The City Beautiful, Aden Polydoros
The City Beautiful, Aden Polydoros
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The City Beautiful

Author: Aden Polydoros

Narrator: Maxwell Glick

Unabridged: 12 hr 46 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 10/05/2021


Synopsis

Would you sacrifice your soul to stop a killer?

Chicago, 1893. For Alter Rosen, this is the land of opportunity. Despite the unbearable summer heat, his threadbare clothes, and his constantly empty stomach, Alter still dreams of the day he’ll have enough money to bring his
mother and sisters to America, freeing them from the oppression they face in his native Romania.

But when Alter’s best friend, Yakov, becomes the latest victim in a long line of murdered Jewish boys, his dream begins to slip away. While the rest of the city is busy celebrating the World’s Fair, Alter is now living a nightmare: possessed by
Yakov’s dybbuk, he is plunged into a world of corruption and deceit, and thrown back into the arms of a dangerous boy from his past. A boy who means more to Alter than anyone knows.

Now, with only days to spare until the dybbuk takes over Alter’s body completely, the two boys must race to track down the killer—before the killer claims them next.

About Aden Polydoros

Aden Polydoros is an award-winning author who transitioned from female-to-male when he was 14. After going ‘stealth’ for over 10 years, he came out as transgender in order to support trans youth and vocalize how transitioning saved his life. His YA gothic fantasy novel, The City Beautiful, won the Sydney Taylor Book Award and was a finalist for the Lambda Award, the National Jewish Book Award, the Cybils Award, the South Carolina Book Award, and the 2022 World Fantasy Award.


Reviews

Goodreads review by jessica on October 15, 2021

wow. okay. totally was not expecting this to be as good as it is. but the combination of jewish mythology, murder mystery, and chicagos 1893 worlds fair is a real winner. i can think of maybe three other books ive read that have jewish main characters that arent set during WWII, so its nice to be ab......more

Goodreads review by Maria on December 15, 2022

SANGRE, POSESIÓN, AMORES PROHÍBIDOS, REPRESENTACIÓN LGBTI, EXORCISMOS... Pero sobre todo: BRUTAL!😍 🌸Imagina que tienes que encontrar a un asesino, a uno muy especial y, que estás en el Chicago de 1893, en la FERIA MUNDIAL, con su oscuridad, sus calles lúgubres y sus miserias... 🌸Ahora quiero que pienses en......more

Goodreads review by anna on January 21, 2024

rep: Romanian Jewish gay mc, Lithuanian Jewish gay li, Ukrainian Jewish gay li, Jewish characters tw: antisemitism, mentions of past rape, mentions of past pedophilia, body horror (chapter 42), blood, gore, violence, murder, drowning, vomiting, fire, immolation five reasons to read this book......more

Goodreads review by Lexi on October 11, 2021

This is an incredibly hard book to rate, so please take my rating with a grain of salt. Overview 🆗 Queer rep (MLM) ♥️ Jewish rep 🆗 Mystery/suspense 🆗 Period piece 🆗 Dead boyfriend 🆗 Some fantasy elements The City Beautiful is a mystery period piece about Alter, a Jewish immigrant from Romania. When his clo......more

Goodreads review by Sophie on March 20, 2021

Set during the 1893 Chicago World Fair, The City Beautiful is a gripping, fast-paced book that expertly marries thriller and murder mystery. Polydoros is not afraid to tear aside the façade of beauty and civility to confront the darkest aspects of human nature, no holds barred. The resulting book is......more