GROWN By Tiffany D. Jackson

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson
Published by Katherine Tegen Books on 9/15/20
Genres: Contemporary, Mysteries & Detective Stories, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 384
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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When legendary R&B artist Korey Fields spots Enchanted Jones at an audition, her dreams of being a famous singer take flight. Until Enchanted wakes up with blood on her hands and zero memory of the previous night. Who killed Korey Fields?

Before there was a dead body, Enchanted’s dreams had turned into a nightmare. Because behind Korey’s charm and star power was a controlling dark side. Now he’s dead, the police are at the door, and all signs point to Enchanted.

Short and Sweet Review

*Trigger Warning: Sexual abuse, Rape, Drug Use, Mental Health

Enchanted wants to be a singer so when she catches the eye of Korey Wise a famous singer she thinks this is her chance. When Enchanted wakes up one morning with no recollection of what happened the night before and Korey dead, all fingers are pointing to her.

Enchanted is 17 years old and an aspiring singer. Enchanted is the older sister so she takes care of her younger siblings, she’s on the swim team, and in Will and Willow. Enchanted is a smart girl but sometimes the fact that she wants to be a singer clouds her best judgement. At an audition she meets Korey Wise. Korey seems like someone who can be like a mentor to Enchanted and help her get her foot in the door. Korey seems like someone who genuinely wants to help but this man is a monster, but we’ll get into that later. After her audition Enchanted starts spending more time with Korey at his studio and this is when we see glimpses of his controlling side and how crazy this man actually is but it gets worse when she decides to go on tour with him.

The things Enchanted had to endure while with this man were horrible it made my blood boil. Like I said earlier Enchanted is 17, Korey is 28! This man is a predator and it’s just heartbreaking to watch Enchanted get trapped in this web. Anyway while on tour Korey convinces Enchanted that he’s in love with her but he would drug her, and abuse her sexually, mentally and physically. The thing is Enchanted is being manipulated and at some points she thinks the way she’s being treated is love, she thinks she can change him. Korey is a sick creep, he likes young girls and thinks he can get away with his behavior because no one has held him accountable for his actions. Honestly reading about his behavior just made me uncomfortable and all I wanted was for Enchanted to do was get away, “run girl!” I felt so bad for her family they were worried about her and Korey just cut off her communication with them.

This book was a rollercoaster ride. I knew what I was getting into when I read the synopsis I was ready to be made uncomfortable, angry, and heartbroken. We follow Enchanted from the beginning of her journey to the present, I like how the book alternates from past and present. Enchanted’s story is not something that is surprising to hear in today’s society but I was upset just reading about how instead of being the victim she was made out to be the monster. I’m glad I got to read this book and I think it’s a great read, it deals with hard topics but these are topics that need to be addressed.