Today we are very excited to share an interview with author DeAndra Davis!
Read on to learn more about the author, the book, and a giveaway!
Meet the Author: DeAndra Davis
DeAndra Davis is a neurodivergent, Jamaican-American author who lives in the swampy heat of Florida. Her debut All The Noise At Once follows an autistic main character as messy as she is. She loves 100%’ing video games and reading worlds more interesting than the one she lives in. She has too many kids, dogs, and songs from Wicked on her phone. She holds an MFA in Fiction from Florida International University. Her claim to fame is that her Florida man birthday headline features an alligator and a drive-thru and that is very on brand. DeAndra can be found on most socials @deandrawrites.
About the Book: The Lovers, The Liars, and Me
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.
~Author Chat~
YABC: What gave you the inspiration to write The Lovers, The Liars and Me?
Definitely my own experiences, which I think is true of so many authors, but also so many questions I was asking myself and wanted to answer. What does it mean to belong to a specific community or culture? What does it feel like to feel outside of that no matter how hard you try, or rather, to feel as though some within that culture would rather exclude you for whatever reason? How do we deal with abandonment?
I have had so many conversations, especially with others within the Caribbean diaspora about feelings of belonging and that weird line you walk when you’re a first-generation immigrant especially that is an experience that is hard to quantify and difficult to not feel othered by at times, from all sides. I really wanted to touch on that and reach out to other teens who are experiencing all the big feelings! Especially in a world that is so diverse as ours where so many move from their homes to new ones for a variety of reasons.
YABC: What research did you do to write The Lovers, The Liars and Me?
A lot of the research was personal, in terms of navigating my own memories and experiences, but also in talking to people like me. Other first-generation immigrants; queer BIPOC, immigrant, and Caribbeans; those who have dealt with an estranged parent. A lot of those conversations really helped me shape things so that it felt as authentic as possible without it just being a self-insert. I also spoke to other people, elders in Jamaica, my own mother, uncle, cousins. I wanted all the characters to feel alive and representative of a vibrant ecosystem of people.
One thing that is known in Jamaica is the saying, “Out of Many, One People” and I wanted to make that apparent in the characters in my book.
YABC: What new release books are you looking most forward to in 2026?
So many! Bound By Fury by Noelle Monet, There Are Ghosts Here by Adrienne Tooley, Natural Selection by Clare Edge, 72 Hours Of You by Darianne Schram, Wicked Endeavors by Kamilah Cole, The Gravewood by Kelly Andrew and Until the Clock Strikes Midnight by Alechia Dow are a few!
YABC: What’s a book you’ve recently read and loved?
Recently, I read An Arcane Inheritance by Kamilah Cole and I am beyond obsessed! I also read An Ocean Apart by Jill Tew, Hazelthorn by C.G. Drews, and I Am Made of Death by Kelly Andrew and they changed my brain chemistry.
YABC: Which was the most difficult scene to write in The Lovers, The Liars and Me?
Without spoilers, I think the scene where Jaliya and her cousin are more open with each other and the parts of themselves they’ve been hiding. Especially for her cousin. He is very real in that scene, about the dangers for him and his secret, he’s so vulnerable, and I really wanted to handle the scene with a lot of care because it’s a difficult conversation that both can be beautiful because of the connection happening, but also hard because I am critiquing something important about a country and culture I belong to and love despite the flaws I see within it.
YABC: What can readers expect to find in your book?
Hmm, ice cream and break-ins! Love triangles and never have I ever. Swimsuits and hospital heists. Tarot cards and found family. Kisses and concerts. Family and figuring out what the heck to do after high school, ha!
YABC: What is the main message or lesson you would like your reader to remember from The Lovers, The Liars and Me?
The biggest thing I hope people come away with is what I wanted Jaliya to come away with. I say that because, we will all get out of a book what we want, and I don’t typically go in trying to teach the reader something, but more try to figure out what my character needs to know.
For her, and I hope for you, the most basic answer is: You’re enough, even when you don’t feel like it, even when no one else affirms it, even when you don’t fit in, even when you haven’t figured yourself out. You’re enough in every room you enter. You’re enough at every stage of your life. If anyone makes you feel like you need to earn your place or worth in their life, you don’t. Don’t ever convince yourself of less.
YABC: What is your favorite holiday or tradition and why?
Halloween: I dress up as anime character every year and it is just one of my favorite things to do. I’m a professor and I show up to teach in character. When I dressed up as bakugo, I told my students they had to address me as Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight or not at all. All day. I was not ashamed. Ha!
Also, Christmas: I have a ton of traditions I have built up over the years, so I love the expectation of those things. Elaborate cups of hot chocolate, tree decorating with my kids, baking cookies, board games. I just love it.
YABC: What is your favorite writing space?
My desk! Only because for a long time I didn’t have one and I wrote in bed or on the couch. Now I have a designated space and I love it so much. It’s cozy and it lights up and it’s very much me.
YABC: Is there an organization or cause that is close to your heart?
The Trevor Project means a lot to me and is so needed for LGBTQIA+ youth. I think, especially in times when things are trying, these are the organizations that we need to continue to support.
Outside of that, I am always speaking about the Autistic Self Advocacy Network as well. This book may not be autistic, but I still think it’s so important to support autistic people whenever you can, especially now. 🙂
Title: The Lovers, The Liars, and Me
Author: DeAndra Davis
ISBN-13: 9781665952682
ISBN-10: 1665952687
On-sale date: Tuesday, June 23, 2026
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Imprint: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Ages: 14 and up
Grades: 9 and up
~ Giveaway Details ~
Use the Rafflepress Form below to enter
*Be sure to include a complete mailing address for the second entry question to qualify to win*
Three (3) winners will receive a copy of The Lovers, The Liars, and Me (DeAndra Davis) ~US Only (No P.O. Boxes)!
