Books on Our Radar: The Lovers, the Liars, and Me by DeAndra Davis

We interviewed DeAndra Davis for her debut All the Noise at Once and have been waiting on whatever she would do next ever since. Jaliya Powell is a Jamaican American valedictorian who has spent her whole life fading into the background, still carrying the weight of a mother who disappeared when she was four. This summer she travels to Jamaica under the guise of a last vacation before college, but really she is looking for answers. What she finds instead is a cousin she has grown apart from, a childhood crush who is very much taken, an unexpected love triangle, and a lot more truth about herself than she bargained for. Her cousin Shevaughn is also navigating his own secret, quietly in love with his best friend in a community where that is not simple. Queer, emotionally layered, set in Jamaica, and written by an author who has already shown she knows how to build a character you cannot stop thinking about, The Lovers, the Liars, and Me is out June 23rd and it looks like everything we hoped for!

The Lovers, the Liars, and Me

by DeAndra Davis
Published by: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
on June 23rd, 2026
Genres: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA+, Young Adult
Bookshop
Goodreads

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.

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.