THE LOVERS, THE LIARS, AND ME

Familial longing and a mysterious letter set the stage for a Jamaican American teen’s growth and exploration.

Despite graduating as valedictorian and having the steady support of her father and her best friend, Jaliya concludes her senior year with the feeling that she’s not quite enough. When an unsigned letter arrives expressing love, concern, and apology, she reasonably assumes that it’s from her estranged mother. Jaliya abruptly decides to visit Jamaica, her mom’s last known whereabouts, before heading off to the University of Miami. Jaliya, who hasn’t been back to the island in seven years, hides her true goal from her father. Together with her cousin Shevaughn; childhood crush, Andre; and new friend, India, Jaliya has decidedly messy adventures and digs into questions of identity, sexuality, and who she wants to be. Jaliya’s thoughtful narrative voice, which conveys her persistent feelings of insecurity over being “too American for the people here, but too Jamaican for the people at home,” makes each step of this coming-of-age story compellingly relatable even though attentive readers may see the twists coming long before she does. Award winner Davis’ sophomore novel explores themes of homophobia, particularly in Jamaican culture, as well as the shadow cast by parental abandonment, making for difficult discoveries, a complicated twist, and a refreshing take on coming out, not just as queer but as your true self.

Part mystery, part love triangle, and a whole journey of self-discovery.