{"id":38462,"date":"2021-09-29T22:10:36","date_gmt":"2021-09-30T02:10:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=38462"},"modified":"2021-09-29T22:10:36","modified_gmt":"2021-09-30T02:10:36","slug":"review-of-grown-by-tiffany-d-jackson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=38462","title":{"rendered":"Review of Grown, by Tiffany D. Jackson"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Grown<\/em><\/p>\n

by Tiffany D. Jackson<\/p>\n

Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins), 2020. 371 pages.
\nReview written October 3, 2020, from a library book<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a Content Warning at the front of this book for \u201cmentions of sexual abuse, rape, assault, child abuse, kidnapping, and addiction to opioids.\u201d The book begins with the main character, Chanty (short for \u201cEnchanted\u201d) waking up covered with blood and surrounded by blood. I expected a gritty novel about living on the streets.<\/p>\n

But then chapter two flashes back and shows us a seventeen-year-old girl attending private school and on the swim team, who\u2019s got a clearly loving and involved family. She\u2019s got a wonderful singing voice, and as the book opens, she goes to an audition for BET\u2019s version of American Idol<\/em>. She doesn\u2019t win the audition, but she gets the attention of Korey Fields, a 28-year-old rock star. He gives Chanty and her family VIP tickets to his upcoming show.<\/p>\n

At the show, Korey gets her phone number, but asks her not to tell anyone. They begin a secret texting exchange.<\/p>\n

At this point, I was happy that the book started with blood. That was a distinct signal that this relationship isn\u2019t a good thing, and it\u2019s not going to end well. And it doesn\u2019t. In the name of boosting Chanty\u2019s singing career, Korey convinces her parents to let him give her private lessons and even go on the road with him. To Enchanted, he\u2019s getting her more and more involved in a relationship with him. A relationship that\u2019s more and more controlling.<\/p>\n

Since the story is told from Chanty\u2019s perspective as it happens, we see easily how she\u2019s sucked in. How flattered she was to get attention from a big star. How she tells herself he\u2019s not all that much older and it\u2019s meant to be. By the time things start going wrong, she\u2019s already hooked and only wants to please him.<\/p>\n

So you know it\u2019s going to end poorly, but the effect is desperately wanting to warn her as Chanty gets more and more sucked in. And then there\u2019s the blood \u2013 we don\u2019t end up knowing who is actually responsible for that.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a list of Resources in the Author\u2019s Note at the end. We end up with a thriller that is based on actual cases and may open eyes to what domestic abuse can look like.<\/p>\n

And, oh yeah, it\u2019s also a really gripping story.<\/p>\n

writeinbk.com<\/a>
\nEpicReads.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Teens\/grown.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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