A Summer of Secrets, First Love, and Finding Her Voice
Book Review: The Lovers, the Liars, and Me by DeAndra Davis
When Simon & Schuster asked if I would review The Lovers, the Liars, and Me by DeAndra Davis, I said ‘of course’, because I had already read All the Noise at Once and found it to be a very entertaining read. I knew Davis could write characters with heart, emotion, and complicated lives, so I was excited to see what she would do with this story. This book gives us Jaliya Powell, a girl who has spent most of her life doing what is expected of her. She is smart, successful, and valedictorian of her high school class, but she is also used to fading into the background. She has never had a real adventure, never had a boyfriend, never been kissed, and most importantly, she has not really learned how to speak up for herself.
That changes when Jaliya travels to Jamaica to visit her uncle and his family for the summer. On the surface, it is supposed to be one last vacation before college, but Jaliya has a much deeper reason for going. She wants answers about her estranged mother, whose absence has been a painful mystery in her life. That mystery is what really pulled me into the story. I love a coming-of-age book where the main character is not just figuring out romance or friendship, but also trying to understand the missing pieces of her own identity. Jaliya’s mother’s absence has shaped so much of who she is, even in ways she does not fully realize at first.
I will say that the book had a slower start for me. I found myself wishing Davis would just get Jaliya to Jamaica already. The opening section takes its time setting up Jaliya’s life, her personality, and the emotional weight she is carrying, and while that is important, I was eager for the story to move into the setting that promised adventure, secrets, family tension, and discovery. Once Jaliya arrives in Jamaica, the story really begins to bloom. The setting adds warmth, movement, and texture, and the relationships become much more layered.
One of my favorite parts of the book was Jaliya herself. She is easy to root for because she feels so real. She is not some perfectly confident main character who arrives on the page already knowing who she is and what she wants. She is unsure. She is cautious. She is carrying questions she has been afraid to ask. Watching her slowly push against the version of herself that everyone else has gotten used to was one of the strongest parts of the story. There is something very relatable about a character who has done everything “right” on paper but still feels like she has not fully lived.
The family dynamics also worked well for me. Jaliya’s visit to her uncle and his family is not exactly the warm, easy reunion she may have imagined. Her cousin has his own life and does not automatically make space for her, and her aunt and uncle are not exactly the people she remembers. I liked that Davis allowed these relationships to be complicated. Family in this book is not simple. It is loving, frustrating, secretive, protective, and sometimes painful. Basically, family showed up and said, “Let’s make this emotionally inconvenient,” and honestly, that is where a lot of the story’s power comes from.
The romance also adds a lot to Jaliya’s summer of self-discovery. Her childhood crush is still very attractive but also unavailable, which creates one kind of tension. Then Jaliya meets India, who is vibrant, gorgeous, free-spirited, and completely different from the life Jaliya is used to. India makes Jaliya feel something new, something exciting, and something that forces her to look more closely at herself. I liked how the romance tied into Jaliya’s larger identity journey instead of feeling like a separate side plot. This is not just about who Jaliya likes. It is about who she is becoming.
What made the book strongest for me was the way it balanced romance, family secrets, and identity. Jaliya is not only searching for information about her mother; she is also trying to figure out what kind of person she wants to be when she is not trying to please everyone else. That emotional thread gave the story depth. I loved the mystery surrounding her mother because it gave Jaliya’s personal growth more weight. Her questions felt urgent, not just because she wanted answers, but because those answers could change how she understood herself.
Even with the slower beginning, The Lovers, the Liars, and Me became a heartfelt and rewarding read. I appreciated the emotional honesty, the messy relationships, and the way Jaliya’s journey unfolded. This is a summer story, but not just the light and breezy kind. It has romance, secrets, family drama, and self-discovery all wrapped together. It is about that moment before adulthood when you start realizing you can choose who you become, even if the people around you are still expecting you to stay the same.
I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy YA coming-of-age stories with complicated family dynamics, identity exploration, summer settings, and romance with emotional stakes. If you like stories about girls finding their voice, asking difficult questions, and stepping into a fuller version of themselves, this one is worth picking up.
My Rating: 4.7/5 stars
About the book:
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Release Date: June 23, 2026
Genre: Young Adult LGBTQ Drama/Contemporary
Synopsis:
A teen travels to Jamaica hoping to answer questions about her absent mother, only to discover more about her identity than she could have ever expected—and find herself caught up in an unexpected love triangle—in this dazzling young adult coming-of-age novel by award-winning author DeAndra Davis.
Jaliya Powell has never had a real adventure, a real boyfriend, or spoken up for herself. She’s never even been kissed. Despite being valedictorian of her high school class, Jaliya is used to fading into the background.
But this summer will be different.
This summer, Jaliya is visiting her uncle and his family in Jamaica. Under the guise of one last vacation before college, she plans to find out more about her estranged mother, whose absence has remained an unspoken mystery. But things have changed in the seven years since Jaliya last visited. Her cousin has his own life and is reluctant to let Jaliya in, her childhood crush has only gotten hotter and more unavailable, and her aunt and uncle aren’t everything she remembered, either. Then she meets India, who’s vibrant, gorgeous, and free-spirited. And who makes Jaliya feel something she’s never felt before.
While searching for traces of her mother across the island, Jaliya finds herself entangled in complicated relationships, tricky secrets, and a passionate new love. As she navigates this perfectly complicated summer, Jaliya must choose between who she has always been or who she hopes to become.
Meet the author:
DeAndra Davis is New York–born and Florida-bred. She’s a hopeless musical theater nerd (Wicked is definitely her favorite), a perpetual student and teacher, and always trailed by a kid or a dog because she has way too many of both. She has an opinion for everything, an argument ready, and a hug for everyone, and she thinks you should, too. She is the author of All the Noise at Once, winner of the William C. Morris Award for best young adult debut book, and The Lovers, the Liars, and Me. DeAndra can be found on most socials @DeAndraWrites.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster / Atheneum Books for Young Readers for the book and my honest review.
Let’s keep the conversation going! Have you read this book? Have you ever visited Jamaica? If so, how was it?