In 2019, Jaquira Díaz blew readers away with ORDINARY GIRLS, her memoir of growing up in the housing projects of Puerto Rico and Miami Beach, and the effects of colonialism and violence in each. In THIS IS THE ONLY KINGDOM, Díaz once again turns to the housing projects of Puerto Rico, but this time in the fictional tale of a mother and daughter forced to grapple with Puerto Rico's changing identity as a result of American control and generational trauma.

The barrio of el Caserío, Puerto Rico, is a tapestry. Satos roam the streets in packs, mothers prepare elaborate meals before heading to work in the factories, men play dominoes in the plaza, hustlers throw dice, and 16-year-old Maricarmen dons her uniform for school, dodging the stares and catcalls of men. Though she is only 16 and her sister, Loli, is 14, they each contribute to the household. Loli prepares dinner, and Maricarmen brings home money through odd jobs like babysitting or housekeeping. As the only white family living in el Caserío, Maricarmen and her mother and sister stand out, and not just because they burn before they tan.

Even though they associate with Black people all the time, Maricarmen’s mother, the aptly named Blanca, hates the sight of her dark-skinned neighbors, often admonishing her daughters to never get involved with those she deems unworthy (read: Black). But Blanca’s perspective is not uncommon. El Caserío is known for poverty and violence, with many American factories refusing to hire its residents because of racist, classist stereotypes. This all comes to a head when Maricarmen meets Rey el Cantante.

"Both a moving, redemptive portrait of Puerto Rico’s changing identity, a powerful love letter to mothers and daughters, and a celebration of queer love, THIS IS THE ONLY KINGDOM cements Jaquira Díaz as a one-of-a-kind author."

Recently returned from prison, Rey is the stereotypical “bad boy” who all teenage girls swoon over. But more than that, he is generous. A petty thief with a beautiful voice, Rey oscillates between thieving cargo trucks, running from the police, and distributing his loot among his neighbors. Thief or not, he always repays his debts --- and then some --- so the people of el Caserío all agree, silently, to protect him. Rey, in all his swarthy, rob-from-the-rich-give-to-the-poor beauty, has become el Caserío’s Robin Hood, and only Maricarmen can call him hers.

But Rey is, like most of el Caserío, Black. This is how Maricarmen ends up kicked out of her home, pregnant, married to a criminal, and caring for his sickly family, all before she can even call herself an adult. Free from her mother and filled with new purpose in the lives of her daughter, Nena, and Rey’s baby brother, Tito, Maricarmen thinks she has entered a fairy tale. But life married to a criminal is not the happily ever after she imagines.

As Rey falls deeper into Puerto Rico’s criminal underground, he also falls into heroin, which is newly arrived on the island. It’s a weapon to weaken the spirit of its people and allow further control by the factories, businesses and lawmakers seeking to exploit it. On top of that, the spirit of Maricarmen’s beloved barrio is changing, with drug dealers moving in, bribing officials, and turning the streets more violent and less trustworthy than ever. The warring factions of criminality and corrupt police have turned neighbor against neighbor. Through it all, Rey is changing; he is paranoid and rash, full of empty promises and reckless behaviors. As Maricarmen fights to save her family, Rey makes a fatal move, changing their lives forever.

Fifteen years later, Maricarmen is still living amid Rey’s late mother’s old furniture; still estranged from her mother and sister, now living in Miami; and still struggling to make ends meet as she cares for teenagers Nena and Tito. But as a white mother raising Black children, she is often blind to the slights leveled against them. Nena, an intelligent, quiet girl, is starting to see the abundant racism, colorism and bigotry espoused by her neighbors. Tensions are rising in el Caserío. Where once the community rallied to protect Rey and guard his pregnant wife, violence has come to their family again. This time, Maricarmen and Nena are caught in the crosshairs of a brutal, savage homicide that threatens to upend the stories they’ve told themselves about Rey and his legacy.

As Nena grapples with the most personal murder she has witnessed yet, Maricarmen begins to lose herself in grief, in years of upholding her family and working a laborious job that pays in pennies, in witnessing the devastation of her country so that corporate shareholders can get rich, in wondering if she will ever be able to do enough to save her daughter from her own fate. Nena, meanwhile, is starting to explore her sexuality, which is in direct contrast to el Caserío’s conservative nature, despite its former heralding of thievery.

Both a moving, redemptive portrait of Puerto Rico’s changing identity, a powerful love letter to mothers and daughters, and a celebration of queer love, THIS IS THE ONLY KINGDOM cements Jaquira Díaz as a one-of-a-kind author. Her portrayals of Maricarmen and Nena are full of vivid, painful life, with each woman facing unimaginable trauma and yet returning to the surface time and again for each other. But it is perhaps her wielding of Nena’s sexual identity that turns the book into a soaring, resounding hymn of hope and freedom.

This sweeping, touching and deeply felt novel announces Díaz as a skilled and creative writer who is comfortable juggling complex storylines, immersive settings, and characters who will break your heart and put it back together again. Prepare to see this one on many “Best of” and award lists.