Tiffany Sly Lives Here Now by Dana L. Davis Buy the Book • Goodreads
For sixteen-year-old Tiffany Sly, life hasn’t been safe or normal for a while. Losing her mom to cancer has her a little bit traumatized and now she has to leave her hometown of Chicago to live with the biological dad she’s never known.
Anthony Stone is a rich man with four other daughters—and rules for every second of the day. Tiffany tries to make the best of things, but she doesn’t fit into her new luxurious, but super-strict, home—or get along with her standoffish sister London. The only thing that makes her new life even remotely bearable is the strange boy across the street. Marcus McKinney has had his own experiences with death, and the unexpected friendship that blossoms between them is the only thing that makes her feel grounded.
But Tiffany has a secret. Another man claims he’s Tiffany’s real dad—and she only has seven days before he shows up to demand a paternity test and the truth comes out. With her life about to fall apart all over again, Tiffany finds herself discovering unexpected truths about her father, her mother and herself, and realizing that maybe family is in the bonds you make—and that life means sometimes taking risks.
“I’ve got seven days to come clean to my new dad. Seven days to tell the truth …”
Tiffany Sly’s life is about to change in a big way. She has just lost her mother to cancer and is about to be pulled away from the only life she has ever known. She is set to leave her grandma and move from her Chicago residence to live with her biological father in California, a father she just learned she had. That is a lot to process. Now throw this in, the day before she leaves she gets a knock on the front door and a strange man on her doorstep. This visitor claims to know her mother and tells her he thinks he may be her dad. This is enough information to make anyone freak out.
What I liked most about this book is how real and relatable it is. Dana Davis tackles real issues such as OCD, Anxiety and Autism with such elegant prose and grace. Tiffany Sly is a wonderful character who, despite her many challenges, manages to stay true to herself. She navigates her difficult situation and finds her place in a world she feels so completely foreign and alone in. This is an excellent, heartfelt story about friends, family and finding your true self along the way.
I was fortunate enough to meet Dana Davis at our Annual Texas Library Association Conference in April. She was so sweet!
