I am interrupting my break because I had to tell all of you about N.K. Jemisin’s latest book, The City We Became. By the time I was done, I was even more in love with New York City and you will be, too.

In her latest book, N.K. Jemisin takes everything about New York and melds it into a story of epic proportions. New York is in trouble. The City is in danger of being destroyed unless the physical embodiment of what makes New York, well, New York comes together. Each borough, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx and, yes, even Staten Island, must come together, and work together, if they’re going to keep the Greatest City in the World from dying.

I am a huge fan of Ms. Jemisin’s work and let me tell you something: she has brought my fandom to a whole new level with this book. The author has literally brought each borough to life, creating characters who represent them to a friggin T. Manhattan is fancy, beautiful but also has an edge to him that is both intoxicating and dangerous; Brooklyn is scrappy but loves her community and will take care of it always; Queens, a city of immigrants trying to fit in but will beat your ass if need be, steps up even when faced with a terror she has never known; and Staten Island is just what you would expect her to be. Staten Island (if you know, you know). I especially love Bronca, a.k.a. The Bronx because she reminds me of so many people I knew when I lived there as a child. She is The Bronx, and The Bronx never backs down from a fight no matter what.

As a New Yorker who left at a young age and then came back as an adult, The City We Became is a love song, letter, poem and whatever else you can think of to the place many love and hate, including me. The author manages to include so many references that only a New Yorker would get, but makes it accessible to those who’ve never been to or have dreamed of seeing New York. Ms. Jemisin, a master world builder, creates a New York that is familiar and had me in tears by the end of the book. Because no matter how frustrated I get with the city, I will always love New York.

Where to buy: The Lit. Bar Loyalty Bookstores Indiebound Amazon