Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
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. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up-Sixteen-year-old Tiffany Sly's mother has just died of cancer when she's sent from Chicago to Simi Valley, CA, to live with a father she's never met. At her massive new home, she's greeted by a white stepmother and four half-sisters because Dr. Anthony Stone's away on a medical emergency. Anthony arrives for dinner, surprising Tiffany with his light skin-so unlike her own. He proves to be an unbending disciplinarian about hair, phones, relationships, religion, even mental illness. At her elite new school, students assume Tiffany must be a scholarship student. Within days, she's become buddies with the school's pariah, broken her sister's (secret) boyfriend's nose, twisted her ankle, and started her own nonprofit. And by week's end, another father appears demanding a paternity test. Debut author Davis narrates, embodying teenage angst exactly, although she's less convincing as the saintly stepmother, overly precious toddler sister, and wise-beyond-his-youth neighbor Marcus. VERDICT Despite a low believability quotient, Sly and the Family Stone could be an entertaining next option for fans of family dramas.-Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon, Washington, DC © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
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) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
