This book had me hooked from the first sentence, and I had a hard time putting this book down once I had started it. And when I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it. And talking about it. And telling everyone I know to order it.
It was dark and twisty and the turns it took me on at the end had me holding my breath. I finished this book in two sittings, but definitely had to take breaks to stop and process. Jackson's Grown is a scalding spotlight on the #metoo movement in the entertainment industry, and the system that constantly fails young girls- especially young Black girls.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

WOW. This one hits hard and relentlessly. Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson is unflinching and unparalleled in its depiction of the highs and lows of being a talented Black girl, falling into fame at the hands of a man who should make better choices. My heart broke on every page, and there were times I wanted to scream and throw the book across the room for its audacity to tear me apart. But I kept going, to be a witness for Enchanted in her story - abandoned by so many others who are too quick to pass judgement. I kept going to be a witness for the prejudice Black girls face in all facets of their lives in our modern-but-backward world. I encourage everyone to read this, and to open their hearts in compassion to how some people's hurts get buried under the shadow of a famous rich man...and how power and wealth can blind us to his crimes.

WOW WOW WOW! I couldn't put this book down and read it in one desperate gulp. I don't even have words to describe the roller coaster of GROWN!

Thank you, NetGalley for providing me a copy of the digital audio copy of Grown. All thoughts are my own.
I love this book. That is all,
In all seriousness, this book was one of my most anticipated reads of 2020 for me, and I am so grateful to gain an early release of this book. This book is deep, and it explores murder, mystery, sexual assault, fame fortune, and what it takes to risk it all in order to achieve your dreams.
As a middle school educator, I find this book a bit too old for the readers, but I would keep it in my class library for advanced readers.
I would recommend people to give this book a chance and to read other works by Tiffany D. Jackson.

Thank You, NetGalley! I am grateful for the ability to read this book before publication.

Last Year, I watched the series on Lifetime named "Surviving R.Kelly." The author does point out that it is not directly pointed at this singer, it is directed at the issue of power. The only reason I am speaking about R.Kelly is because it may be a good social refrence point if you are new to the issues of the music industry.

Grown is a gripping novel that is narrated by Enchanted Jones. The chapters alternate between "Then" and "Now." Enchanted Jones has a dream of becoming a singer. While most people only think of music as a concept, she wants to create music for others and sing on stage. Ms. Jones walks us through her journey of optimism to being forced to become strong after tumult enters her life. Tumult enters her life in the form of a famous singer named Korey. The music industry is not always glitz and glamour.

This book is heavy. Most people understand that the music industry is not always kind. However, some of the sights and occurences are beyond some people's imagination. This story is important though because it brings to light what happens when someone has too much power. It allows someone to think before dating a man who is older.

The parents also learn a big lesson in reading the fine print. The music industry does seem to be a maze that must be maneuvered carefully.

I recommend this book to Young Adults who read THUG. It is an important story whether you want to become a pop star or are a parent.

Details Matter- Always Read the Fine Print.

If I had the physical copy of this book I would be hugging it right now. What an incredible raw and searing story the master of teen lit has created here. What happens when a girl is groomed by an older man and doesn’t even see it happening but the readers do? So powerful, so hard to read, and shines such a spotlight on not just how girls are treated when they step forward with allegations of abuse but the even larger dismissal of Black girls. For high school and up. Preorder this now. #Pernillerecommends

This book is amazing. I could not put it down. There were so many twists and turns and the book had me guessing until the end. I do not want to give too much away, but this book covers things like consent, rape, sexual assault, and powerful men getting away with things. This is a young adult book, but fans of adult books like Where the Crawdads Sing will enjoy this one.

Holy Moly! I devoured this book in a day. I could not tear myself away. YA mystery/thriller/social commentary expert Tiffany Jackson has done it again. This book will be an easy sell for mature teens.
Not an easy read, but a necessary one. And that strikingly gorgeous cover!

Tiffany D.Jackson has done it again. She is a beast with the psychological thrillers that are so close to reality. This is no different. We always see how young girls are taken advantage of from older men and when fame and money comes into play, it’s a downward spiral into pain, heartache, and destruction. This can and continues to happen daily. I think it being told from the girl’s point of view is important to see what these women may be facing in situations like this.

Tiffany Jackson states repeatedly that this book is not about R. Kelly. And it isn’t. But it could be.

In the same way that adult men think it is ok to prey upon underage girls with the excuses that they “knew what they were doing” or the way they dressed or needed a father figure or whatever excuse. It could have been about Jeffrey Epstein, Harvey Weinstein, or any other man in a position of power willing to exert that influence over girls that leads to unhealthy “relationships” or trafficking.

Fans of Allegedly and Monday’s Not Coming need to hang in there. The beginning of the book is a slower build and comes across as a teenage dream to be a star. It is in the second half of the book that the Tiffany Jackson style we know and love really shines. What happens to Enchanted’s predator is no secret even early in the book, but in true Tiffany Jackson fashion, there are twists aplenty. Throughout there are cultural references, a ProjectLIT Easter egg, and pretend social media posts (which ring so true).

I cheered during a police questioning scene where these lines were uttered:

Ms. Evens: Innocent until proven guilty.
Ms. Woods: Yeah, and how many times has that little rule worked in favor of black women?

They are true. Whenever there is a conflict, there is an effort to smear a victim, even more so for Black women who are too often silenced into protecting the reputation of men.

This would be a great addition to a library for free reading, but it would also work well in some of the girls’ groups operating in schools that may discuss why having a boyfriend that is a legal adult may be more of a problem than the girls believe.

Oh this book. I highly recommend reading this.
It does cover some pretty graphic content that can be triggering to some. It does have a content warning in the beginning.

So good! "Grown" not about R. Kelly. It is about the girls, especially the young Black girls, who are preyed on by men in positions of power every day. This ripped-from-the-headlines YA mystery that will appeal to readers well beyond their teenage years.

I was involved with a teacher while I was in high school and can relate to the feelings Enchanted had for Korey. I now see I was a victim. He was the adult and as much as I felt like I was an adult I was a child. This book brings to light that the child is a victim as is not to blame for their actions. I was confused bout the character of Gab. At one point I was angry because I thought she was a figment of Enchanted’s imagination (I hate when books do that!). I was still disappointed when Gab revealed why she had disappeared. I was hoping for more. I will definitely purchase Grown for my HS library and recommend it to my students!!

I received a free e-ARC of this book from the publisher on Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not influence my opinion of the book.

This book is like a punch to the gut the whole way through. It's a story that's achingly familiar and universal for a lot of women, that older guy who starts messaging and texting you when you're 17 and he's in his 20's who should definitely know better. But it's also a story about Black women and the ways that we not only don't believe them, but make them feel crazy for their own life experiences.

This book is absolutely a must-read. I couldn't put it down, but encourage everyone who does read it to pay very close attention to the trigger warnings for abuse, sexual assault, grooming, kidnapping, etc that are printed in the front of the book.

[REVIEW FOR AUDIO VERSION]

This was my first book by Tiffany D. Jackson, and it won't be my last. It is a young adult book but definitely for a mature audience. Be sure to read the content warnings at the beginning, as well as the author's note. For the audiobook specifically: The narrator was amazing; this story is full of emotional highs and lows (mostly lows, unfortunately), and her voice really conveyed the doubts and insecurities of the main character. Highly recommend on audio.

What a realistic and exciting ride. Going on this journey with Enchanted felt so real - her challenges and experiences were hard to read, but they felt genuine. The pressure that Black girls can feel to be grown but not too grown was depicted beautifully in this book. The predatory behavior of some in the music industry was also portrayed vividly. Great job shining a light on the exploitation that is occurring still.

Tiffany D. Jackson never seems to disappoint in the way she ends her books. After reading Grown, I see why I have been a fan of her books since Monday's Not Coming. In this novel, a young, teenage girl named Enchanted dreams to be a singer. She is allowed that opportunity but it comes with a price and an older man. Her life dream becomes one's nightmare as her life and the decisions she makes are no longer hers.

This is a story with a sad reminder that age is definitely more than just a number!

Wow. This is the second book I've read by Tiffany D. Jackson and it seems that her books are consistently difficult to read but impossible to put down. I stayed up WAY too late finishing Grown and I don't regret it.

Enchanted Jones dreams of being a singer and she has the voice to prove it. After attending an audition in Manhattan, she unexpectedly meets Korey Fields, a world-renowned superstar musician. Korey is 28 to Enchanted's 17 and while her gut sometimes questions Korey's motives, she is happy to be caught up in Korey's whirlwind. Enchanted starts taking singing lessons with Korey and with promises of recording an album, she goes on tour with him. Their relationship turns intimate, but Korey becomes more and more controlling. He cuts off contact with Enchanted's parents, takes her phone, and drugs her on a regular basis. Eventually she loses all sense of self and is completely trapped in Korey's nightmare world. The book begins with Korey's murder and Enchanted having no memory of what happened to him. We then flip back and forth between "Then' - the time leading up to his murder and 'Now' - the aftermath.

Jackson is masterful at building tension and suspense. I really couldn't stop myself from reading on and on into the night. She tells a story that I haven't seen before in Young Adult fiction that is both compelling and heartwrenching. However, her writing does have weak spots. The dual timelines have a few points of confusion and time jumps that weren't quite clear. I also found the confusion around Gab's character to be unnecessary and unrealistic. I think the narrative fell apart a bit during the final third of the book - it's reflective of Enchanted's mental state but not in a way that works for readers. Overall, however, this is an important book that will absolutely draw readers in and keep them. I would recommend Grown for slightly older teens as the depictions of abuse and assault were intense even for me.

Tiffany Jackson is an auto-read for me and once again I did not regret that. This was a difficult subject matter that she was able to expertly navigate in a way that is realistic and appropriate for a YA audience. The inspiration for this novel is obvious but I think having that real-life event in the back of your mind makes the novel hit harder and drive the point home harder. I love Jackson’s writing and her ability to write real, flawed characters. 5 stars

Disclaimer: I cannot speak to the representation in this book. Please see OwnVoices reviewers for comments on representation.

This book was probably the heaviest hitter I’ve read all year. It was fast paced with short chapters which really contributed to the fact that I could not put it down.

This story took me on one of the most heartbreaking and enraging journeys I have been on in a long time. Watching Enchanted go down the road she was going down and having no one around her truly see what was happening from the get go made me so sad. The fact that men like Korey Fields exist in the real world will always make me angry. The idea of older men praying on teenage girls is one that cuts me to my core every day.

Jackson did an incredible job at portraying just how easy it is for predators to hide behind charm, money, and power and just how easy it is for young girls to fall under that spell. The red flags were almost immediate for me. The second he started talking about Fifty Shades of Gray to a minor, my alarm bells started going off. But for a young girl, having an older guy, especially a famous guy, pay that kind of attention to you would be thrilling.

Enchanted is just one of thousands of young girls that are manipulated into bad situations by grown men who should know better. Stories like this are very close to my heart because they showcase the importance of listening to women when they tell you that something is wrong.

This is my first Tiffany D. Jackson book and I was immediately swept away by her storytelling. Enchanted’s voice was immediately enthralling and I wanted to hear every word she had to say. I laughed with her, I cried with her, I felt her fear and desperation so clearly on the page that it left me breathless and angry multiple times throughout her story.

This book solidly put Tiffany D. Jackson on to my instant buy author list. Her storytelling is unmatched.