City of a Thousand Dolls

A really fun, surprisingly light read considering the very dark nature of the worldbuilding. The dark topics were touched on respectfully, neither being brushed under the rug nor being forgotten. It's a universe I look forward to exploring.

My biggest problem with it was honestly the psychic cats, and this is more of a pet peeve than an actual flaw of the book. The culture and behavior of the group of cats in this book just didn't feel very cat-like. As a species, cats are solitary and independent. Thanks to domestication, some individual cats are more social than others and do want the companionship of other felines, but they don't form tribes with rules and concepts of honor.

Of course, real cats also don't communicate psychically with show more humans in human language; these are fictional cats and Forster can do whatever she damn well pleases with them. And their culture is fun and interesting; she does it well. But fictional cats behaving in ways that are antithetical to real cats is one of my pet peeves.

I've spent way too long harping on a minor irritant in a book I otherwise really enjoyed. What can I say? I take my fictional cats very seriously. show less

Book content warnings:
slavery
ableism

The City of a Thousand Dolls is a place where unwanted girls are raised to become wives, trained apprentices, healers, musicians, or at worst: sold as slaves. The MC, Nisha, was dropped off at the city gates by her parents when she was small, to be raised without a specialty and protected by the spotted cats under the city's protection (whom she communicated with telepathically). However, before the ceremony in which girls are spoken for, girls start to die under suspicious circumstances, and it's up to Nisha to figure out who's responsible.

The setting is lush and lovely, inspired by the cultures of South Asia. I'm white, and the author's white, so I can't say how accurate or respectful this is. In show more any case, I love the characters. They (and their emotions) feel very real and relatable. Especially Nisha, the MC. I found myself really drawn into her personal story and conflict.

The mystery, though. City of a Thousand Dolls tries to present itself as a mystery (when it feels more like a fantasy dystopian drama?). I'm not sure how successfully it came across, at least to me. Farther into the book, I began to get a little sick of someone crying, "Something terrible has happened!" preluding a death. Every. Single. Time.

The ableism also stung: "No one is physically imperfect in the Imperial Court. No one. It is the worst sign of weakness." "Only common people are cripples."

I get it. Dystopiaaaaaa. But it feels like disabled people are being targeted unfairly somehow? The last 5 books I've read have been so filled with ableism it's starting to make me worry that this is a new YA trend or something . . .

On the bright side, Nisha in the second half and one other secondary character have disabilities, and they are treated with respect and sensitivity by the author. It makes me believe that Miriam Forster herself is not ableist, but just the world the story takes place is. Anyway, I'm excited to see what Nisha does next. show less

This is Forster’s debut novel and it was an excellent one. The blurb on the back compares this book to Graceling and The Girl of Fire and Thorns; that is a pretty apt comparison. I got a copy of this book through Amazon Vine to review; so thanks to Vine and HarperTeen for making this book available. I really enjoyed the characters and interesting world in this novel.

Nisha was left the City of a Thousand Dolls at the age of six. An age considered too old to start training in the City of a Thousand Dolls. Nisha lives in a world where parents are only allowed to have two children, as a result many parents abandon their female daughters. The City of a Thousand Dolls was created to take in these abandoned girls and teach them a skill that show more will make them Redeemable and allow for their placement into new lives.

Nisha was considered too old to train and has been a messenger for the Matron since she arrived, but now girls are dying and if Nisha cannot figure out why her own freedom will be at stake.

This was very much a fantasy mystery. Don’t come into this book expecting to read something that is action packed. This is a deliberately paced mystery as much as anything. There is some romance thrown in here as well, although it is definitely not what drives the story.

Nisha is an interesting character. She is definitely in a tight spot, she doesn’t have any family around or anyone who loves her. She does however have some important friends, the foremost of which are the talking cats that inhabit the City of a Thousand Dolls. Nisha isn’t an incredibly rebellious or outgoing heroine. She spends most of her time trying not to be noticed and makes a number of mistakes throughout the story. She does however stand up for what she thinks is right when the time comes.

I enjoyed the cats, which spoke to Nisha telepathically. Initially they are just very fun to have in the story, as things continue they end up being part of something much bigger. There isn’t a lot of magic in this book, it is mostly present in the various people and races throughout.

The world is very well built. There is definitely an Asian influence to this world. The limit on the number of children per family echoes that. A somewhat apocalyptic event in the past is hinted at but never fully explained.

The plot is well done. Nisha ends up the sole investigator of a series of murders, her freedom ends up being the price if she can’t solve these mysterious murders. There are a number of twists and turns to the story that I found surprising, yet they never came off as contrived.

The book takes a look at a number of interesting themes including what happens when you impose a child limit on families and women’s rights.

The book was very well written and engaging. I found it hard to put down and it was very easy to read.

Overall an excellent young adult fantasy mystery novel. Nisha makes a believable heroine who is easy to engage with; she isn’t all that assertive but she is strong in her own way. The mystery and world-building were both well done, and I also enjoyed the telepathically speaking cats. I would recommend to those who enjoy fantasy mysteries. show less

A most delightful world, full of wonder and colour, but also built of consequences and history and flow-on effects. And it's southern-Asian in derivation, which gets bonus points from me. The plot was sometimes a little laden with revelation for my taste, but our heroine was a solid, interesting, realistic young lady, and she was surrounded with a wide variety of differently interesting and realistic ladies - the setting of a school for all types of girls really gave an opportunity to show many different facets of "woman", and I feel the author did a great job showing that wildly differing priorities for life can have equal value.

So while this wasn't the best book I'll read this year, it's got more than enough merit to warrant four show more stars. Even with the talking animals. show less

CITY OF A THOUSAND DOLLS by Miriam Forster had me happily entranced from page one. The quickest way to my bookish heart is to write a story that takes place in a complete fantasy world (though with hints of the familiar from our own world, which was neat) so CITY OF A THOUSAND DOLLS was wonderful imagination-sparking brain-food. Only thing to make it better would have been a map of the City! The Dramatis Personae was nice to have, though, especially since I referred to it more than once just to make sure I had all the names straight.

Right away, the reader is swept up in main character Nisha’s mysterious past and ability to talk to the cats roaming the grounds of the city. We get a good sense of what the city is like, and who Nisha is show more (as well as her love interest) before dropped right into the murder mystery aspect of the plot. Nisha – independent, capable, calm, scared and strong Nisha – is slowly swept up in trying to solve the murders in an effort not just to save more girls from dieing, but to save herself from being sold. Yupp, being sold. The City of a Thousand Dolls takes in orphan girls and basically (very basically. The book has MUCH more detail on this caste system) “sells” them. Usually as brides, but sometimes to apprenticeships and even bondage (slavery) if they owe a debt. They can be groomed for any caste, and can I just say I loved this world? I was completely intrigued by the history, caste system, the way the City functions and the court intrigue that is slowly spilling into the City.

Nisha has a rough time a head of her solving the murders (and it’s one of those books where you think you might know who the murderer is, but there are very few clues, just feelings, and you hope you’re wrong!), but she has the cats to help (love Jerrit, and holy revelations at the end!), and the will to succeed. The romance found in CITY OF A THOUSAND DOLLS is very minor, and secondary to the story of Nisha and the City. The intrigue, suspense, fear and worry that spans the novel is amazingly well presented, and I adored the twists and turns that the plot took in regards to where Nisha came from, who’s killing the girls, and what is in store for Nisha after the Redeeming (a ceremony where the girls 16 years old basically are spoken for and money is exchanged).

CITY OF A THOUSAND DOLLS by Miriam Forster is an amazing debut novel. The scenes att he end are so crazy good – I loved the Court, Redeeming and wrap up of the mystery. Emotional and beautifully written, CITY OF A THOUSAND DOLLS is so much more than a murder mystery. It explores what it means to have a sense of identity (where you belong and where you come from), friendship, loyalty and what someone will do to keep what they think they is theirs. Miriam Forster has written a richly realized fantasy novel and I definitely recommend it! show less

Nisha is an outsider in the City of a Thousand Dolls, which houses abandoned female orphans to become educated in a discipline and sold to various buyers as apprentices, wives, or courtesans. She belongs to no house, but is free to roam the city, being educated here and there while doing errands and gathering information for Matron, the matriarch and protector of the city. A few friends make her life bearable as well as her cat companions, who can communicate telepathically with her and each other. Then girls start to die under mysterious circumstances, putting the usually peaceful city into turmoil. After the trend continues, officials are looking for someone to blame and Nisha's future in the city becomes tenuous. She volunteers to show more find the killer both to save herself and future victims, but she has no idea the danger she will find herself in or how much it will change her life and the City of a Thousand Dolls.

The City of a Thousand Dolls acts as a solution for the Bhinian Empire's two child limit. Unwanted girls can be taken there to be trained in the arts of music, healing, pleasure, combat, or (if certain rumors are true) assassination. Even though the opportunities available to these girls are many and it's infinitely better than being left to die, these girls are still being basically sold into slavery. They have no control over who buys them and there is no telling if their buyer will be decent or abusive. The entire concept makes me uncomfortable and it's meant to. It's easy to forget that the city is a gilded cage because of the quality of education and amount of work that each girl undergoes. This tradition has been going on for a long time and, because it is so much better than the alternative, the Bhinian people are reluctant to change it. Part of that is also because the city is separated from the rest of the Bhinian Empire and it's easy to dismiss something you never really directly interact with. I loved how the Bhinian Empire is a lush and vibrant amalgamation of Chinese and Indian culture and aesthetics. The background of the empire was touched upon, but left more to be uncovered for the next installment. I think this novel would be a cinematographer's dream to film in either a movie or television show.

The characters really make this book shine. Nisha is amazing yet realistic. She is an outsider in the city due to being abandoned there when she was 6 and had no ties to any caste. At first, she seems more free than the other girls in the caste system because she won't be sold, trains in more than one house, and gets extra privileges due to being Matron's eyes and ears. Then, everything comes tumbling down. Nisha is suddenly in danger of being sold as a slave with no one able to do anything to save her. Instead of folding in on herself and taking her fate, she tries to solve the murder to earn her freedom. Nisha is a very strong girl, but not without vulnerability. She has her moments of doubt and despair, but never gives up in the end. Her relationship with the cats in the city is one of my favorite parts. She can communicate with them telepathically and they are a family to her. Some thought this aspect was too childish, but I found it awesome (probably because I'm a crazy cat lady), especially when their true nature was revealed in the end. Nisha's friends are equally fleshed out. Tanaya is a seemingly perfect stock character who will eventually become princess of the Empire, but her character gains dimensions as the book goes along.

City of a Thousand Dolls is a formidable YA debut that guarantees that I will read anything Miriam Forster writes. It's not a perfect book, but the writing and characters that sucked me in the story made me forgive the few flaws. I can't wait to read the next Bhinian Empire book, which will sadly not be a sequel but will take place in the same world. show less

Though it's still early in the year, I feel that I can confidently say Miriam Forster's City of a Thousand Dolls will end up on my Best of 2013 List in December. The world, the characters, the mystery, and the romance within this novel's pages mark it as a stellar debut and a memorable fantasy novel.

One of the first things that drew me to Forster's debut was the similarities to Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel series for adults. Carey's books are definitely for an older audience (as they feature lots of adult content), but Forster's world has some similarities: an isolated estate where girls are apprenticed, taught, and eventually sold based on their skills, looks, etc. and a handsome and tempting boy from outside the walls. I've loved show more Carey's books for years (having read the first book, Kushiel's Dart, in seventh grade, when I was, in retrospect, probably much too young!) and have always wished there was something similar that was more appropriate for slightly younger readers and/or readers that would rather skip the sex as power but keep the romance. City of a Thousand Dolls is that book I often wished for... and it has far exceeded what I had hoped for.

Since this is a YA title, not adult, the sex and sexual power that motivates Carey's novel is absent and the girls are apprenticed as more than courtesans; girls are also taught to be musicians, healers, and assassins. I really enjoyed the diversity of the houses and having Nisha as a main character, a character free of the limitations of belonging to one specific house, which added an interesting dimension to the novel.

Though the romantic plot line is often a secondary concern next to the mystery elements of City of a Thousand Dolls, it ended up being one of my favorite aspects of the novel. Though I wasn't entirely sure how every detail would fall into place, I had my suspicions regarding Nisha's love life and would have been miffed to find my guesses were wrong, but, thankfully, Forster was headed the direction I'd hoped. And, she managed to successfully resolve questions in a rather small number of pages (as these questions are answered near the very end of the book) - no small feat! I'm rather anxious to get my hands on book two and see more of Nisha and her boy!

City of a Thousand Dolls is a must read for fantasy fans. The world building is wonderful and doesn't bog down the story's pace, the main character is fantastic, the mystery compelling, and the romance is absolutely lovely. I highly recommend Forster's debut! show less