Reviews

Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson

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sarahcannova's review

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challenging dark emotional informative mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

positivelybooked's review

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5.0

This was such an uncomfortable read but such a good one. I just wanted to wrap Enchanted in a big hug and tell her that everything was going to be alright.

Jackson hit the nail on the head with this one! She has written about how the world views our young girls in the African American community and how we ourselves sometimes mis-label their behavior as being too “grown” while also tying in other important topics such as mental health, family structure, and classism. Our girls are allowed to dream and they deserve to be viewed with the same lens of innocence as their non melanin counterparts.

kahlialeshae's review

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5.0

FANTASTIC ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!

“This is not about R. Kelly” exactly, this is about grown adults not being held accountable for their wrong doings. This is about victims being blamed for what happens to them!!

Besides it’s incredible strong message, it keeps you guessing, has all the right twist and turns and leaves you satisfied with its ending!

Go read this now!!

TW: sexual assault/abuse, grooming

sunny_610's review

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challenging dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

lantastic1's review

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4.0

My review for this one is going to be a touch complicated. I did really like the main story, loved it even! It was the secondary details that stopped this from being a 5-star read.

Starting with the good stuff - I so appreciated the representation in the novel and how the story was told. Because of the type of characters and their backstories (especially Enchanted), Tiffany Jackson took away so much of the reader's ability to make excuses, to do the "oh it happened because..." and instead emphasized the fact that his could happen to anybody.

The frustration I felt for their choices didn't take away from the fact that I believed it. I got why Enchanted wanted to be with Korey. I got how her parents had the wool pulled over their eyes. I even got the judgement from her sister and her friends because I felt it too.

Now the bad...

Spoiler

THE GAB STUFF! It was just such an unnecessary wrinkle. Especially when it turned out she was real, I just didn't get why it was a mystery. People could have doubted Enchanted her without making us doubt her.

But all in all, I quite loved this book. I thought it was a fantastic commentary on how these situations are handled, how victims are treated, and what we as a society do to young, Black girls.

loveleighreads_'s review

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3.0

TW: This book has themes of rape, sexual assault, domestic violence, grooming, suicidal ideation, drugs and imprisonment. I do not recommend reading this book if these topics trigger you. First off, the cover of this book is absolutely gorgeous. While reading this book, I immediately thought of R. Kelly and what’s been going on for decades regarding sexual assault and his abuse of power with these young girls and women that people in power and in the industry have ignored. This book was incredibly hard to get through, but it also felt like a necessary read to me. This book focuses on the most vulnerable group of people in our society: poor, black girls. I just found myself crying throughout my read because this topic is so important and very relevant to today’s culture. The author had a lot of content that was at times a little all over the place, things that could’ve been left out, and fell short with the ending. I think this is a pattern with her writing because I noticed the same with her other book, “What Happened to Monday.” However, the subject matter is so crucial, and I would recommend if you can stomach the sensitive issues.