Calling My Name [Hardcover]

“Calling My Nameis a treasure.”—Nic Stone,New York Times–bestselling author ofDear Martin

Calling My Nameis a striking, luminous, and literary exploration of family, spirituality, and self—ideal for readers of Jacqueline Woodson, Jandy Nelson, Naomi Shihab Nye, and Sandra Cisneros.

This unforgettable novel tells a universal coming-of-age story about Taja Brown, a young African American girl growing up in Houston, Texas, and deftly and beautifully explores the universal struggles of growing up, battling family expectations, discovering a sense of self, and finding a unique voice and purpose.

Told in fifty-three short, episodic, moving, and iridescent chapters,Calling My Namefollows Taja on her journey from middle school to high school. Literary and noteworthy, this is a beauty of a novel that captures the multifaceted struggle of finding where you belong and why you matter.

Calling My Nametells the coming-of-age story of an African American girl named Taja Brown growing up in a devout family in Houston, Texas. In fifty-three iridescent short chapters, Taja narrates her teenage years—from middle school to high school graduation—as she struggles to figure out life, love, and her own brand of spirituality. Taja’s deeply felt voice, coupled with Liara Tamani’s elegant and literary style, delivers a generous and thematically rich emotional wallop.

★ “An excellent portrayal of African American culture, gorgeous lyrical prose, strong characters, and societal critique make Tamani’s debut a must-read.”  “Taja deals with the insecurities that most young people feel regarding identity, love, and fitting in. Stylish prose brings home quiet depths.”“If there’s one book I wish I could reach through time and hand to seventeen-year-old me, it’s thl8