City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster

City of a Thousand Dolls

by Miriam Forster

The girl with no past, and no future, may be the only one who can save their lives. Nisha was abandoned at the gates of the City of a Thousand Dolls when she was just a little girl. Now sixteen, she lives on the grounds of the isolated estate, where orphan girls apprentice as musicians, healers, courtesans, and, if the rumors are true, assassins. She makes her way as Matron's errand girl, her closest companions the mysterious cats that trail her shadow. Only when she begins a forbidden flirtation with the city's handsome young courier does she let herself imagine a life outside the walls. Until one by one, girls around her start to die. Before she becomes the next victim, Nisha decides to uncover the secrets that surround the girls' deaths. But by getting involved, Nisha jeopardizes not only her own future in the City of a Thousand Dolls-but also her life.

Reviewed by nannah on

4 of 5 stars

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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 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.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 5 July, 2015: Finished reading
  • 5 July, 2015: Reviewed