#ArcAugust Book Review : Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson @writeinBK

RELEASE DATE : 1/24/2017
Allegedly by Tiffany D Jackson  via @amazon

Orange Is the New Black meets Walter Dean Myer’s Monster in this gritty, twisty, and haunting debut by Tiffany D. Jackson about a girl convicted of murder seeking the truth while surviving life in a group home.

Mary B. Addison killed a baby.

Allegedly. She didn’t say much in that first interview with detectives, and the media filled in the only blanks that mattered: a white baby had died while under the care of a churchgoing black woman and her nine-year-old daughter. The public convicted Mary and the jury made it official. But did she do it?

There wasn’t a point to setting the record straight before, but now she’s got Ted—and their unborn child—to think about. When the state threatens to take her baby, Mary’s fate now lies in the hands of the one person she distrusts the most: her Momma. No one knows the real Momma. But does anyone know the real Mary?

From School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up—Jackson delivers a requiem about systemic issues of injustice in this debut novel that portrays the juvenile justice system, meant to rehabilitate youth who have gone astray, and the social service system, which is intended to defend those whose rights have been infringed upon. Interwoven with case study excerpts, depositions, and inmate interviews, this gripping thriller centers on 16-year-old Mary Beth Addison, who was incarcerated for the alleged murder of a three-month-old infant. Not all of the clues point to then nine-year-old Mary's guilt, though. Now Mary is in a group home with hopes of moving into the world and maybe even to college. But she's been unable to get her birth certificate from her mother, and she needs the document to take her SATs. She's also just learned that she's pregnant, which threatens to turn her macabre existence into a permanent nightmare. Because Mary is underage and her 18-year-old boyfriend, Ted, is also in a group facility, their child will be put up for adoption after Mary gives birth, but Mary will go to any length to prevent that from happening. With remarkable skill, Jackson offers an unflinching portrayal of the raw social outcomes when youth are entrapped in a vicious cycle of nonparenting and are sent spiraling down the prison-for-profit pipeline. VERDICT This dark, suspenseful exploration of justice and perception raises important questions teens will want to discuss. An excellent selection for YA shelves.—Sabrina Carnesi, Crittenden Middle School, Newport News, VA

REVIEW: 

HOLY. SHIT.

I received this arc back at new york comic con 2016 or so. Things got crazy so I had to push this back some. WARNING: YOU WILL NEED TIME TO PROCESS ALL OF THIS.

I'm glad I waited because some of this was just straight wild. As a child of Brooklyn, I loved the use of the neighborhood and vibe as the settings.

Mary is this symbol of crushed innocence for me. Even at the end she still seems so young and childlike despite EVERYTHING she has gone through. The abuse of the system, and its racial bias, and the life of a complete lie.

The side characters are fucking BONKERS. I am still settling all this down.

I was made physically ill at times and had to put down the book or hit pause. Take this book bit by bit.
So well done.