4 starred reviews!
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 … 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?
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I have to admit, it’s been a while since I’ve been this rattled by a story. Tiffany D. Jackson chips at the world, then cracks it, then shatters it into shards of discomfort and complexity for the reader to grapple with it. Allegedly, undoubtedly, will linger long after it’s over.
A riveting, gut-wrenching thriller and a stunning debut.
This is Tiffany’s debut novel and my first book to read by her and it was the best choice I’ve ever made. While the book cover turned me a little off (I prefer her other book covers and YES I judge books by their covers), the book description intrigued me and I knew I was in for a harrowing ride and my oh my did it happen!!!!!
I gave this book a 4.5 star rating because at the beginning, it was a little slow for me and I want things to pick up speed (though I know it’s for build up but I still wished it was a little faster).
This book explores topics which I’m not familiar with like: being convicted and live in a group home. I sympathized with Mary from the start and all the struggles she is dealing with (especially being bullied by the other girls at the group house). It was really heartbreaking and I was hoping she would get her happy ending.
I loved how the author shed light about the “what if’s.” So in this book, Mary has been convicted of killing a white baby girl. It was enlightening to see the reactions of people (whether they are social workers or citizens) on that matter and it gets you thinking if they would react the same if a white person killed a black baby girl/boy, which I’m sure the majority won’t because they’re racist (there I said it as simple as that).
As the story progresses, it gets creepier and there are unexpected turns throughout the story but the ending was the most harrowing of them all (it’s in tie with another major twist but I won’t spoil it for you). I was at first shocked at the ending, disturbed and impressed with it that I want a sequel to see what happens next (most likely won’t happen but a girl can dream) but as I let my thoughts process, I wished that shock of an ending wasn’t there because of reasons I can’t say without spoiling.
Overall, I really enjoyed this horror of a book and would highly recommend you read it first if you are new to the author’s books!!!!!
I really love reading contemporary books that show me a world I’ve never experienced, and Allegedly does just that. I felt like I was holding my breath through the whole book, wondering what would happen next. My reaction to Ms. Jackson’s more recent book, Monday’s Not Coming, was very similar. She writes in a way that makes me want to wave her books in peoples’ faces and say “This! You need to read this book!”
Allegedly is an immersive read that had me all twisted up with anxiety. When I finished, I told my friends that it ate my soul, and it did. I will read whatever Ms. Jackson chooses to write next.
Such a good story! Kept me guessing until the last word.
Allegedly is a realistic young-adult debut novel written by Tiffany D. Jackson. Purposefully, I haven’t been reading much YA lately so I put a lot of trust in my fellow adult reviewers who have been showering this title with shiny 4 and 5 stars. After reading, I can safely say the praise isn’t too generous and it isn’t undeserved.
In my experience, it has been difficult to find complex YA that is as captivating for adults as it is for teens. They are few and far between in my opinion. Allegedly held my attention from start to finish. I was engaged and invested, and found it surprisingly unpredictable at the end which is a feat for this genre. The realistic quality of this novel is strong. Over half of my career in the field of behavioral health has been spent in the dependency system. I know foster care, therapeutic group homes, and even “baby jail” inside and out and this portrayal of a minor growing up in these settings is not far from the truth. I could write my own book about what that means…maybe I will. Despite every state’s very vocal call for change in the care of precious children, the protectors continue to harm, both knowingly and unknowingly. “The lesser of two evils,” some say. “Why are their two evils?” I say.
“Do you know how much time, how much you have to go through, to not recognize your own self?” Meet Mary and find out.
My favorite quote:
“What you may or may not have done is not the definition of who you really are.”
A well-executed, powerful journey into the claustrophobic life of a young girl trying to navigate what little is left after the world has judged her, and what she will do to escape it.
Tiffany Jackson’s timely and chilling debut will haunt you for a long time. An extraordinary new voice.
The ending is a bit abrupt, but I think it’s quite satisfying overall. Amazing narrator, a story that keeps you on your toes, and just generally impossible to put down.
Wow, this is a really haunting, painful story with an amazing ending! Not a feel-good read but will definitely keep you reading.
I enjoyed this book so much. I wanted to scream, cry and laugh all at the same time. I would definitely recommend this book.
This book got me mad is all the right places the feels were definitely there. There is no other way to describe this book but twisted in the best way possible. I could not put this book down for the life of me. I started it one day and finished it the same day. The amount of times I was hanging off the edge of my seat and far to many to count. This book is SO under rated. I cried, I screamed, I got mad. Just the whole book was exactly what I needed to read in this quarantine. Just a beautiful book and it was based off of a true story of a girl in Maine! This book got me far too invested in the case of the girl. You just want more and more information about what happened. I really wish there was another book. I just wish there was another book that was like this.
Tiffany Jackson is an awesome writer. This book draws the reader into an interesting plot, with unexpected twist. Though it appears the intended audience is young adults, mature adults most certainly will enjoy. The MC is easy to become attached to, and feel compassion for, but by the end of the book you may question your loyalty to the main character. I love how Tiffany developed her characters and how meticulously deliberate she was to make sure the plot was rich, and the competing themes were throughout the book. This would make for a great book club discussion.
This was such a captivating story, with a twist I did NOT see coming. Tiffany does a fantastic job with setting the tone and putting you on edge, making you question everything about the characters. Can’t wait to read all of Tiffany’s books!
this book had me reading, so many emotions!!
I loved it
Great twist ending.
This book had me hooked. Once I started I was compelled to read to the end. I wanted to know how it ended. I will look for other books by this author.
When she was nine, Mary Addison killed 3-month-old Alyssa Richardson, allegedly.
Now sixteen, Mary is released into a group home. The girls there are violent and those in charge are apathetic and inept, creating a dangerous environment for outcast Mary who has recently learned she is pregnant.
Ted, the baby’s father, is eighteen, also in “the system,” and Mary’s sole champion. I came to like Ted early on, only to wonder later if I should have. I still have mixed feelings.
Mary is smart, resourceful, and upon being faced with impending motherhood, wants nothing more than to take the SATs, attend college, and provide for her child. Being ward of the state, Mary’s baby is ward by proxy and the group home intends to put her child into foster care or up for adoption. She is, after all, a baby killer… or is she?
Mary decides she needs to come clean after seven years, to assert her innocence, which she hasn’t to this point out of protection of the true guilty party. The only way to keep her baby is to clear her name. With the help of a great cast of supporting characters—an SAT prep coach and a lawyer with The Absolution Project—Mary sets out to beat the system that has taken advantage of her, perhaps because the baby that died was white and she is black.
There are articles through which the history of the Alyssa Richardson case are slowly revealed in between primarily first person narrative. Every chapter is purposeful. Exciting. I couldn’t wait to know what was going to happen next. The writing is good, but it’s the story, the circumstances and Mary’s likeable character, that compels the plot forward. I came to expect the worst at every turn for Mary, who seemed to genuinely want to do the right thing.
That said, Allegedly is a page-turner that is not without its faults. I don’t want to cite specifics so as not to ruin anything for other readers, but I was wholeheartedly disappointed in the ending. I really wish things had gone differently because I was so heavily invested. Would I recommend this book? Absolutely. It is well worth reading, and some of the most tense, exciting scenes I have read in a long time. Mary is a three-dimensional, sympathetic character whose journey, I suspect, is sadly all too real, but if I could, I would ask the author and publisher to reconsider those last few chapters. I’m torn between 3.5 and 4 stars based more or less on the ending alone.