Synopsis
Korey Fields is dead.
When Enchanted Jones wakes with blood on her hands and zero memory of the previous night, no one—the police and Korey’s fans included—has more questions than she does. All she really knows is that this isn’t how things are supposed to be. Korey was Enchanted’s ticket to stardom.
Before there was a dead body, Enchanted was an aspiring singer, struggling with her tight knit family’s recent move to the suburbs while trying to find her place as the lone Black girl in high school. But then legendary R&B artist Korey Fields spots her at an audition. And suddenly her dream of being a professional singer takes flight.
Enchanted is dazzled by Korey’s luxurious life but soon her dream turns into a nightmare. Behind Korey’s charm and star power hides a dark side, one that wants to control her every move, with rage and consequences. Except now he’s dead and the police are at the door. Who killed Korey Fields?
All signs point to Enchanted.
My Review
Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Content warnings: rape, sexual abuse, kidnapping, assault, drug abuse/addiction. There is a content warning at the start of the physical book.
Tiffany D. Jackson has solidified her spot as an auto-buy author for me. Her novel Monday’s Not Coming was one of my favorite books of 2019. Her dedication to telling the stories of Black girls that all too often get overlooked, combined with her talent for simultaneously breaking your heart and and entertaining you, blows my mind. I cannot get enough, and cannot recommend Grown enough!
Once the cover for Grown was revealed, I pre-ordered it. I never read the synopsis and avoided all of the reviewers from early readers. I didn’t know what this book was about until I started reading, and finished the whole book over one weekend (this is an easy book to read in a day).
I fell in love with Enchanted very fast. She’s an amazing main character; a young girl with big dreams, 17 years old and feeling much more like an adult that she really is, sick of babysitting her Littles and ready for more. Or so she thinks. I remember that time so well. Feeling like I’d done, felt and experienced so much and could start to make my own big choices. Feeling like I knew more than the grown-ups in my life at time. I also remember meeting a boy and feeling like I just knew that that love was my ultimate love. Even though high school relationships are notoriously dramatic at best and toxic at worst.
But Enchanted doesn’t meet and fall for a boy. Korey is a man. A grown man, who should have mentored and protected Enchanted and her dreams. Jackson reminds us in her authors note that this is not a book about R.Kelly, but anyone who’s seen the documentaries or read the news will see the inspiration. Enchanted’s story isn’t unique. Black girls are taken advantage of, abused and mistreated in broad daylight while teams work to cover it up, and others turn a blind eye. I think this novel did a great job of reminding us that R.Kelly’s aren’t singular incidents.
While this book was certainly hard to get through at times, I would absolutely pick it up again and read it. I’m glad that this book exists for young readers.
This sounds very dramatic and just the kind of thing I want to recommend to my daughter.