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jennyluwho's review against another edition
3.0
I feel lucky when a fiction book teaches me about an era or topic—many try and fail, but this author did an exceptional job helping me see the AIDS movement.
I found the writing unreliable—certain sections felt authentic, gritty and well-written, then other chapters included pages of dialogue that sounded so fake, so ridiculously made up.
I found the writing unreliable—certain sections felt authentic, gritty and well-written, then other chapters included pages of dialogue that sounded so fake, so ridiculously made up.
melanietrumbo's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
snowhite197's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse and Drug use
pmrichard1's review against another edition
5.0
FEELING EMOTIONALLY OVERWHELMED. loved this so much, at times really hard to read and at times so heartwarming. Will always wonder if Mateo/Milly figured out about Hector. I hate Jared. LOVED!! Crying on plane
bethankitty's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
rmla's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Medical content, Abortion, and Death of parent
tillss's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
jaimebz's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
literarycrushes's review against another edition
3.0
Christadora is a sweeping novel of New York during the AIDs epidemic and its fallout, spanning from the early 1980s to the present day, told from the perspective of one building in the East Village and the people who inhabit it. The book had a really strong opening as we quickly span a few decades of backstory for exactly how these characters ended up in Christadora, and a brief but imperative mention of the Thompkins Square Riots of 1988.
We first meet Jared and Millie, aspiring artists from the Upper East Side, and learn how they came to adopt Mateo, the orphaned child of a mother with AIDs, while still in their mid-20s. We then meet Hector, the lonely drug addict on the eighth floor who used to be one of the city’s foremost AIDs activists.
This novel reminded me of City on Fire by Garth Risk Halberg, both in its literal setting and time period (not to mention its hefty size) and in its style of a large cast of seemingly unrelated characters who find themselves connected – in C.O.F., it’s a shooting on New Year's Eve, whereas here, it’s AIDs, and its lasting impacts on the city. These characters were mostly well-developed, and readers get a full scope of their backstories and problems, from mental and physical health to marital issues to addiction. The portrayal of Mateo’s birth mother was particularly moving as she grows from a shy dental hygienist from Queens to become a central pillar of AIDs activism, as was Mateo’s swift decline into full-blown addiction and his family's and friend’s struggles to pull him out of it.
If anything (like C.O.F.), I think this book was held back from being truly great due to having almost too much going on – the frequent switching of perspectives by character & decade took me out of the story. But it had its work cut out as the author tackled vast and important themes, which he did with grace and a real love that you could feel for his characters and their city.
We first meet Jared and Millie, aspiring artists from the Upper East Side, and learn how they came to adopt Mateo, the orphaned child of a mother with AIDs, while still in their mid-20s. We then meet Hector, the lonely drug addict on the eighth floor who used to be one of the city’s foremost AIDs activists.
This novel reminded me of City on Fire by Garth Risk Halberg, both in its literal setting and time period (not to mention its hefty size) and in its style of a large cast of seemingly unrelated characters who find themselves connected – in C.O.F., it’s a shooting on New Year's Eve, whereas here, it’s AIDs, and its lasting impacts on the city. These characters were mostly well-developed, and readers get a full scope of their backstories and problems, from mental and physical health to marital issues to addiction. The portrayal of Mateo’s birth mother was particularly moving as she grows from a shy dental hygienist from Queens to become a central pillar of AIDs activism, as was Mateo’s swift decline into full-blown addiction and his family's and friend’s struggles to pull him out of it.
If anything (like C.O.F.), I think this book was held back from being truly great due to having almost too much going on – the frequent switching of perspectives by character & decade took me out of the story. But it had its work cut out as the author tackled vast and important themes, which he did with grace and a real love that you could feel for his characters and their city.
juliepe33's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5