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Summer in the City of Roses
Inspired by the Greek myth of Iphigenia and the Grimm fairy tale “Brother and Sister,” Michelle Ruiz Keil’s second novel follows two siblings torn apart and struggling to find each other in early ’90s Portland.
All her life, seventeen-year-old Iph has protected her sensitive younger brother, Orr. But this summer, with their mother gone at an artist residency, their father decides it’s time for fifteen-year-old Orr to toughen up at a wilderness boot camp. When he brings Iph to a work gala in downtown Portland and breaks the news, Orr has already been sent away. Furious at his betrayal, Iph storms off and gets lost in the maze of Old Town. Enter George, a queer Robin Hood who swoops in on a bicycle, bow and arrow at the ready, offering Iph a place to hide out while she figures out how to track down Orr.
Orr, in the meantime, has escaped the camp and fallen in with The Furies, an all-girl punk band, and moves into the coat closet of their ramshackle pink house. In their first summer apart, Iph and Orr must learn to navigate their respective new spaces of music, romance, and sex work activism—and find each other to try to stop a transformation that could fracture their family forever.
Told through a lens of magical realism and steeped in myth, Summer in the City of Roses is a dazzling tale about the pain and beauty of growing up.
All her life, seventeen-year-old Iph has protected her sensitive younger brother, Orr. But this summer, with their mother gone at an artist residency, their father decides it’s time for fifteen-year-old Orr to toughen up at a wilderness boot camp. When he brings Iph to a work gala in downtown Portland and breaks the news, Orr has already been sent away. Furious at his betrayal, Iph storms off and gets lost in the maze of Old Town. Enter George, a queer Robin Hood who swoops in on a bicycle, bow and arrow at the ready, offering Iph a place to hide out while she figures out how to track down Orr.
Orr, in the meantime, has escaped the camp and fallen in with The Furies, an all-girl punk band, and moves into the coat closet of their ramshackle pink house. In their first summer apart, Iph and Orr must learn to navigate their respective new spaces of music, romance, and sex work activism—and find each other to try to stop a transformation that could fracture their family forever.
Told through a lens of magical realism and steeped in myth, Summer in the City of Roses is a dazzling tale about the pain and beauty of growing up.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published July 6, 2021
41 people are currently reading
5425 people want to read
About the author
Michelle Ruiz Keil
3 books177 followersMichelle Ruiz Keil is a writer and tarot reader with an eye for the enchanted and a way with animals. Her critically acclaimed debut novel, All of Us With Wings, called "...a transcendent journey" by the New York Times and "...a fantastical ode the Golden City's post-punk era" by Entertainment Weekly, was released from Soho Teen in 2019. She is a 2020 Literary Lions honoree and the recipient of a 2020 Hedgebrook residency. Her short fiction can be found on Cosmonauts Avenue and the anthologies Color Outside The Lines and Dispatches From Anarres. A San Francisco Bay Area native, Michelle has lived in Portland Oregon for many years. She curates the fairytale reading series All Kinds of Fur and lives with her family in a cottage where the forest meets the city.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 147 reviews
May 14, 2021
I feel weird tagging this historical because if the 90's is old, then I'm old and I don't like it!
I liked the first half of this and then it kind of went downhill. Seeing Iph and Orr separated and each of them being on their own for the first time and discovering things about themselves gripped me. Both siblings found great people to help them and expanded their horizons past the wealthy, privileged lives they knew. This story has a fun cast of characters and I loved the themes of body and sex positivity.
Where this lost me was when things got fantastical. There were bits here and there from the start, but they were small and fit well. Things really amped up near the end, with strange dreams and magic and I wasn't sure what was real or a vision. There was a part where a character was pregnant with her own grandmother and I just didn't understand. If the magic had been done differently and better explained, I would have liked this more. I also felt like the ending didn't resolve anything and was pretty open ended.
If I knew the fairy tales this was based off of, maybe I would have understood it more. As it is, I had no idea what to expect and was thrown off when things took a wild turn. I did enjoy the beginning and seeing Portland in all it's weirdness.
I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. Thank you to Soho Press and NetGalley for the copy.
I liked the first half of this and then it kind of went downhill. Seeing Iph and Orr separated and each of them being on their own for the first time and discovering things about themselves gripped me. Both siblings found great people to help them and expanded their horizons past the wealthy, privileged lives they knew. This story has a fun cast of characters and I loved the themes of body and sex positivity.
Where this lost me was when things got fantastical. There were bits here and there from the start, but they were small and fit well. Things really amped up near the end, with strange dreams and magic and I wasn't sure what was real or a vision. There was a part where a character was pregnant with her own grandmother and I just didn't understand. If the magic had been done differently and better explained, I would have liked this more. I also felt like the ending didn't resolve anything and was pretty open ended.
If I knew the fairy tales this was based off of, maybe I would have understood it more. As it is, I had no idea what to expect and was thrown off when things took a wild turn. I did enjoy the beginning and seeing Portland in all it's weirdness.
I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. Thank you to Soho Press and NetGalley for the copy.
May 16, 2021
I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I'm just going to say it loud and proud right now. Summer in the City of Roses was such a weird book. Don't get me wrong, the first half of it completely sucked me in and I was enjoying the adventures that Iph and Orr were going on. I was also super invested in their little reunion because of what went down in the beginning. Then I get to the half-way mark and it just kept getting weirder and weirder.
It honestly probably got weird and confusing way before that part but I was so engaged that it didn't even matter to me. Once I started to realized how things weren't even making sense to me anymore.. well, that is when I was like..
Lots and lots of WTF is going on here kind of moments for me. I'm still not even sure how to understand the actual ending of this book. Things just didn't make sense to me. I tried to understand some of it but in the end.. I will just stick to not knowing anything.
Overall, it was an interesting book with a weird ass ending.
I'm just going to say it loud and proud right now. Summer in the City of Roses was such a weird book. Don't get me wrong, the first half of it completely sucked me in and I was enjoying the adventures that Iph and Orr were going on. I was also super invested in their little reunion because of what went down in the beginning. Then I get to the half-way mark and it just kept getting weirder and weirder.
It honestly probably got weird and confusing way before that part but I was so engaged that it didn't even matter to me. Once I started to realized how things weren't even making sense to me anymore.. well, that is when I was like..
Lots and lots of WTF is going on here kind of moments for me. I'm still not even sure how to understand the actual ending of this book. Things just didn't make sense to me. I tried to understand some of it but in the end.. I will just stick to not knowing anything.
Overall, it was an interesting book with a weird ass ending.
February 28, 2023
Rec. by: Charles de Lint, in F&SF; lovely local color
Rec. for: Rosarians
Forest Lake is a fictional neighbor (although I believe its template is fairly obvious) of the very real, very big small town of Portland, Oregon—and, as a resident of Portland since the 1990s myself, I think Keil really nails the way PDX was (and thought it was) 'way back then, back when The Secret of Roan Inish was new in theaters.
It's not just details of Portland's history and geography that Keil gets right (although... isn't the Heathman uphill from Burnside?), but the whole bygone ramshackle vibe of the place that Keil communicates so well. This is pre-boom Portland, a cozy incubator for rock bands and other artists, undiscovered and smugly isolated—while still rather jealous of her bigger and cooler (and much more expensive!) sister cities both north and south.
Of course, the Portland-that-was wasn't all wonderful Bohemian camaraderie:
And this warning seems as true today as it was in the 1990s:
Now, I've always been deeply suspicious of "Young Adult" as a marketing category... all too often, that label seems like just a lazy excuse for simple writing and obvious plots, for pandering to perceived adolescent tastes while ducking away from addressing any serious adult issues. But that's not what we get here. Summer in the City of Roses is very easy to read, that's true—and the children are improbably well-educated. But Keil doesn't shy away from concerns that really matter—both to young adults and to their parents.
I may be confabulating these connections, but I thought it was significant that "Iphy" is also a character in Portland-based Katherine Dunn's Geek Love—and that neurodiverse Orr's nickname echoes that of Portland dreamer George Orr in Ursula K. Le Guin's The Lathe of Heaven.
Oh, and there absolutely is magic, strong magic, in Summer in the City of Roses... but Michelle Ruiz Keil introduces it to us gently, with small steps—at least to start with.
Charles de Lint was absolutely right to recommend Summer in the City of Roses so highly, in a recent issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. I was thoroughly charmed by Michelle Ruiz Keil's novel... so I guess maybe I'm young enough to read it, after all.
Rec. for: Rosarians
Nothing is how it's supposed to be, but everything is all right.This sentence ends a chapter about halfway through Michelle Ruiz Keil's Summer in the City of Roses—and I think it's thematically central to this amazingly good novel as well. Nothing turns out the way Iph (short for Iphigenia) and Orr (short for Orestes) expect, when their mom goes to California for a three-month artist's residency, leaving the classically-named kids with their father Theo in the affluent suburb of Forest Lake, Oregon.
—p.137
Forest Lake is a fictional neighbor (although I believe its template is fairly obvious) of the very real, very big small town of Portland, Oregon—and, as a resident of Portland since the 1990s myself, I think Keil really nails the way PDX was (and thought it was) 'way back then, back when The Secret of Roan Inish was new in theaters.
It's not just details of Portland's history and geography that Keil gets right (although... isn't the Heathman uphill from Burnside?), but the whole bygone ramshackle vibe of the place that Keil communicates so well. This is pre-boom Portland, a cozy incubator for rock bands and other artists, undiscovered and smugly isolated—while still rather jealous of her bigger and cooler (and much more expensive!) sister cities both north and south.
Of course, the Portland-that-was wasn't all wonderful Bohemian camaraderie:
"If I'd known how white it was in Oregon," she said, "I would have made Theo transfer to NYU and raised the kids in Brooklyn."
—p.5
Out-of-town business associates of his father's always ooh and ahh at the postcard perfection of Mount Hood, visible from the city on clear days. Iph always scoffed at it. "A little much, don't you think? Like it knows everyone's looking."I've been calling Mt. Hood "the Bedspring" myself for years now, for that very tendency to protrude unexpectedly on one's attention.
—p.21.
And this warning seems as true today as it was in the 1990s:
"We should jet, though. Downtown's dicey after midnight."
—George, p.33
Now, I've always been deeply suspicious of "Young Adult" as a marketing category... all too often, that label seems like just a lazy excuse for simple writing and obvious plots, for pandering to perceived adolescent tastes while ducking away from addressing any serious adult issues. But that's not what we get here. Summer in the City of Roses is very easy to read, that's true—and the children are improbably well-educated. But Keil doesn't shy away from concerns that really matter—both to young adults and to their parents.
Dad found and lost his son in the wrong order. Can it ever be right between them again?
—p.167
I may be confabulating these connections, but I thought it was significant that "Iphy" is also a character in Portland-based Katherine Dunn's Geek Love—and that neurodiverse Orr's nickname echoes that of Portland dreamer George Orr in Ursula K. Le Guin's The Lathe of Heaven.
Oh, and there absolutely is magic, strong magic, in Summer in the City of Roses... but Michelle Ruiz Keil introduces it to us gently, with small steps—at least to start with.
Charles de Lint was absolutely right to recommend Summer in the City of Roses so highly, in a recent issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. I was thoroughly charmed by Michelle Ruiz Keil's novel... so I guess maybe I'm young enough to read it, after all.
May 28, 2023
This was an interesting picture of life for two siblings in the summer of 90s Portland, but I don't know if it was me or the author's writing style that had me completely confused and have to skip back some pages to realise what I'd missed. I think the final third took such a weird turn even I found it jarring.
The first two thirds are simple enough - we meet Iph and Orr, two siblings that find themselves torn apart after their father sends Orr to boot camp, which he escapes. Orr moves in with a girl band, Iph is found by George, a non binary Robin Hood style figure, and she meets people from various walks of life as she searches for Orr.
Two things lost me completely, partly because I'm terrible at remembering blurbs. I somehow didn't realise it wasn't set in the modern day for a while, I guess my brain just thought everyone just casually didn't have phones. Also I don't think the author put it across that George is non binary well enough, choosing to not use pronouns at all, which should have worked but somehow didn't.
The final chapters took an utterly bizarre turn after Iph and Orr meet again, bringing everyone they met into a world of, well, magic. The rest of the story had such a contemporary feel that even though I like bizarre stories, I'm not sure it worked here. The ending just left me feeling a bit sad for the siblings.
The first two thirds are simple enough - we meet Iph and Orr, two siblings that find themselves torn apart after their father sends Orr to boot camp, which he escapes. Orr moves in with a girl band, Iph is found by George, a non binary Robin Hood style figure, and she meets people from various walks of life as she searches for Orr.
Two things lost me completely, partly because I'm terrible at remembering blurbs. I somehow didn't realise it wasn't set in the modern day for a while, I guess my brain just thought everyone just casually didn't have phones. Also I don't think the author put it across that George is non binary well enough, choosing to not use pronouns at all, which should have worked but somehow didn't.
The final chapters took an utterly bizarre turn after Iph and Orr meet again, bringing everyone they met into a world of, well, magic. The rest of the story had such a contemporary feel that even though I like bizarre stories, I'm not sure it worked here. The ending just left me feeling a bit sad for the siblings.
March 10, 2021
It's the early 1990s in Portland, and siblings Iphigenia and Orestes Santos Velos are spending their summers apart for the first time after their mother has left for a three-month-long dance residency. When their father had Orr sent away to a "rehabilitation" center in the woods, Iph ran away from her dad and ended up alone in the city only to run into George, a mysterious teenager who lives on their own with their dog, Scout, and rides a bike everywhere. Iph accepts George's offer of a place to stay, and soon falls in love with this new world.
When Orr escapes the camp and ends up at a faraway rest stop, he meets Jane, Mika and Allison, or "the Furies," who can tell that he's run away and lets him live with them in their tiny pink house nicknamed "Penelope." Meanwhile, Iph has received the information that Orr has left the camp and is dedicated to looking for him, with the help of George and their knowledge of the city. One of the new places she comes across is Shiny Dancer, the store and organization providing resources and supplies to sex workers. From there, she learns of an upcoming benefit concert for the store that will feature the Furies, and decides to attend in case Orr shows up with them.
4.5 stars.
This wasn't the fast and easy type of book I usually like to read, but I didn't have a problem with that. A lot happens at once, and I don't think a single page went by without something extremely important on it. You'll definitely have to pay close attention to this book-- it's not something you can skim.
I'd previously wanted to read this author's debut novel when it came out (All of Us With Wings) but I decided not to at the last minute before it came out because I read reviews that mentioned how not okay the "romance" in it was.
Well, that didn't happen in this book, and I'm so glad I gave the author another chance, because I loved the writing style. While most of it was a contemporary type story about siblings and their hopes to repair their relationship with their dad, nearly every scene was written like it was magical realism or fantasy of some kind. In the best way possible, I mean. Magical realism I'm fine with, but books that get too magical aren't my thing. And this book was still great for me-- proof that there's something for everyone there. I'm sure fans of fantasy will enjoy it as well. And when the magical realism actually happens, toward the end, it fits right in with the story. Isn't forced at all.
Iph loves poetry, theater, and vintage clothing, and has recently decided that she's not going to change for anyone else, which I loved about her. Orr is quieter, likely neurodiverse, looks up to Iph regularly, and is starting to discover his talent for music by watching the Furies and their Riot Grrl culture. He even plays onstage with them once.
I also liked that both of the siblings are queer, as are several other important characters in the book (George, Cait and Lorna. Lorna was actually my favorite side character.) Both of the love interests (George and Plum) were good for them, even though at times it seemed like the author was trying too hard to make Plum sound absolutely perfect. The Furies were great characters too, and I was relieved that Orr wasn't romantically attracted to any of them (they were all 24 and he was 15.) In fact, they developed a sibling-like relationship. You know I love found family.
And even though found family is an important theme here, the story ends with both Iph and Orr on good terms with their parents. Getting to see their mom's backstory was also one of my favorite parts. And Iph has decided to let herself enjoy acting, without letting anyone's criticism hold her back. A protagonist who likes to perform! I rarely see this, and I was so excited to. Wherever Iph would be in 2021, I hope she succeeded in theater.
The ending might make you cry. But in a happy way. So, contemporary and fantasy readers alike, please read this whenever you get the chance.
When Orr escapes the camp and ends up at a faraway rest stop, he meets Jane, Mika and Allison, or "the Furies," who can tell that he's run away and lets him live with them in their tiny pink house nicknamed "Penelope." Meanwhile, Iph has received the information that Orr has left the camp and is dedicated to looking for him, with the help of George and their knowledge of the city. One of the new places she comes across is Shiny Dancer, the store and organization providing resources and supplies to sex workers. From there, she learns of an upcoming benefit concert for the store that will feature the Furies, and decides to attend in case Orr shows up with them.
4.5 stars.
This wasn't the fast and easy type of book I usually like to read, but I didn't have a problem with that. A lot happens at once, and I don't think a single page went by without something extremely important on it. You'll definitely have to pay close attention to this book-- it's not something you can skim.
I'd previously wanted to read this author's debut novel when it came out (All of Us With Wings) but I decided not to at the last minute before it came out because I read reviews that mentioned how not okay the "romance" in it was.
Well, that didn't happen in this book, and I'm so glad I gave the author another chance, because I loved the writing style. While most of it was a contemporary type story about siblings and their hopes to repair their relationship with their dad, nearly every scene was written like it was magical realism or fantasy of some kind. In the best way possible, I mean. Magical realism I'm fine with, but books that get too magical aren't my thing. And this book was still great for me-- proof that there's something for everyone there. I'm sure fans of fantasy will enjoy it as well. And when the magical realism actually happens, toward the end, it fits right in with the story. Isn't forced at all.
Iph loves poetry, theater, and vintage clothing, and has recently decided that she's not going to change for anyone else, which I loved about her. Orr is quieter, likely neurodiverse, looks up to Iph regularly, and is starting to discover his talent for music by watching the Furies and their Riot Grrl culture. He even plays onstage with them once.
I also liked that both of the siblings are queer, as are several other important characters in the book (George, Cait and Lorna. Lorna was actually my favorite side character.) Both of the love interests (George and Plum) were good for them, even though at times it seemed like the author was trying too hard to make Plum sound absolutely perfect. The Furies were great characters too, and I was relieved that Orr wasn't romantically attracted to any of them (they were all 24 and he was 15.) In fact, they developed a sibling-like relationship. You know I love found family.
And even though found family is an important theme here, the story ends with both Iph and Orr on good terms with their parents. Getting to see their mom's backstory was also one of my favorite parts. And Iph has decided to let herself enjoy acting, without letting anyone's criticism hold her back. A protagonist who likes to perform! I rarely see this, and I was so excited to. Wherever Iph would be in 2021, I hope she succeeded in theater.
The ending might make you cry. But in a happy way. So, contemporary and fantasy readers alike, please read this whenever you get the chance.
July 16, 2021
This book was fun! It's a quick, jaunty, fairytale whirl through Portland. I couldn't totally take it seriously at times, the dialogue was a little silly and the plot just felt sort of overly convenient and improbable, but I think this is great lower YA. Some of the reviews call this "dark", which it definitely isn't, especially not in tone— it covers some serious topics, but I never got the sense that the characters were in any real danger. Their problems are generally solved quickly and at the hands of kind strangers. And, I'm not knocking it for that, I don't think this book was trying to be anything else! It's a coming-of-age fairytale that tackles themes of homelessness and drug use and abuse without really asking its characters (or readers) to confront the reality of poverty.
I have a lot of respect for what Ruiz Keil pulled off with the character of George. I hesitate to call George a nonbinary lesbian, because they don't use either of those words, but what I will say is that as someone who very well may be a nonbinary lesbian myself, this is the closest I've seen to someone like that in mainstream media, especially as a love interest. I was suspicious of the lack of pronouns, but it was way more subtle and well-executed than I expected, so props for that. I'd love to hear from autistic reviewers about Orr (and I'm gonna go read reviews after this lol), but I can't speak to that element myself. Overall though, Ruiz Keil seems to have put a great deal of thought and compassion into writing a diverse cast of characters.
Finally, this novel has some truly lovely moments of prose, and I'd definitely pick up an adult book from Ruiz Keil if she ever released one in the future. While this book wasn't anything memorable for me, I think it's solid, and certainly admirable for what it tried to do and succeeded in doing. Thank you so much to Netgalley and Soho Teen for the opportunity to read this ARC!
I have a lot of respect for what Ruiz Keil pulled off with the character of George. I hesitate to call George a nonbinary lesbian, because they don't use either of those words, but what I will say is that as someone who very well may be a nonbinary lesbian myself, this is the closest I've seen to someone like that in mainstream media, especially as a love interest. I was suspicious of the lack of pronouns, but it was way more subtle and well-executed than I expected, so props for that. I'd love to hear from autistic reviewers about Orr (and I'm gonna go read reviews after this lol), but I can't speak to that element myself. Overall though, Ruiz Keil seems to have put a great deal of thought and compassion into writing a diverse cast of characters.
Finally, this novel has some truly lovely moments of prose, and I'd definitely pick up an adult book from Ruiz Keil if she ever released one in the future. While this book wasn't anything memorable for me, I think it's solid, and certainly admirable for what it tried to do and succeeded in doing. Thank you so much to Netgalley and Soho Teen for the opportunity to read this ARC!
March 22, 2021
I loved Summer in the City of Roses for the journey. The regular everyday was magic, and the magic was more magic. I don’t know if such things could happen in the Portland of today, but they surely happened in the Portland of then.
July 5, 2021
Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Summer in the City of Roses in exchange for an honest review.
This was both a lot darker and a lot trippier than I expected it to be, but once you get into the narration style it's easy to love this for all it's uniqueness. I absolutely adored the end, but I do think a combination of our two POVS being separated and the heavily metaphorical narration makes the middle drag a little bit. All in all though, this is my favourite queer Orpheus and Eurydice retelling (that might sound like a really lackluster compliment, but I've read so many of them that I promise it isn't).
This was both a lot darker and a lot trippier than I expected it to be, but once you get into the narration style it's easy to love this for all it's uniqueness. I absolutely adored the end, but I do think a combination of our two POVS being separated and the heavily metaphorical narration makes the middle drag a little bit. All in all though, this is my favourite queer Orpheus and Eurydice retelling (that might sound like a really lackluster compliment, but I've read so many of them that I promise it isn't).
March 27, 2021
I picked up this book for the wrong reasons, but aren't I glad that I did! This is a contemporary YA novel exploring family betrayal and love, anxiety, autism spectrum, LGBTQ feelings, trangender identity, family violence, prostitution, homelessness, baby blues, creativity, bohemian lifestyles and so many important and difficult subjects.
So why did I pick up this book for the wrong reasons? Well, it was all for the cover. And I will honestly say that it is a little lacking, not colourful and energetic enough for the novel inside truthfully. “Summer in the City of Roses” deserves something punchy and vibrant. Sadly, I am sure that many have probably passed the cover thinking it wasn’t for them because there is something very old fashioned and peaceful and self-assured about it. It’s a real shame, it doesn’t reflect the energy and loss and wonder and growth inside. But it immediately drew me in because it portrayed one of my all time favourite writers: George Sand, the 19th century controversial French novelist: a woman who dressed as a man to be the artist she wanted to be. See for yourselves https://www.who2.com/bio/george-sand/
I thought it was only a chance event, but it made me feel so happy - no one reads George Sand, I barely managed to convince my best friend to dip a toe. But I am so glad it wasn’t a coincidence - there is a very lovable transgender character in the book called George and even if it’s nothing more than an Easter egg for a crazy wide reader like me, it was fantastic.
So what is the book about?
We follow Iph, a lonely girl who loves theatre and runs away from home after her father sends her too sensitive brother to boot camp. Because that’s how we make a man. The escape and search for the brother is littered in magical realism and follows loosely one of the Grimm fairytales I hadn’t known prior to reading the book: “Brother and sister”.
What did I like?
There is something very nostalgic about this work for me. I’m not sure how much it will talk to teens today (it shouldn’t go into too young hands anyway, I would recommend at least 16), but it talked to me who was a kid in the 90s and grew up in an artistic family, oh does it talk to me on so many of those levels... And the frustration of not having a way to communicate, mobile phones changed so many things.
The fairy tale element is very interesting, I’m a sucker for it and I kept looking out for the elements of the story which I read prior to the book just for the fun of getting the references, though in no way is that necessary to get the story.
The prose also very beautiful and I loved the sections of the book that were dedicated to the brother. Orr is a fantastic character to explore and his interaction with the world is fascinating. I loved his time with the Furies, and truthfully I would have loved to read a whole book about him. We don’t read enough characters on the spectrum and having his coping mechanisms, reflections, questioning, his perplexities at things was refreshing and insightful.
What I was less of a fan off
Truthfully I liked Iph, the sister less. She was a little too much of the “poor little rich girl” for me, though it makes sense as her journey is about discovering how sheltered she was and gaining new appreciation for life. Luckily she contains her judging and is open minded.
I also found the dream sequences unnecessary. The magical realism was enough for me. I liked that, it felt subtle, just a kiss of fairytale. The dream sequences felt more heavy handed, as if the writer suddenly lost her confidence in being able to breathe enough wonder into her story. The novel worked well without. But apart from those little point the book was really wonderful and I am surprised I haven’t heard more about it and that more people didn’t pick it up.
I highly recommend it to people who enjoy initiatic journeys - those books about growing up and learning about yourself. If you liked Butterflies in November (the road trip of an Icelandic woman with a deaf 5 year old across their country) or Folklorn (the story of a scientist woman trying to decipher the mysteries of her family through the Korean fairytales her mother left her) then you are sure to love Summer in the City of Roses, don’t get fooled by the YA tag. This is not for an immature audience.
If you want to read more of my reviews check out my website
https://opaledgar.wordpress.com/blog-2/
So why did I pick up this book for the wrong reasons? Well, it was all for the cover. And I will honestly say that it is a little lacking, not colourful and energetic enough for the novel inside truthfully. “Summer in the City of Roses” deserves something punchy and vibrant. Sadly, I am sure that many have probably passed the cover thinking it wasn’t for them because there is something very old fashioned and peaceful and self-assured about it. It’s a real shame, it doesn’t reflect the energy and loss and wonder and growth inside. But it immediately drew me in because it portrayed one of my all time favourite writers: George Sand, the 19th century controversial French novelist: a woman who dressed as a man to be the artist she wanted to be. See for yourselves https://www.who2.com/bio/george-sand/
I thought it was only a chance event, but it made me feel so happy - no one reads George Sand, I barely managed to convince my best friend to dip a toe. But I am so glad it wasn’t a coincidence - there is a very lovable transgender character in the book called George and even if it’s nothing more than an Easter egg for a crazy wide reader like me, it was fantastic.
So what is the book about?
We follow Iph, a lonely girl who loves theatre and runs away from home after her father sends her too sensitive brother to boot camp. Because that’s how we make a man. The escape and search for the brother is littered in magical realism and follows loosely one of the Grimm fairytales I hadn’t known prior to reading the book: “Brother and sister”.
What did I like?
There is something very nostalgic about this work for me. I’m not sure how much it will talk to teens today (it shouldn’t go into too young hands anyway, I would recommend at least 16), but it talked to me who was a kid in the 90s and grew up in an artistic family, oh does it talk to me on so many of those levels... And the frustration of not having a way to communicate, mobile phones changed so many things.
The fairy tale element is very interesting, I’m a sucker for it and I kept looking out for the elements of the story which I read prior to the book just for the fun of getting the references, though in no way is that necessary to get the story.
The prose also very beautiful and I loved the sections of the book that were dedicated to the brother. Orr is a fantastic character to explore and his interaction with the world is fascinating. I loved his time with the Furies, and truthfully I would have loved to read a whole book about him. We don’t read enough characters on the spectrum and having his coping mechanisms, reflections, questioning, his perplexities at things was refreshing and insightful.
What I was less of a fan off
Truthfully I liked Iph, the sister less. She was a little too much of the “poor little rich girl” for me, though it makes sense as her journey is about discovering how sheltered she was and gaining new appreciation for life. Luckily she contains her judging and is open minded.
I also found the dream sequences unnecessary. The magical realism was enough for me. I liked that, it felt subtle, just a kiss of fairytale. The dream sequences felt more heavy handed, as if the writer suddenly lost her confidence in being able to breathe enough wonder into her story. The novel worked well without. But apart from those little point the book was really wonderful and I am surprised I haven’t heard more about it and that more people didn’t pick it up.
I highly recommend it to people who enjoy initiatic journeys - those books about growing up and learning about yourself. If you liked Butterflies in November (the road trip of an Icelandic woman with a deaf 5 year old across their country) or Folklorn (the story of a scientist woman trying to decipher the mysteries of her family through the Korean fairytales her mother left her) then you are sure to love Summer in the City of Roses, don’t get fooled by the YA tag. This is not for an immature audience.
If you want to read more of my reviews check out my website
https://opaledgar.wordpress.com/blog-2/
April 5, 2021
Summer In The City Of Roses is a fairy tale-inspired adventure that offers a refreshing, punk rock take on ‘90s Portland. The story hums with subtle magic while also sensitively addressing themes of race, drug use, trauma, and sex work. The writing is effervescent, the misfit characters are complex and relatable, and the city’s eccentricities are portrayed with necessary nuance. Grab this book and your tarot deck, head to Forest Park, and fall into a folkloric, feminist journey through the City of Roses.
November 10, 2022
Although I only rated this book 3 stars, I will still check out other books from this author.
I appreciated the way Greek mythology and fairy tales are worked in throughout the story, but the “magical realism” didn’t quite work for me. I think had the book not been categorized as such, I might have experienced it differently. I do however think the author is talented, so will be following any other new releases.
I appreciated the way Greek mythology and fairy tales are worked in throughout the story, but the “magical realism” didn’t quite work for me. I think had the book not been categorized as such, I might have experienced it differently. I do however think the author is talented, so will be following any other new releases.
August 22, 2021
If I were a little more familiar with the Grimm “Brother and Sister” fairy tale, and Iphegenia’s tale, I’d have been able to appreciate this story even more. As it was, I adored the atmosphere—author Michelle Ruiz Kiel wonderfully evoked the nineties with the mentions of things like tv shows, and the kinds of available tech. I also really got a sense of wandering through Portland’s streets as I listened to this book.
Iph and Orr keep circling close to the other after Orr makes it to the city after escaping from a boot camp. And ends up with a punk band. (The siblings’ father mistakenly thought a boot camp was necessary for Orr to toughen up). Iph wanders the city with a fascinating individual, George, while looking for the band, the Furies, who took Orr in.
There’s a sense of the fantastic to the city and to the siblings’ interactions with others, and to the streets themselves. I think if I had read this, I would have struggled, but the audio helped me get through this sometimes confusing book.
Iph and Orr keep circling close to the other after Orr makes it to the city after escaping from a boot camp. And ends up with a punk band. (The siblings’ father mistakenly thought a boot camp was necessary for Orr to toughen up). Iph wanders the city with a fascinating individual, George, while looking for the band, the Furies, who took Orr in.
There’s a sense of the fantastic to the city and to the siblings’ interactions with others, and to the streets themselves. I think if I had read this, I would have struggled, but the audio helped me get through this sometimes confusing book.
February 4, 2025
This book is poetry in novel form. Normally I find "kids living in the streets" themes to be so uncomfortable that I hate the world, but this one is not like that. This one is not only beautiful like poetry and strange like Shakespeare, but there is a certain justice to it too. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
September 14, 2021
reread 9/14/21:
this book both went back in time and saw and healed parts of my isolated, neurodivergent, homeschooled child self, and sang to the heart of the queer leftist who loves bits of surrealism and brother-sister stories that self grew into.
instagram review:
90s Portland vibrant with a sister and brother in the world of feminist punks and fairy tales, tarot and deer and dogs, shakespeare and queerness and growing up, the secret of roan inish and sleepytime tea, AN ENBY ROBIN HOOD ON A BIKE, Mexican ballads and Greek myth, letting go and coming together…. seriously my new favorite book and maybe the best comp title i’ve found to my own novel??
first read 8/15/21:
oh my FUCKING god .... more coherent review later but i ADORE this
this book both went back in time and saw and healed parts of my isolated, neurodivergent, homeschooled child self, and sang to the heart of the queer leftist who loves bits of surrealism and brother-sister stories that self grew into.
instagram review:
90s Portland vibrant with a sister and brother in the world of feminist punks and fairy tales, tarot and deer and dogs, shakespeare and queerness and growing up, the secret of roan inish and sleepytime tea, AN ENBY ROBIN HOOD ON A BIKE, Mexican ballads and Greek myth, letting go and coming together…. seriously my new favorite book and maybe the best comp title i’ve found to my own novel??
first read 8/15/21:
oh my FUCKING god .... more coherent review later but i ADORE this
Read
December 1, 2021
Trigger & Content Warnings
Racism
Transmisia
Deadnaming
Conversion therapy
Sexual assault mentioned
Suicide mentioned
Postpartum depression
Substance addiction
Smoking & recreational drug use
Overdose mentioned
Physical injury (broken hand)
Nonconsensual body modification*
Kidnapping
Animal abuse (dog)
* Notes : Mentions of someone having their hair shaved while they're unconscious.
Racism
Transmisia
Deadnaming
Conversion therapy
Sexual assault mentioned
Suicide mentioned
Postpartum depression
Substance addiction
Smoking & recreational drug use
Overdose mentioned
Physical injury (broken hand)
Nonconsensual body modification*
Kidnapping
Animal abuse (dog)
* Notes : Mentions of someone having their hair shaved while they're unconscious.
October 19, 2022
More accurate rating: 5.5/10.
Read for the Ursula K. LeGuin Prize for Fiction TBR.
This is exactly the kind of story I'd rather experience in cinematic form, and not literature. Summer in the City of Roses starts off feeling like literary fiction of some sort or another, following as it does the "coming of age" adventures of a pair of siblings, Iph and Orr (named after the characters of the Ancient Greek Oresteia), who become separated after their father decides to send Orr to a really dodgy-sounding bootcamp. Seriously though, would that even be a real thing, kidnapping kids like that? Or was that supposed to be part of the magical realism aspect of the story?!
The story is supposed to work as a modern retelling of the Brother and Sister Grimm fairy tale, but I'm not familiar with it at all so cannot judge whether it actually works as a retelling or not. It does work as a "coming of age" narrative, like I said, but also as a story about family and friendship to a certain extent, and about people who experience, to put it simply, an "alternative lifestyle", since it features homeless teenagers, sex workers, and otherwise bohemian characters. Feminism is referenced, racial diversity and queerness are referenced. Okay, and? Was my overall impression regarding those particular elements of the story. The story features a... Non-binary/genderqueer? Character whom I thought was a dude until I was three quarters of the way in! 😆 I genuinely thought I'd been thick in missing obvious clues as to this character not being male, but no, the author deliberately chose to forego gendered pronouns for this George person. I don't have any issue with this at all, I just thought it was funny.
As to the novel's main characters, Iph and Orr... Well, I didn't really care about either of them. Iph, especially, is the sort of young woman I wouldn't particularly get along with in real life, obsessed as she is with her feminine appearance and working in theatre. Orr on the other hand is very heavily autistic-coded, and I will give the author this: it was actually decent representation, from my perspective as an autistic reader. However, this character's arc, and the way it affects all the other characters' arcs, is where the novel jumped off a cliff for me.
I'm never really sure what magical realism is supposed to encompass, and whether or not I generally like or dislike it. But the magical realism here certainly didn't work for me. One minute we're in relatively straight-forward literary fiction territory, the next we're in "fairy tale-esque tripping balls-ville" (ironic perhaps given the magical realism kicks in after our main characters partake of a magic mushroom-infused brew). The transition wasn't particularly smooth; the set-up, as far as I could tell, non-existent. Alright. It is Orr's character arc specifically, however, that left me reeling. Just what the hell was the point of it? I absolutely hate it when a story makes me question it's own bloody point, and this is exactly what Summer in the City of Roses did.
Also, may I add this: I find it very interesting that it was Orr, the autistic-coded character, who experienced what he did in the trippy section of the novel. Without spoiling much of anything, Orr essentially gets the short end of the stick here, which conveniently makes everyone else's life easier to deal with... Just sayin'. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
PS: the book's cover is quite pretty though.
Read for the Ursula K. LeGuin Prize for Fiction TBR.
This is exactly the kind of story I'd rather experience in cinematic form, and not literature. Summer in the City of Roses starts off feeling like literary fiction of some sort or another, following as it does the "coming of age" adventures of a pair of siblings, Iph and Orr (named after the characters of the Ancient Greek Oresteia), who become separated after their father decides to send Orr to a really dodgy-sounding bootcamp. Seriously though, would that even be a real thing, kidnapping kids like that? Or was that supposed to be part of the magical realism aspect of the story?!
The story is supposed to work as a modern retelling of the Brother and Sister Grimm fairy tale, but I'm not familiar with it at all so cannot judge whether it actually works as a retelling or not. It does work as a "coming of age" narrative, like I said, but also as a story about family and friendship to a certain extent, and about people who experience, to put it simply, an "alternative lifestyle", since it features homeless teenagers, sex workers, and otherwise bohemian characters. Feminism is referenced, racial diversity and queerness are referenced. Okay, and? Was my overall impression regarding those particular elements of the story. The story features a... Non-binary/genderqueer? Character whom I thought was a dude until I was three quarters of the way in! 😆 I genuinely thought I'd been thick in missing obvious clues as to this character not being male, but no, the author deliberately chose to forego gendered pronouns for this George person. I don't have any issue with this at all, I just thought it was funny.
As to the novel's main characters, Iph and Orr... Well, I didn't really care about either of them. Iph, especially, is the sort of young woman I wouldn't particularly get along with in real life, obsessed as she is with her feminine appearance and working in theatre. Orr on the other hand is very heavily autistic-coded, and I will give the author this: it was actually decent representation, from my perspective as an autistic reader. However, this character's arc, and the way it affects all the other characters' arcs, is where the novel jumped off a cliff for me.
I'm never really sure what magical realism is supposed to encompass, and whether or not I generally like or dislike it. But the magical realism here certainly didn't work for me. One minute we're in relatively straight-forward literary fiction territory, the next we're in "fairy tale-esque tripping balls-ville" (ironic perhaps given the magical realism kicks in after our main characters partake of a magic mushroom-infused brew). The transition wasn't particularly smooth; the set-up, as far as I could tell, non-existent. Alright. It is Orr's character arc specifically, however, that left me reeling. Just what the hell was the point of it? I absolutely hate it when a story makes me question it's own bloody point, and this is exactly what Summer in the City of Roses did.
Also, may I add this: I find it very interesting that it was Orr, the autistic-coded character, who experienced what he did in the trippy section of the novel. Without spoiling much of anything, Orr essentially gets the short end of the stick here, which conveniently makes everyone else's life easier to deal with... Just sayin'. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
PS: the book's cover is quite pretty though.
March 29, 2022
the setting and characters in this book are absolute magic.
February 25, 2024
I loved this book, and the familiar Portland locale. It was sadly beautiful, with a magical realism world that I’d love to inhabit.
February 22, 2021
This was a really interesting book to read that deals with a lot of heavy topics. It's worth noting that prostitution, dildos, drug abuse, homelessness, etc are discussed throughout the book and that one of the protagonist's stories opens with him being kidnapped and taken to a boot camp. These topics might not be suitable for everyone in the YA category, so this is just something to keep in mind. Overall, I enjoyed the story but did find the ending a little too abstract for my personal tastes.
July 15, 2021
This book took a decided turn into the magical realm that I wasn't expecting—and honestly decreased my enjoyment of the entire thing. Had the two parts been better integrated, I would have enjoyed it a whole lot more.
Full review to come, but you can check out a teaser mini-review over on the Forever Young Adult Instagram.
Full review to come, but you can check out a teaser mini-review over on the Forever Young Adult Instagram.
May 9, 2023
I wrestled with this one from the beginning. I live in Portland so I did appreciate the sense of place. It just was a little too over-the-top storywise, then about 3/4 of the way through it just got WAY out - maybe if I knEw the myths that it’s supposedly was modeled after I would’ve appreciated it more but it just got too strange and weird.
April 19, 2022
I'm sorry, but this book really fell off the tracks in the last 75ish pages! Like WTF?! I really enjoyed All Of Us With Wings, and I thought I would like this one even more since I lived in Portland and could picture the places Keil wrote about, but it was a hot mess. Bummer.
September 9, 2021
trigger warning
Iphigenia is shocked when she finds out the real reason for her fathers suspiciously generous decision to go and dine with her: It's so her brother can be kidnapped and placed into a bootcamp.
Enraged, she flees the scenes and wanders through Portland.
Meanwhile, her brother manages to escape the bootcamp, and is adopted by an all-female punk band.
The beginning is a lot of plot in one chunk, but only to set the scene. Afterwards, the novel gets characterdriven, and for once, I was fine with it.
Every single character is interesting. Well, the protagonist's father is interestingly revolting, but interesting nonetheless.
This book is set in the 1990-ies, but the main issue is that there is no mobile communication. Apart from that, it could be set anytime, really, as long as there is an active punk scene.
Both protagonists have their own chapters, and since they share the same parents, both deal with being biracial: Their mother is Mexican while their father is Greek, and they have this weird and normal thing where they feel between all cultures.
On top of that, I suspect that Orr is on the autism spectrum. He is never called an autist, but the description fits, the meltdowns, how the world sometimes is simply too much, his ways of coping with that - which is what makes his father think the best decision is boot camp.
Similiarly, the person Iph meets is never called non binary, but is described without use of pronouns. Said person is George, and through George we meet a lot of people in Portland not everybody would want to see. The homeless, the sex worker, the drug addicts. George helps out in the local needle exchange, and thus we meet some more awesome characters.
Then, suddenly, from what felt like a road trip despite them being in one place, there is magical realism and it went from nil to 100 in a very, very short time which was weird, and unexpected, but I liked it.
I am sure I'll find my mind drifting back to these fictional people a lot and I am curious about other works by the same author, if there are any.
This was simply beautiful. In some places, it hurt, but not too much to have to quit, and then I was invested.
The arc was provided by the publisher.
Iphigenia is shocked when she finds out the real reason for her fathers suspiciously generous decision to go and dine with her: It's so her brother can be kidnapped and placed into a bootcamp.
Enraged, she flees the scenes and wanders through Portland.
Meanwhile, her brother manages to escape the bootcamp, and is adopted by an all-female punk band.
The beginning is a lot of plot in one chunk, but only to set the scene. Afterwards, the novel gets characterdriven, and for once, I was fine with it.
Every single character is interesting. Well, the protagonist's father is interestingly revolting, but interesting nonetheless.
This book is set in the 1990-ies, but the main issue is that there is no mobile communication. Apart from that, it could be set anytime, really, as long as there is an active punk scene.
Both protagonists have their own chapters, and since they share the same parents, both deal with being biracial: Their mother is Mexican while their father is Greek, and they have this weird and normal thing where they feel between all cultures.
On top of that, I suspect that Orr is on the autism spectrum. He is never called an autist, but the description fits, the meltdowns, how the world sometimes is simply too much, his ways of coping with that - which is what makes his father think the best decision is boot camp.
Similiarly, the person Iph meets is never called non binary, but is described without use of pronouns. Said person is George, and through George we meet a lot of people in Portland not everybody would want to see. The homeless, the sex worker, the drug addicts. George helps out in the local needle exchange, and thus we meet some more awesome characters.
Then, suddenly, from what felt like a road trip despite them being in one place, there is magical realism and it went from nil to 100 in a very, very short time which was weird, and unexpected, but I liked it.
I am sure I'll find my mind drifting back to these fictional people a lot and I am curious about other works by the same author, if there are any.
This was simply beautiful. In some places, it hurt, but not too much to have to quit, and then I was invested.
The arc was provided by the publisher.
March 23, 2023
*I read about it from Charles DeLint's column in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. As a subscriber to that awesome magazine, I want to give them a shout-out. *
This novel is not just set in Portland, I feel more than many novels it catches a vibe and feel of Portland in a time.
Some books come with a natural bias for a reader. This novel comes at a time when I am primed to enjoy it. I have complicated feelings about Portland Oregon. I didn’t want to leave when we came back to San Diego, I missed Portland. So a novel about Portland is something I am bound to connect to emotionally right?
When I returned to Portland last summer for the first time in 8 years I was amazed at how much it changed, and not just the traffic. One of the things that I think is going to be underrated about this novel is the sense I had that it was a fantasy setting of a city that doesn't exist anymore. I know any historical novel is a bit of an alternate history. Keeping Portland weird is more than a bumper sticker and novels set before Portlandia inspired a hipster invasion to feel extra homey for me.
Some of it is just straight description…
“She and George walk into the quiet Ladd’s Addition, a neighborhood right off Hawthorne laid out around traffic circles full of roses.”
But there are many times in this book we get Portland settings like Powell’s City of Books and it serves to inform characters.
“Ever devoted to his Redwall books, Orr stayed in the Rose room until last year, when he started making forays into the Gold room for fantasy and Sci-fi. Iph closes her eyes against tears for the millionth time today.”
Summer in the City of Roses is very much a novel about a place but that doesn’t mean it ignores setting up the characters.
"Inspired by the Greek myth of Iphigenia and the Grimm fairy tale “Brother and Sister,” Michelle Ruiz Keil’s second novel follows two siblings torn apart and struggling to find each other in early ’90s Portland."
Ahh I understand the names Iph and Orr now. That is cool. I had no idea about that aspect of the story. I admit when I was reading, I didn't place the era as the 90s, but further into the novel I got it. Still, as a person who moved to Portland in 2006, I didn't know this Portland. For example, I have been told lower southeast Portland was a messed up place, whereas it was a nice neighborhood.
This novel is light on fantasy, and mostly it is a story of a brother and sister. Set in the fictional but realistic little Oregon town of Forest Lake. Iph is furious when her father sends her sensitive gender fluid (before that term was common) brother is sent off to a reform school camp in the woods. After he escapes and runs away from the school he ends up punk-rocking in Portland. Iph is looking for him and living on the edges of alternate PDX.
Will they find each other, and how are their paths different in this alternate Portland? This is the heart of the story here. This book has great characters, but for me, it is the setting of 90s Portland that I really enjoyed.
The characters have names that have been used in other Portland-based stories including Geek Love and Leguin's Lathe of Heaven. This book will be considered YA in many circles but to me, it is just a novel, it is about young people but it has rich and complex meaning and subtext. In other words, it is good stuff. It also was clearly talking about vegan biscuits and gravy at paradox in one scene, and that was my favorite breakfast in Portland. Yo.
This novel is not just set in Portland, I feel more than many novels it catches a vibe and feel of Portland in a time.
Some books come with a natural bias for a reader. This novel comes at a time when I am primed to enjoy it. I have complicated feelings about Portland Oregon. I didn’t want to leave when we came back to San Diego, I missed Portland. So a novel about Portland is something I am bound to connect to emotionally right?
When I returned to Portland last summer for the first time in 8 years I was amazed at how much it changed, and not just the traffic. One of the things that I think is going to be underrated about this novel is the sense I had that it was a fantasy setting of a city that doesn't exist anymore. I know any historical novel is a bit of an alternate history. Keeping Portland weird is more than a bumper sticker and novels set before Portlandia inspired a hipster invasion to feel extra homey for me.
Some of it is just straight description…
“She and George walk into the quiet Ladd’s Addition, a neighborhood right off Hawthorne laid out around traffic circles full of roses.”
But there are many times in this book we get Portland settings like Powell’s City of Books and it serves to inform characters.
“Ever devoted to his Redwall books, Orr stayed in the Rose room until last year, when he started making forays into the Gold room for fantasy and Sci-fi. Iph closes her eyes against tears for the millionth time today.”
Summer in the City of Roses is very much a novel about a place but that doesn’t mean it ignores setting up the characters.
"Inspired by the Greek myth of Iphigenia and the Grimm fairy tale “Brother and Sister,” Michelle Ruiz Keil’s second novel follows two siblings torn apart and struggling to find each other in early ’90s Portland."
Ahh I understand the names Iph and Orr now. That is cool. I had no idea about that aspect of the story. I admit when I was reading, I didn't place the era as the 90s, but further into the novel I got it. Still, as a person who moved to Portland in 2006, I didn't know this Portland. For example, I have been told lower southeast Portland was a messed up place, whereas it was a nice neighborhood.
This novel is light on fantasy, and mostly it is a story of a brother and sister. Set in the fictional but realistic little Oregon town of Forest Lake. Iph is furious when her father sends her sensitive gender fluid (before that term was common) brother is sent off to a reform school camp in the woods. After he escapes and runs away from the school he ends up punk-rocking in Portland. Iph is looking for him and living on the edges of alternate PDX.
Will they find each other, and how are their paths different in this alternate Portland? This is the heart of the story here. This book has great characters, but for me, it is the setting of 90s Portland that I really enjoyed.
The characters have names that have been used in other Portland-based stories including Geek Love and Leguin's Lathe of Heaven. This book will be considered YA in many circles but to me, it is just a novel, it is about young people but it has rich and complex meaning and subtext. In other words, it is good stuff. It also was clearly talking about vegan biscuits and gravy at paradox in one scene, and that was my favorite breakfast in Portland. Yo.
July 21, 2021
I wrapped up this gem today and my goodness, it was not what I expected. But it was lovely.
The setting is early 90s Portland, Oregon. Biracial siblings, Iph and Orr are left alone with their father for the summer while their mother attends an artist dance residency. Things unravel when their father has Orr kidnapped and sent to boot camp.
In response, Iph runs away from her sheltered suburban life in search of her brother who has escaped the boot camp and is now missing in the streets of Portland. Iph is aided by hew very own “Robin Hood” in the form of gender-queer George and George’s picket pittie.
Meanwhile, Orr, who is neurodivergent and has difficulty breaking from his routine, finds refuge with the all-girl punk band The Furies.
This is a coming of age take unlike anything you’ve ever read. It deals with some heavy topics as the siblings navigate homelessness, drug use, homophobia, sex-work activism, and child abuse, their own sexuality and budding romances. Despite this, the book is lighthearted and heartwarming. The book and it’s narrators are nonjudgmental almost past the point of believability. But I enjoyed it.
It drips with magical realism, folklore, feminism, zines, and RIOT GIRRRL 90s nostalgia. This book also made me extremely homesick for Oregon.
Anyway, I highly recommend.
The setting is early 90s Portland, Oregon. Biracial siblings, Iph and Orr are left alone with their father for the summer while their mother attends an artist dance residency. Things unravel when their father has Orr kidnapped and sent to boot camp.
In response, Iph runs away from her sheltered suburban life in search of her brother who has escaped the boot camp and is now missing in the streets of Portland. Iph is aided by hew very own “Robin Hood” in the form of gender-queer George and George’s picket pittie.
Meanwhile, Orr, who is neurodivergent and has difficulty breaking from his routine, finds refuge with the all-girl punk band The Furies.
This is a coming of age take unlike anything you’ve ever read. It deals with some heavy topics as the siblings navigate homelessness, drug use, homophobia, sex-work activism, and child abuse, their own sexuality and budding romances. Despite this, the book is lighthearted and heartwarming. The book and it’s narrators are nonjudgmental almost past the point of believability. But I enjoyed it.
It drips with magical realism, folklore, feminism, zines, and RIOT GIRRRL 90s nostalgia. This book also made me extremely homesick for Oregon.
Anyway, I highly recommend.
August 14, 2021
I was barely old enough to taste the Portland that Michelle Ruiz Keil so magically captures in this book, and yet every time I think about it the nostalgia hits me like a wave. Weeks after I finished it, I still wonder what's happening next with George and Iph, want to beg them to let me tag along on one more bike ride.
Just like Michelle's first book, All of Us with Wings, the best part for me was how she wove two seemingly opposed magics together to put the heart in this story—the sparkling magical world we all wish for in which field mice cut our bonds and stags play tree-cello, and the magic of the deep realness of being young and human in an imperfect world. I hope more and more YA is written to bridge this gap, to help young people and those without the life experience see the beautiful in what we've been taught is only ugly—and the humanity of those whose lives took a different turn than our own.
As to the ending, which seems to bother some because it fully embraced the untamedness of old myth, I loved it. I don't need my stories to nail down every loose end. That's not what our lives are like, the sort of fairytale we've had enough of because it's a false promise. This felt a lot realer and more healing than happily ever after.
When's the next book, Michelle? No pressure but I'm definitely waiting for it.
Just like Michelle's first book, All of Us with Wings, the best part for me was how she wove two seemingly opposed magics together to put the heart in this story—the sparkling magical world we all wish for in which field mice cut our bonds and stags play tree-cello, and the magic of the deep realness of being young and human in an imperfect world. I hope more and more YA is written to bridge this gap, to help young people and those without the life experience see the beautiful in what we've been taught is only ugly—and the humanity of those whose lives took a different turn than our own.
As to the ending, which seems to bother some because it fully embraced the untamedness of old myth, I loved it. I don't need my stories to nail down every loose end. That's not what our lives are like, the sort of fairytale we've had enough of because it's a false promise. This felt a lot realer and more healing than happily ever after.
When's the next book, Michelle? No pressure but I'm definitely waiting for it.
May 6, 2021
This book was so good! I was totally immersed in the punk and runaway type of scene. I loved the dual perspectives that the characters brought to the table. I was just going with the flow and then the author threw me into a new universe. I was not expecting it to happen so close to the end, but it did make so much sense why they did.
This was such a new concept to explore in a novel and I am here for it! I loved the idea of running away and then having to find your own voice and life with the people and circumstances that come your way out in the real world. I was so shocked as I was going through this book at the cultural elements that the author put into this piece. It involved fairy tales and folklore that I didn't know, so it was super refreshing to hear about those. I did get lost a bit through the story, but the characters brought me right back up to speed.
4/5 stars! Totally and completely recommend for those who love runaway adventures and a mystical side to their books!
**I was given a copy through NetGalley in exchange for a honest review!
This was such a new concept to explore in a novel and I am here for it! I loved the idea of running away and then having to find your own voice and life with the people and circumstances that come your way out in the real world. I was so shocked as I was going through this book at the cultural elements that the author put into this piece. It involved fairy tales and folklore that I didn't know, so it was super refreshing to hear about those. I did get lost a bit through the story, but the characters brought me right back up to speed.
4/5 stars! Totally and completely recommend for those who love runaway adventures and a mystical side to their books!
**I was given a copy through NetGalley in exchange for a honest review!
July 27, 2024
This was... weird.
Set in 1990's Portland, Summer in the City of Roses is a dual perspective novel following teenage siblings Iph and Orr as they run away from home into peripherals of the city, to escape their abusive father and to explore themselves as individuals outside of their familial roles.
Honestly I was really vibing with the first two thirds or so of the novel - I thought it might even be a 4 star for me.
Then they all take some mushrooms and the genre completely changes from a romanticized but gritty and realistic literary fiction into straight up fairytale/magical realism, and it doesn't work at all. It is such a jarring change that added nothing to the story for me; in fact, it became very difficult to track what was actually going on and what anything meant.
The author notes in the afterword that they're really into dream landscapes and Carl Jung, so I guess that's where that comes from - but it's a no from me dawg.
Set in 1990's Portland, Summer in the City of Roses is a dual perspective novel following teenage siblings Iph and Orr as they run away from home into peripherals of the city, to escape their abusive father and to explore themselves as individuals outside of their familial roles.
Honestly I was really vibing with the first two thirds or so of the novel - I thought it might even be a 4 star for me.
Then they all take some mushrooms and the genre completely changes from a romanticized but gritty and realistic literary fiction into straight up fairytale/magical realism, and it doesn't work at all. It is such a jarring change that added nothing to the story for me; in fact, it became very difficult to track what was actually going on and what anything meant.
The author notes in the afterword that they're really into dream landscapes and Carl Jung, so I guess that's where that comes from - but it's a no from me dawg.
August 4, 2021
Summer in the City of Roses drew me in like a labyrinth--not a maze with guessing, but a twisty path that is nonetheless clear. Follow it, be rewarded. The details the author uses to show the characters are unexpected but bewitching--who is this person? Why are they doing that?--but the characters themselves are vulnerable and open and make me want to find out what happens to them, what they make happen. The language is clear, the concepts made me think. The mythology underneath is strong enough to show new meaning in the old stories, but she's not afraid to depart from the myths and make new paths. And I wish I had a sibling bond like Iph and Orr's. A beautiful, brilliant book that isn't necessarily a lie-back-and-relax read, but one where the journey pays off in moments that make me glad I had to pay close attention. Well done--heading back to reread All of Us With Wings now!
May 18, 2023
I want to give it like, 3.5 stars??? I LOVED the first three acts. I was recommending it before I even finished it. But about halfway through the fourth act the story took a hard right into fantasyland and I was really kinda upset with it.
Spoilers below:
The story was so unflinchingly real, I cared deeply for all of the characters and their development. So to have poor Orr, who we loved and rooted for and got to watch learn to stand on his own, who fell in love and taught himself new coping mechanisms in the absence of established ones, get turned into a deer? His journey of self discovery reduced to a magical romp when Jane had her time as a box car kid, his mother had her time on the streets, Iph has George, there are so many beautiful examples of real stories. I just felt so cheated and betrayed by this turn. Oregon is magical, I’ve lived here all my life, but this felt like too much.
Yes, he chose to be a deer. There was control there, and choice, and it’s how he chose to find himself after the violence of having his hair taken from him. (Which had some intense imagery and allegory there) But this sudden Ghibli note in a rather real and gritty story felt so wrong. I’m normally a huge fantasy fan but this was just… I’d rather he go be a grunge bass player or travel or… I don’t know. There are so many more real ways to have a self exploration arc than… turning into a deer. It just killed it for me.
Spoilers below:
The story was so unflinchingly real, I cared deeply for all of the characters and their development. So to have poor Orr, who we loved and rooted for and got to watch learn to stand on his own, who fell in love and taught himself new coping mechanisms in the absence of established ones, get turned into a deer? His journey of self discovery reduced to a magical romp when Jane had her time as a box car kid, his mother had her time on the streets, Iph has George, there are so many beautiful examples of real stories. I just felt so cheated and betrayed by this turn. Oregon is magical, I’ve lived here all my life, but this felt like too much.
Yes, he chose to be a deer. There was control there, and choice, and it’s how he chose to find himself after the violence of having his hair taken from him. (Which had some intense imagery and allegory there) But this sudden Ghibli note in a rather real and gritty story felt so wrong. I’m normally a huge fantasy fan but this was just… I’d rather he go be a grunge bass player or travel or… I don’t know. There are so many more real ways to have a self exploration arc than… turning into a deer. It just killed it for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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