The Morningside: Review
The Morningside by Téa Obreht tells the interwoven tale of several inhabitants of a run-down future version of Manhattan. There is much intriguing world-building here, including salvage divers in flooded buildings, characters evicted from other nations after ethnic cleansing, and a girl with a wild imagination spurred on by a daring new friend. As you would expect for a world that is facing rising oceans and other upheavals, many characters have suffered losses, and those get revealed in some poignant and moving ways.
However, I ultimately found the story not as fast-paced as other books in this category. The imagined worlds were either fantastical or frustrating, and the pacing couldn't hold my interest. There are some interesting resolutions at the end, but it wasn't enough for me to recommend this novel.
Rating:
- Recommend? No
- Buy as a gift? No
Last modified on 7 Feb 2026 by AO
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