Our Discussion of The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders

The City in the Middle of the Night (The City in the Middle of the Night) by Charlie Jane Anders

Would you give up everything to change the world?

Humanity clings to life on January--a colonized planet divided between permanently frozen darkness on one side, and blazing endless sunshine on the other.

Two cities, built long ago in the meager temperate zone, serve as the last bastions of civilization--but life inside them is just as dangerous as the uninhabitable wastelands outside.

Sophie, a young student from the wrong side of Xiosphant city, is exiled into the dark after being part of a failed revolution. But she survives--with the help of a mysterious savior from beneath the ice.

Burdened with a dangerous, painful secret, Sophie and her ragtag group of exiles face the ultimate challenge--and they are running out of time.

Welcome to the City in the Middle of the Night - Goodreads

Below are a sampling of our comments:

• I wanted to enjoy this – it passed the Bechdel test on day one
• Bianca sounded like a valley girl in the audiobook
• I didn’t like the Gelet being called crocodiles – they didn’t look anything like crocodiles
• We were supposed to like Bianca in the beginning, but every time she did something, I liked her less
• The characters were not compelling – Sophie was a damsel in distress until she’s not
• What was the point of the book? These were emotionally damaged people, but there wasn’t much of a plot
• The characters being concerned with what chamber they were in on the mothership is a lot like people saying they’re Irish when their ancestors have been here for 150 years
• The Circadian system would have been terrible for night owls and left the city basically unprotected when everyone was forced to sleep
• Bianca was Sophie’s “jinx,” not Mouth
• It was disappointing when Bianca took over and the new boss was the same as the old boss…
• It was a pessimistic book with some interesting concepts – I liked the Gelet and would have liked to learn more about them and their city which we didn’t see until close to end of the book
• I wanted a description of how swamp vodka, Cat Butter, and gin-and-milk tasted….

Please add any additional thoughts or comments you have about The City in the Middle of the Night. We gave this title the codes XEN, ECO, CUL, FEM, INC and an average rating of 3.0.