book was written beautifully and I believe others will enjoy the uniqueness of the story.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

i can't believe how much i enjoyed this story and for it being a debut novel is INSANE.

a domestic/dystopian fiction about the city of San Francisco after a natural disaster.

Northern California is drowning because of the never-ending rain. this climate changed focuses a story about Bo, an artist in her 30's + a part time care-person and her 130-year-old neighbor Mia. they're two of the last people living in a flooded city of the future, but neither of them are ready to leave. Bo stayed in the city even though her cousin and uncle have tried repeatedly to rescue her and bring her to safety in Vancouver, she still have that glimpse of hope that her mother, who disappeared in the flood, will re-appear. butas she's ready to sail north, she gets a note from Mia under her door offering her a caregiver job so she decided to stay.

Mia can be rough but her and Bo created a connection deeper than any Bo has had with a client. Mia would share stories about her life and that will inspire Bo to make art again that she has abandones after losing her mom. they're both people who isolated themselves from the world because of life circumstances.

i find the story so so beautiful because these two found out each other because need each other to face their demons. they helped each other find joy while living in a place that is becoming more inhospitable day by day. it made me cry because how depression, loneliness and grief was describe is really relatable and you cannot help but be inspired and question your life choices now and how it would impact you in the future.

this is a perfect book for anyone who loves a story about human connection. pick this up if you need a heartfelt read. it comes out May 2025 so make sure you add it on your tbr!

thank you PANTHEON BOOKS.

This story is not your traditional sci-fi. It takes place in a future where climate change has decimated the United States. There has been a mass migration of people to safer climates. But some people stay. And this story is about the people who stay. Mia is a woman nearing the end of her life. He family lives overseas. She is alone and isolated. Bo is a young woman with her entire life ahead of her. However, due to life circumstances, she can't bring herself to leave and join her family where it is safer. This story is really about Mia and Bo. It's about how they need each other to face their demons and grow. It's about how they help each other find joy while living in a place that is becoming more inhospitable by the day. This story is about their relationship, and about their personal growth and change. The characters in this story had a lot of depth. They were relatable. This is a sci-fi story that focuses on human relationships. I very much enjoyed this book.

I thought this was a beautiful book. It heartfelt and made me want to connect to the main characters. I thought Kwan did an amazing job at describing the setting so you could really immerse yourself with Bo & Mia. It was a consistent pace throughout the story, which was nice. This was one I could see myself rereading. I will be recommending to my book friends once it is released!

I will be watching for future books written by Susanna Kwan. I hope to see more books of this stature from them!
Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this early.

Strengths:
This is a STUNNING book! Its themes about feeling stuck and numb in a time of crisis and finding the meaning and strength you need in unexpected places is so incredibly poignant in this post-pandemic world – as is its exploration of what it means to be a carer and be with someone at the very end of their life. I am recommending this book to everyone I know once it comes out in May 2025.

Weaknesses:
The only issue I had with this book is that I found it a little slow for about the first third – but once I hit about the halfway point, I actually could not put it down and stayed up until 2 AM to finish it.

Overall rating: 4.8 stars

Link to my review: https://www.tiktok.com/@lucy_readss/photo/7435881856869895466

This novel — hard to believe it's a debut — is haunting, luminous, and beautiful.

San Francisco, in the not-too-distant future, is drowning in never-ending rain. This catastrophic climate change is the backdrop for a story about intimate, personal change and renewal. Kwan (who must have been a caregiver herself to have rendered the situation so sensitively) depicts the beauty and pain of accompanying someone whose time on earth is dwindling.

"I'm an ordinary person," one character says. But there is nothing ordinary here as Kwan examines what is most important in life, what's worth remembering, the role of art in apocalyptic times, and the choices we all make about those questions.

This stunning and sensitive story will stay with me for a long time.

This was a really beautiful tale, and the genre is out of the box. Domestic fiction, Science fiction, Apocalypse fiction, Asian American fiction, it touches on so many genres. But essentially it is a love story, friendship love, familial love and the love of place. The main characters are all realistic even in this extraordinary version of the world. I was emotionally touched, and confounded by how this bitter sweet story could have a hopeful ending.

This is a hauntingly beautiful exploration of loss, memory, and resilience set against the backdrop of a city sinking under relentless rain. The protagonist, Bo, is a compellingly layered character, paralyzed by grief and struggling to find meaning after her mother’s disappearance in a storm surge. Her journey is marked by moments of quiet reflection, profound connection, and tentative hope, which bring her back to art—the one thing she thought she’d lost forever.

Bo’s unexpected relationship with Mia, a sharp and sometimes thorny older woman, is the heart of the story. Their dynamic is rich with genuine warmth, humor, and hard-earned trust. As Bo cares for Mia, she’s drawn into the older woman’s world of memories, each story illuminating the city’s fading past and reigniting Bo’s passion for art. Mia’s recollections bring an aching sense of nostalgia to the novel, illustrating the value of personal histories and the power of art as a means to honor them.

The author’s prose is lyrical and evocative, capturing the physical and emotional landscapes of a city on the verge of disappearance. Through Bo’s eyes, we see the tragedy of the world slowly sinking, but we also witness the small yet powerful acts of love and remembrance that preserve what matters most.

This is a must-read for anyone who loves a deeply emotional, character-driven story. It’s a testament to how we connect, remember, and ultimately let go.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Awake in the floating city takes place in a dystopian San Francisco where climate change has affected the weather to the point that it is consistently raining. Because of the now reoccurring flooding, people are forced to live at the top floor of high rises and travel by rooftop. Most people have left San Fran but our fmc, Bo, can’t seem to leave the only hometown she has ever known or continue her passion as an artist due to the recent loss of her mother. Her cousin arranges transportation for her to live with their family in Canada, but Bo refuses and instead starts to care for her elderly neighbor, Mia.

This is a low stakes, character focus, and thematic story about finding one’s self identity again after grief and depression.

The book struggled to keep my attention at some parts because I was wanting a little more plot driven movement, but overall I think this is an enjoyable literary-fiction novel focusing on Chinese-American culture with beautiful proses and vivid imagery.

Quote taken from an uncorrected proof and subject to change in the final version. “She considered again what it might mean to honor a dying person, to honor a disappearing world. What form would hold all the pieces of a life? Of a place? That would be her aim: to create a monument for Mia, for the home they both had loved.”

3.5 rounded up, thank you NetGalley and Pantheon for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

So, you're a writer. You're torn between wanting to write a dystopian novel and wanting to write about the Chinese-American experience in 20th century America. Can you do both? How? Susanna Kwan has found an answer to that, and it mostly works.

Bo lives in future San Francisco, which is so flooded that people live in the very top floors of high rises and travel to markets on various rooftops. She is an artist and also a registered caregiver. She's stayed in the city even though her cousin and uncle have tried repeatedly to rescue her and bring her to safety in Vancouver, because she is hoping that her mother, who disappeared in the flood, will re-appear. Just as she's ready to sail north, she gets a caregiver job with an elderly neighbor and decides to stay.

The neighbor is Mia, a 130-year-old woman. As the two get to know each other, they share stories. With her great age, Mia is able to reach back to the past century to tell some of the stories of her life. Her discussions of the past bring Bo to appreciate the time they're in and what will be lost if San Francisco is abandoned.

"Awake in the Floating City" moves slowly, gently gathering up neighbors and stories of grief and loss. It is deliberately paced, giving readers time to settle on the world the characters face.

3.5 stars rounded up. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a digital review copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I think the core of this book is very good. The relationship between Bo and Mia and how Bo reacts to a climate ravaged world is strong. Overall the plot toward the middle of the book had me wanting more but I really enjoyed the prose at times as well.

I'm not usually a fan of dystopian novels (they often feel too close to a near-future reality) but a friend raved about Awake in the Floating City and made it sound like something I had to read. Thanks, Kat; you were right! It is set in a future San Francisco where climate change means that it rains all the time and the few remaining people live in high-rise apartments as there is no land. Commerce and gardens exist on the rooftops and many people have fled.

That is the dystopian part but the book is really an exploration of the relationship between Mia and her caretaker Bo. Bo has presumably lost her mother in the flooding and even though she had the chance to leave with her cousin and uncle, she can't bring herself to leave. She becomes a caretaker to Mia and also immerses herself in Mia's history and the history of San Francisco. This becomes a way for Bo to begin making art once again after a long hiatus. Kwan's prose is lovely as she explores the beautiful relationships that can happen even as the world is drowning, and how art can play an important part.

Thank you to Pantheon and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. It will be published on May 13, 2025.

Awake in the Floating City by Susanna Kwan is a debut novel set in a flooded, near-future San Francisco. The story centers around Bo, a struggling artist living in isolation in an abandoned, waterlogged city after most residents have fled due to relentless storms. Just as Bo plans her escape, she receives a note from Mia, her 130-year-old neighbor, requesting her help as a caregiver. Though initially reluctant, Bo's relationship with Mia deepens, drawing her back to her art and connecting her to the past and the fragments of history threatened by the city's imminent erasure. Bo also decides to stay because she believes her mother may someday return home. As the city tries to literally 'stay afloat', Bo and Mia's bond is tightened, illustrating how human connection can spark purpose, even in the direst of circumstances​

The novel poignantly explores themes of memory, loss, and resilience, as Bo is torn between preserving a vanishing way of life and confronting the inevitability of change. This was marketed as 'if you liked Station 11, you'll like this', but it's a much slower paced story, and the characters just don't draw you in as much. Plus, how is Mia 130 years old? In the future, are people living longer, if so this is not explained. Bo decides to make a document of the city's history and incorporating Mia's story into that, which is interesting, but just didn't grab me.

I absolutely loved this book -- I thought the writing was lovely, the world created was very interesting and I loved the characters.

In the not too distant future, much of San Francisco and the bay area is underwater. Many people have left, but Bo has not. Her remaining family has been trying to get her to leave, and her mother is presumed dead. Bo takes on care taking for Mia, an older woman who lives in her building, and the two form a close friendship.

I loved hearing more about Mia's life -- her background was so fascinating and I enjoyed how it was revealed. I loved Bo's character and all the descriptions of the art she created. The writing and descriptions in this book were so vivid -- for the characters as well as the locations.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys well-written characters and speculative fiction. I am excited to see what Susanna Kwan writes next -- I will be absolutely reading it!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

In the not-so-distant future, San Francisco has become a place where it rains all the time, where the water has washed away much of the city (taking with it plenty of people) and where those who remain live in high-rise apartment buildings with market places and pathways to other buildings on their roofs. Medicine has allowed people to live much longer, but humanity has not been able to stop climate change. Our main character, Bo, feels adrift in her life. A onetime visual artist, she is grieving the disappearance and presumed death of her mother in a flood yet cannot seem to bring herself to leave and join her cousin and uncle -- her only remaining family -- in the relative safety in Canada. She agrees to take on the role of caretaker to Mia, a supercentenarian living in her building, putting off at least temporarily the decision to leave. The two soon form a bond, allowing Bo to reexamine her relationship with her mother and find inspiration to create art again.

Some might call this a dystopian novel due to the environmental setting, but the relationships at its core make it timeless. This is a beautiful novel about relationships between mothers and daughters; the need to create art and memorials, even at a time when it might be considered superfluous and even wasteful; and the selfless beauty in the act of one human being caring for the physical needs of another. It asks the reader to ponder what connects us to a place, even when the place no longer looks as it once did, and to consider what we leave behind when we leave a place, either to go somewhere else or by the ending of our life.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pantheon for providing me with an advanced reader's copy of this book in return for an honest review. This book will be published May 13, 2025.

Thank you so much for giving me an ARC.
This is very different from my typical read. I was captivated by the writing. Who wouldn’t want to sit down with a loved one and get their life story. While these two weren’t blood related that’s what it felt like was happening.

Bo is a visual artist, but since the loss of her mother, she's been frozen in place, unable to work or make real connections with her world.

And what a world!--a drowned San Francisco, where people live in high rise buildings as the water continues to rise, where rooftop markets are accessible by bridges between buildings, and where the dwindling population makes use of home mushroom plantations for protein.

Finally ready to give into her brother's pleas to escape the doomed city, Bo is distracted by Mia, an elderly (130+ years elderly!) neighbor who hires her as caretaker. A difficult old woman, Mia is alone; her family emigrated decades ago, though they check in via video call frequently.

What follows is Bo's discovery of her visual artistic inspiration as she witnesses Mia reach the end of her life.

This is not a fast, plot-driven read, but instead offers a dreamy, beautifully fleshed-out examination of one woman's evolution and the art that gives her life purpose. Which makes it not a book for every reader, still Kwan's writing is supple and vivid. This astonishing and gorgeous vision of an ecological disaster, contrasting with Bo's changes make this a novel that haunts and lingers.

Thanks to NetGalley and Pantheon for the eARC in exchange for my unfettered opinion.

Awake in the Floating City is an extremely well written debut novel by Susana Kwan. Her writing is very beautiful and full of poetic imagery. It is set in a futuristic (around 2050) San Francisco where there is extreme climate change so the city is flooded by a never ending rain. I really loved the snippets of the world we got, like how they had mycelium walls to grow mushrooms in their houses and had rooftop markets.

Plot - Bo is an artist, who is suffering from depression and art block, while also trying to move past the death of her mother. When her cousin arranges transportation to leave her only home, she begins taking care of Mia, a 130 year old in her building, as an excuse to stay. As Bo gets closer to Mia she rediscovers herself and her love for art.


Characters:

Bo - she had a strong tie to the city as her home. Through Mia opening up about her past, Bo is able to reawaken her love for art.

Mia - a very capable elderly woman who no longer has no family left in the city. As her health declines Mia hires Bo to help take care of her. Mia pretends she doesn't care that she is alone, but through her interactions with Bo, she opens up, sharing what the past was like. This results in Bo wanting to find a way to remember things that will eventually be forgotten.

While I did enjoy this book, I didn’t feel like I was the right audience/age group for the book. The main characters are in a completely different stage of life than me, so while I could relate to them, I don't think I was as impacted as I could have been. It’s definitely the type of book I can see myself rereading when I’m older. This is an extremely character driven novel with heartwarming relationships. Overall it was a lovely journey that shows realistic struggles of trying to reset one's life without forgetting one's past. I would consider reading another book by Susana Kwan.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for providing a ARC.

I’m a big fan of dystopian books when they are executed well and was excited to read this debut!

I found the floating city (San Francisco of the future which is flooded) very interesting. I actually would have liked a little more about the actual setting because it was fascinating to read about.

I loved the relationship between Mia and Bo and how it evolved over time. It was definitely really tender and sweet. I loved how Bo was as a caregiver.

I did however find the book pretty slow and dragging at times. Not a lot happens and I found myself spacing out while reading. It’s pretty literary and while I do enjoy literary fiction, I was expecting a little more plot to this one.

Overall, a great debut that I’d recommend!