Tiffany Sly Lives Here Now

March 12, 2018
After African-American 16-year-old Tiffany’s mother dies, she is sent to live with a father she’s never met. Suddenly, she has a white stepmother, four new sisters, and a father, Anthony, so strict he’s nearly abusive. Anthony challenges everything that helps Tiffany feel like herself—her hairstyle, her love of music, her atheism (he is a Jehovah’s Witness and wants Tiffany to convert), her friends, and even her OCD and anxiety medication. Tiffany has no idea how to fit into her new situation; worse still, she encounters bigotry at every turn at her new L.A. private school. And in a further twist, Anthony might not be her father after all. Through Tiffany’s experiences, debut author Davis takes an unflinching approach to racism, religion, emotional abuse, and mental illness. Tiffany’s circumstances are nightmarish, but the narrative isn’t weighed down, in large part because of her integrity, passion, and refusal to be self-pitying. Perhaps too generously, Davis humanizes Anthony, portraying him as flawed but not irredeemable. It’s a brave narrative choice that speaks to the story’s focus on how family, in all its forms, is an ever-evolving work in progress. Ages 14–up. Agent: Uwe Stender, TriadaUS Literary Agency.

April 1, 2018
At 16-years-old, African-American Tiffany Sly suddenly lands on a different planet: Simi Valley, California.Compared to her hometown of Chicago, the fancy cars, mansions, beach houses, and expensive prep school are straight out of a movie. Before her mom passed away from cancer, Tiffany learned she had a father, a man called Anthony Stone, and would be going to live with him. Far from Grams and her best friend, Keelah, Tiffany is not sure she'll be able to fit into Anthony's picture-perfect life. His four biracial daughters, London, twins Heaven and Nevaeh, and toddler Pumpkin, and polished white wife, Margaret, make it hard to blend in. Nor does it help to know that Anthony might not be her dad after all. Unbeknownst to her new family, before Tiffany flew across the country, another man from her mother's past, Xavior Xavion, showed up at her door, asking for a DNA test. With only a week until the results come in, she has a small window of time in which to bond with her new family before the truth is revealed. Davis' debut novel is an honest, funny, and captivating examination of race, socio-economics, mental health, and family. Tiffany learns to makes space for her new family and a new understanding of herself.A dynamic and honest coming-of-age novel with universal appeal that will especially speak to black girls questioning their place in the world. (Fiction. 14-adult)

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May 1, 2018

Gr 8 Up-African American 16-year-old Tiffany Sly's mother has just passed away from cancer, and Tiffany's world is in upheaval. Her mother had arranged for her to move from Chicago to California to live with a father she has never met. While she is somewhat prepared for her wealthy father (though not how light his skin color is), she is not equipped for the white stepmother and the four new half sisters with whom she would now be living. Nor is she ready to be a part of a family that is devoutly religious (Jehovah's Witness) while she is an atheist. The scenario is complicated by the fact that a second possible father also appears on the scene wanting a blood test; one who, at least on the surface, seems more like Tiffany. As Tiffany struggles to fit into her new elite private school and to get along with her eldest half sister, London, she also develops a relationship with the family that lives next door-fellow "outsider" Marcus McKinney and his two moms. This title has a lot of moving parts, but all is resolved by story's end. Tiffany must deal with her grief, her anxiety diagnosis, her relationships, and her own identity in this new environment. What starts out as a standard fish-out-of-water story turns into a tearjerker by the novel's end. VERDICT A strong choice for most YA collections.-Kristin Lee Anderson, Jackson County Library Services, OR

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