Jamaica Road, Paperback/Lisa Smith

South London, 1981: Daphne is the only Black girl in her class. All she wants is to keep her head down, preferably in a book. The easiest way to survive is to go unnoticed. Daphne's attempts at invisibility are upended when a boy named Connie Small arrives from Jamaica. Connie is the opposite of small in every way: lanky, outgoing, and unapologetically himself. Daphne tries to keep her distance, but Connie is magnetic. As they navigate growing up in a volatile, rapidly changing city, their families become close, and their friendship begins to shift into something more complicated. But when Connie reveals that he is 'nuh land' - meaning he's in England illegally - Daphne realises that she is dangerously entangled in Connie's fragile home life. Soon, long-buried secrets in both families threaten to tear them apart permanently. Spanning one tumultuous decade, Jamaica Road is an emotionally expansive debut novel about race and class, the family you're born into, the family you choose and the limits of what true love can really conquer. " A gift I didn't know I needed. " ( Leone Ross ) " Wonderful. " ( Marcia Hutchinson ) " Jamaica Road exudes love... with a wisdom and warmth that jumps off the page." ( Vanessa Chan )