The World We Make (Great Cities #2)

by N.K. Jemisin

Every court is a horror movie setting at its core, where property matters more than human lives and justice gets measured in billable hours.

“People know how loved a place is by how it smells,” he’d said, when she asked why. “If it smells like good food, nice wood, fresh paint, they’ll want to live there. If it smells like cheap shit, even if it looks clean, they know it ain’t got no soul.”

“You said it yourself: New York is rude. We’ll give you the shirt off our backs and our last subway card swipe if you’re lost, but step to us with wild accusations about things that aren’t our fault and any one of us will go off on you. Except maybe Manhattan; he’s mostly too nice to yell. He’ll just—very nicely—cut your throat.”

“‘Sorry about all the murders. But we still don’t like you, so please leave.’”