Katharine McGee’s THE THOUSANDTH FLOOR is a glittering, gritty teen drama set in a futuristic New York. Everyone lives in the Tower, a two-and-a-half-mile-tall building that dominates the Manhattan skyline of 2118 and sets the stage for intrigue, drama, and life-changing secrets.

What you can steal

1. Characters you love to hate

I had no expectations of enjoying this book. I thought it’d be a trashy jaunt filled with vapid characters and a predictable plotline. My assumptions were very much wrong.

McGee crafts characters who have deep flaws but still somehow draw the reader in. They’re cruel, they’re selfish, but they’re still human. Despite all their mistakes and maneuvering, I found myself sucked in, wanting to know what happens to each character and if they get their happy ending.

2. Masterful POV

McGee’s novel switches POV with each chapter, giving us a glimpse into each character. With a large cast of characters and five main POVs, McGee’s story could’ve easily become bloated and unwieldy. But it doesn’t. McGee’s writing is tight and fast-paced, switching between POVs with grace and subtlety.

Another advantage to these varied POVs is the range of characters we get to see in the Tower. While many of McGee’s characters are from the upper crust, unimaginably wealthy and living in the top floors of the Tower, we also see three characters from downTower (as it’s called)—Watt, Rylin, and Mariel. It’s refreshing to escape the ultrarich world of the upper floors to see how the majority of the Tower lives. These characters ground the Tower and its inhabitants in something closer to reality.

Final word

This book is not for everyone. Based on the reviews on Goodreads, you’ll probably love it or hate it. But you might want to give it a chance—it could surprise you.