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A review by deereadstoo
Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson
5.0
Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson follows Mary B. Addison, a young girl who is convicted of killing a baby...allegedly.
Now, for those of you who follow me on Instagram (follow me: @iread_forfun), you all already know how I feel about Tiffany D. Jackson. If you don't know how I feel, then you're about to find out.
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
This book starts off with Mary being fifteen years old in a group home that is quite literally hell on Earth for not only her but me, as the reader. Everyone in that home was a hindrance to her wellbeing but she continuously learned to outsmart them. Quite soon we get to meet her 'boyfriend' that is 18-years-old and trash (how are you an accomplice to r*pe and a prostitution ring?!). We found out that she's pregnant and honestly this where the story takes a steep drop into pure chaos and nail-biting stress.
Once she can no longer hide the fact that she's pregnant, Mary tries to do all that she can to leave the group home and start a new life with her, her baby, and Ted. She tries to take the SATs. That doesn't work. It takes her ages to get a new ID. The girls in the group home are plotting her death. It's quite disturbing when Sarah (New Girl) states that she and Mary are more alike than she [Mary] realizes. The women over the group home are plotting to try and get rid of Mary for good because she could ruin everything for them (and she did). We were all rooting for her as she had to navigate surviving in that group home while pregnant, fighting for her innocence, and getting her mother to understand what she's going through, and finding people (like Ms. Claire and Cora) that believe in her. However, that was all a lie! We were all bamboozled within the last 20 pages as we got to understand what actually happened to the baby in Mary and her mother's care. We come to know who Mary truly is. This raises a number of questions. Can children be inherently evil? Are the parents responsible for their child(ren) actions? Were there signs that we, the readers, missed because we felt bad for Mary cause she was a child?
When Jackson strategically places depositions and interviews within the book, it makes you want to go back and reread those instances to see where people knew she was the culprit. One interview stated that 'Mary was too smart for her own good' another (my favorite) talked about how 'Mary had to become the parent and that her mental state shifted drastically at a young age.' Did she feel like a mother to Alyssa? She certainly felt like one to her own mother. Now all she was looking forward to was the love of Alyssa's mother as she drives with her PO to Upstate New York and away from her life as the convicted baby killer...allegedly.
Now, for those of you who follow me on Instagram (follow me: @iread_forfun), you all already know how I feel about Tiffany D. Jackson. If you don't know how I feel, then you're about to find out.
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
This book starts off with Mary being fifteen years old in a group home that is quite literally hell on Earth for not only her but me, as the reader. Everyone in that home was a hindrance to her wellbeing but she continuously learned to outsmart them. Quite soon we get to meet her 'boyfriend' that is 18-years-old and trash (how are you an accomplice to r*pe and a prostitution ring?!). We found out that she's pregnant and honestly this where the story takes a steep drop into pure chaos and nail-biting stress.
Once she can no longer hide the fact that she's pregnant, Mary tries to do all that she can to leave the group home and start a new life with her, her baby, and Ted. She tries to take the SATs. That doesn't work. It takes her ages to get a new ID. The girls in the group home are plotting her death. It's quite disturbing when Sarah (New Girl) states that she and Mary are more alike than she [Mary] realizes. The women over the group home are plotting to try and get rid of Mary for good because she could ruin everything for them (and she did). We were all rooting for her as she had to navigate surviving in that group home while pregnant, fighting for her innocence, and getting her mother to understand what she's going through, and finding people (like Ms. Claire and Cora) that believe in her. However, that was all a lie! We were all bamboozled within the last 20 pages as we got to understand what actually happened to the baby in Mary and her mother's care. We come to know who Mary truly is. This raises a number of questions. Can children be inherently evil? Are the parents responsible for their child(ren) actions? Were there signs that we, the readers, missed because we felt bad for Mary cause she was a child?
When Jackson strategically places depositions and interviews within the book, it makes you want to go back and reread those instances to see where people knew she was the culprit. One interview stated that 'Mary was too smart for her own good' another (my favorite) talked about how 'Mary had to become the parent and that her mental state shifted drastically at a young age.' Did she feel like a mother to Alyssa? She certainly felt like one to her own mother. Now all she was looking forward to was the love of Alyssa's mother as she drives with her PO to Upstate New York and away from her life as the convicted baby killer...allegedly.