Upstate by Kalisha Buckhanon (2005, Unabridged, Compact Disc)

Buckhanon’s remarkable debut novel tells its story through the 10-year correspondence of Antonio and Natasha, a pair of star-crossed Harlem lovers who were separated at 16 when Antonio was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sent to an upstate New York prison. That said, to call this novel a demographic tragedy, an inner-city romance, or an urban coming of age novel would be to diminish it. At times uplifting, at times heartbreaking, but always powerful and nakedly authentic, this book is about love, loss, trust, sacrifice, about the choices we make and the roads on which they take us, about life itself.

Chadwick Boseman and Heather Simms give stellar performances, and their facility with dialect adds an immediacy and poignancy to a book destined to become a classic. The novel contains some sex and strong language.