Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Katherine Tegen Books (2017), Edition: International ed., 400 pages
Description
Young Adult Fiction. Young Adult Literature. HTML: 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 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… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Bookishleigh
Sigh... this book. There was so much potential for this to be a really great book and for the most part the first third of the story was really great. The author's writing as far as dialogue, sentence structure and style goes, was well done throughout the novel. The plot is where the author runs
*** 'Spoiler' is subjective. Read at your own risk. ***
Plot Flaws That Annoyed the Hell Out of Me.
1. Fact: In the state of NY it is entirely legal for an 18 yr old to sleep with a 15yr old. Nothing about that circumstance qualifies as statutory rape.
2. the likelihood of a 9 yr old being incarcerated rather than sent to a long-term psychiatric facility is almost non-existent.
3. With her age and the significant amount media attention her case gained nationwide there is absolutely no way the main character (Mary) would have been left unaware of her right to an appeal. Her lawyer would likely be disbarred and if he was a public defender she could bring a suit against the city
4. & in the unlikely event a 9 yr old was actually incarcerated there is no way she would be made to spend years in solitary confinement for no better reason than because the detention center "didn't know what else to do with her. The psychological consequences from long time solitary confinement is well documented and is considered a severe form of punishment. To use it on a young child not as a punishment but a permanent accommodation would be grounds for a suit against the city.
5. THE MOTHER. throughout the entire length of this book the mother never stops committing serious acts of neglect and abuse and yet never once is held accountable by anyone. I mean come on now. The mother's behavior clearly infers that she has bipolar disorder which severe enough to eventually lead to hospitalization. No child services. School calls child services. nothing happens. Baby #1 dies while left home alone with a SIX YEAR OLD!!! No problemo. Obviously just a case SIDS. Still zero suspicion. No police involvement. Mom's boyfriend drops dead on the street.Then baby number 2 dies!! Still no one thinks that the neglectful mother with a severe mood disorder could possibly be responsible. Nope, first logical assumption... the 9 yr old did it. The child who was allowed to handle handle Ritalin and Clonidine (blood pressure med also used for pediatric adhd.) Still no one holding the adult member of this family accountable Moms allowed police questioning without a lawyer present which is not suspicious at all or a conflict of interest. Then the last mind-blowing kicker the mom casually mentions to the police one day that her 16 yr old child is not actually her biological daughter. Someone just gave a baby to her and she refuses to say who. STILL NO ARREST!!! Hell the police don't even bother with dna test until weeks later.
5. Next there's her attorney from the exoneration project a woman who is just so taken in by Mary's case and has always been so convinced that proper procedure was not taken which is why she never bother making any contact with Mary to offer assistance. okay.....???? also casually ignores all the above reasons for suing the govt. She also flip flops all over the place one day claiming she's going to go back to jail for her brothers death and days later saying that wouldn't ever happen. WHAT?!?!
6. Then there's... THE END. WTF IS THIS ENDING?!??! I completely understand the idea of an unreliable narrator and i also understand the concept of a plot twist. That is not what went down here. What we have here is a reader investing time getting through 95% of the books only to have the main character to do a complete 180 based on the 2 minute rant from an under educated teenage criminal who also lives in the same group home. Then there's the final chapter in which Mary's spends a car ride describing what really happened that night only nothing she says is consistent and suddenly her internal dialogue is all bat shit crazy. Nope, never would have guessed that ending not due to skillful writing trickery but because she didn't have crazy talk going on in her head at all till it became convenient for the final climax.
Any of the above flaws on their own might have been allowed for a believably realistic story but all of that in one story just results in a ridiculous mess that was too annoying to be enjoyable.
Moral of this story: most everyone everywhere is super horrible, sadistic, and/or psychotic. yay, life is beautiful!!
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into trouble. One of my personal reading pet peeves is an author who writes realistic fiction but doesn't bother to make the details of their plot realistically credible. Honestly I'm not even the harsh with my peeve I can over look an unlikely occurrence here or there but this story is starts out requiring the reader to overlook one or two real life implausibilities then increasingly escalates the plot into a as a statistically impossible clusterfuck of events. The author could have so easily fixed some of this story's inaccuracies or kept out certain details that did more to create plot holes than help carry the story. Then there's the ending... it was just ridiculous and inconsistent and just f-ng ridiculous.*** 'Spoiler' is subjective. Read at your own risk. ***
Plot Flaws That Annoyed the Hell Out of Me.
1. Fact: In the state of NY it is entirely legal for an 18 yr old to sleep with a 15yr old. Nothing about that circumstance qualifies as statutory rape.
2. the likelihood of a 9 yr old being incarcerated rather than sent to a long-term psychiatric facility is almost non-existent.
3. With her age and the significant amount media attention her case gained nationwide there is absolutely no way the main character (Mary) would have been left unaware of her right to an appeal. Her lawyer would likely be disbarred and if he was a public defender she could bring a suit against the city
4. & in the unlikely event a 9 yr old was actually incarcerated there is no way she would be made to spend years in solitary confinement for no better reason than because the detention center "didn't know what else to do with her. The psychological consequences from long time solitary confinement is well documented and is considered a severe form of punishment. To use it on a young child not as a punishment but a permanent accommodation would be grounds for a suit against the city.
5. THE MOTHER. throughout the entire length of this book the mother never stops committing serious acts of neglect and abuse and yet never once is held accountable by anyone. I mean come on now. The mother's behavior clearly infers that she has bipolar disorder which severe enough to eventually lead to hospitalization. No child services. School calls child services. nothing happens. Baby #1 dies while left home alone with a SIX YEAR OLD!!! No problemo. Obviously just a case SIDS. Still zero suspicion. No police involvement. Mom's boyfriend drops dead on the street.Then baby number 2 dies!! Still no one thinks that the neglectful mother with a severe mood disorder could possibly be responsible. Nope, first logical assumption... the 9 yr old did it. The child who was allowed to handle handle Ritalin and Clonidine (blood pressure med also used for pediatric adhd.) Still no one holding the adult member of this family accountable Moms allowed police questioning without a lawyer present which is not suspicious at all or a conflict of interest. Then the last mind-blowing kicker the mom casually mentions to the police one day that her 16 yr old child is not actually her biological daughter. Someone just gave a baby to her and she refuses to say who. STILL NO ARREST!!! Hell the police don't even bother with dna test until weeks later.
5. Next there's her attorney from the exoneration project a woman who is just so taken in by Mary's case and has always been so convinced that proper procedure was not taken which is why she never bother making any contact with Mary to offer assistance. okay.....???? also casually ignores all the above reasons for suing the govt. She also flip flops all over the place one day claiming she's going to go back to jail for her brothers death and days later saying that wouldn't ever happen. WHAT?!?!
6. Then there's... THE END. WTF IS THIS ENDING?!??! I completely understand the idea of an unreliable narrator and i also understand the concept of a plot twist. That is not what went down here. What we have here is a reader investing time getting through 95% of the books only to have the main character to do a complete 180 based on the 2 minute rant from an under educated teenage criminal who also lives in the same group home. Then there's the final chapter in which Mary's spends a car ride describing what really happened that night only nothing she says is consistent and suddenly her internal dialogue is all bat shit crazy. Nope, never would have guessed that ending not due to skillful writing trickery but because she didn't have crazy talk going on in her head at all till it became convenient for the final climax.
Any of the above flaws on their own might have been allowed for a believably realistic story but all of that in one story just results in a ridiculous mess that was too annoying to be enjoyable.
Moral of this story: most everyone everywhere is super horrible, sadistic, and/or psychotic. yay, life is beautiful!!
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LibraryThing member BDartnall
Wow! A sophisticated twist-y murder story, with Mary B. Addison, now 16, convicted baby killer when only 9 yrs old, narrating her own journey to freedom... interspersed with court documents, observations from the clinical pyschologist(s) assigned to Mary's case, & original transcript excerpts when
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the Alyssa Richardson, 3 mo old baby died. In spite of the complexities of the original case, the group home dynamics with its crew of teen girls who are alternately young & ignorant, and then menacing & cruel, the two slovenly caregivers, the casually negligent social worker, and the weirdness that is "Momma", Mary's mother who continues to visit her every other week- it moves at a rapid pace. Mary dreams of completing high school, passing the SATs, encouraged & supported by Ted, her 18 yr old boyfriend, a "juvie" himself, working w/her in a nursing home. Things get complicated when Mary discovers she is pregnant, and she/Ted decide to accelerate their plans to get out from under the state, ditch their ankle bracelets, and start over again together somewhere new. Then the "new girl" to the group home introduces Mary to a lawyer with the Absolution Project & Mary has the chance to exonerate herself once and for all. Fascinating, with tantalizing details of the night of Alyssa's death slowly revealed through questioning by the authorities, the lawyers, tense conversations between Mary and "Momma", and Mary's rememberings... couldn't put it down til the end, and then -ooh boy the end. Show Less
LibraryThing member madam_razz
Wow! What a story! Definitely a page-turner, I couldn't leave this book alone from the second I started reading it. The voice Jackson uses for the narration of her main character, Mary, will just suck you right in. So will Mary's situation and the rest of the cast of characters, and their
This book will definitely make you think about so many different things. And I definitely didn't see that ending coming, that's all I'll say about that because I don't want a spoil a thing. Just be ready for a fast, epic train ride.
And trust me, you won't want to get off that train when it finally does come to a stop. Don't get me wrong, it isn't one of those books that feels unfinished when it's done. At least, I didn't get that feeling. But, the ride was so interesting and had you on the edge of your seat for pretty much the entirety of the story (despite the book being 387 pages long, there doesn't really feel like there was any true filler in it, everything that happened drove the story, the plot. No character was unimportant. Even the ones that got literally no page-time were important to the ones that did and informed those characters and rounded them out further) that I wouldn't blame anyone for flipping right back to page one and starting to reread it immediately after reading the last word.
And now the characters. I think this novel has some of the most fleshed out characters I've read, especially in a YA book, in awhile. Everyone's got a voice, a personality, a story. And they all sound like real people instead of the generic novel-voices that we often get (and that's not just in YA books, but in adult novels too).
I also think that people who don't usually like YA books would still enjoy this novel. It doesn't mince its words about anything and the situations the characters in, and even the characters themselves, are not sugar coated. This is almost like reading someone's nonfiction memoir.
I absolutely recommend this to...pretty much anyone. Whoever you are, put your other books on the backburner, find this book and read it!!
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situations and how they affect Mary and the story itself. Nobody is uninteresting, even the characters that don't get a lot of page-time.This book will definitely make you think about so many different things. And I definitely didn't see that ending coming, that's all I'll say about that because I don't want a spoil a thing. Just be ready for a fast, epic train ride.
And trust me, you won't want to get off that train when it finally does come to a stop. Don't get me wrong, it isn't one of those books that feels unfinished when it's done. At least, I didn't get that feeling. But, the ride was so interesting and had you on the edge of your seat for pretty much the entirety of the story (despite the book being 387 pages long, there doesn't really feel like there was any true filler in it, everything that happened drove the story, the plot. No character was unimportant. Even the ones that got literally no page-time were important to the ones that did and informed those characters and rounded them out further) that I wouldn't blame anyone for flipping right back to page one and starting to reread it immediately after reading the last word.
And now the characters. I think this novel has some of the most fleshed out characters I've read, especially in a YA book, in awhile. Everyone's got a voice, a personality, a story. And they all sound like real people instead of the generic novel-voices that we often get (and that's not just in YA books, but in adult novels too).
I also think that people who don't usually like YA books would still enjoy this novel. It doesn't mince its words about anything and the situations the characters in, and even the characters themselves, are not sugar coated. This is almost like reading someone's nonfiction memoir.
I absolutely recommend this to...pretty much anyone. Whoever you are, put your other books on the backburner, find this book and read it!!
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LibraryThing member ecataldi
It took me a second to get into this book but once I did, I was all in. Mary has been in "baby jail" since she "allegedly" killed a six month old baby while babysitting when she nine. While she never admitted she did, she also never denied she did it either. She just didn't talk. For seven years
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she just passed the time but when she finds herself pregnant she is finally ready to talk about what happened. It's gripping and full of twists and turns and has an insane twist at the end. If teens can get through the first few chapters they will find themselves addicted. A fun and unique read! Show Less
LibraryThing member Othemts
Mary is a teenager living in a group home in Brooklyn after several year of serving time for murdering a baby when she was 9-years-old. Allegedly, as is Mary's frequent refrain. When she falls in love with a man at the nursing home where she volunteers and becomes pregnant, she begins to reevaluate
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her past so that she can have a future with her baby and boyfriend. The incidents of the night of the murder and her mother's role in it as well as other facet's of Mary's past are slowly revealed while in the present time Mary has to deal with case workers, psychiatrists, and her hostile companions in the group home. The book is good at showing the horrors of the modern day carceral state and Jackson does a great job at developing Mary's voice. However, the twists in the story seem unnaturally injected into the narrative to build suspense, especially the biggest twist at the end of the book, make it hard to recommend this book. Show Less
LibraryThing member bostonterrio
Very dark and disturbing inside view of what life can be like in group homes. When Mary was eight an infant her mother was caring for died. Mary is blamed and is sent away. The story begins eight years later when Mary is still on probation but living in a group home. She becomes pregnant and
Life in the group home is challenging and the action gets a bit rough which was ok for me but could be a trigger for sensitive readers.
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realises her conviction means she will not be allowed to keep her baby. For the most part I was rooting for Mary to prove her innocence as well as cheering on her attempts to further her education. It seemed like this story was headed for a happy ending but the last chapter gives us a twist that had my head spinning. Life in the group home is challenging and the action gets a bit rough which was ok for me but could be a trigger for sensitive readers.
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LibraryThing member dcoward
A teenager in a group home was charged with killing an infant when she was 9 years old, now she is pregnant. I have no idea how to rate this book, I had mixed feelings about it.
LibraryThing member Monkeypats
The story of a now sixteen year old girl who was convicted of killing a baby at the age of nine. Did she do it or did she not? Is she a victim of a rigged system? Was her mother trying her best or literally the devil? This book because one of those can’t-put-down must-keep-reading books. I hated
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characters so much that I wanted to climb through the pages and throttle them. All the characters were so well threshed out. Also, the ending did not disappoint! Show Less
LibraryThing member BillieBook
Well, that was not the ending I expected.
LibraryThing member thelibraryladies
Back in January I was in Miami, Florida for a wedding celebration. This also happened to be the same weekend that some crazy and awful shit was going down in this country constitution wise (though this could really mean anything at this point, so I’m specifically referring to the travel ban).
I liked how unflinchingly honest and real this book was about a great deal of things. Jackson pulls no punches when describing how our criminal justice system treats those who are inside of it, and how it is especially biased against POC offenders. Mary was accused of and convicted of killing a baby, which is, yes, absolutely horrible. But it is made pretty clear from the get go that the attention and rage that is directed at her is based on a deep seated racism in our society. Mary is black, and baby Alyssa was white. Reading about crowds mobbing a NINE YEAR OLD outside a courthouse, demanding the death penalty was gut wrenching, and I was glad that it was put forth multiple times that had the races been reversed between perpetrator and victim, the media wouldn’t have caused such a storm around it. And there on Mary, a child herself, was from then on treated like an adult, an thrown into a legal system that especially punishes people who look like her. I had no doubt that Jackson is taking influence from real life instances, from a nine year old girl being held in solitary to the absolutely abysmal conditions at the group home Mary ends up at.
Not only did I feel that the portrayal of the criminal justice system was accurate, I really liked how Jackson tried to be accurate and fair to portrayals of mental illness in this book. Mary is pretty clearly suffering from some form of PTSD, as her time in prison/solitary confinement as a child has done irreparable damage to her psyche. Instead of going the route of stereotypical symptoms like flashbacks or uncontrollable rage, Mary is skittish, quick to anxiety attacks, and has a heightened sense of flight instead of fight. It’s a side of PTSD that not many people may know about, and I really appreciated that Jackson took such care in her portrayal of it. So, too, is Mary’s Momma portrayed in a pretty realistic way, as a narcissist who may be suffering from bi-polar disorder. We only get to see Momma through Mary’s eyes, but the hints and clues are there that there is definitely something off about her.
Mary herself is a wonderfully created and portrayed narrator (side note: I gotta shout out to the sly aside that one of Mary’s nicknames was Mary Bell… who was also a notorious child aged murderer in England). This book is in the first person, and since Mary has so clearly been stunted from her time in prison there are lots of bits of information that we don’t quite get. The mystery slowly starts to unfold, but you always kind of know that there are things that you are never really going to know about Mary, or her Momma, or the things that happened between them before, after, and even on the night that Alyssa died. You only get to see the various clues to this and the things going on with Ted and at the group home through this lens of a very unreliable narrator. While a lot of the time I think that sometimes this makes some things kind of obvious when it comes to twists, that by hiding certain things you make it obvious that these things are there, Jackson actually surprised me when it really counted. True, I was able to figure out a couple of things, but I feel like it was all one big magic trick that distracted me from the actual solution, so when the actual answers came I was totally knocked off my seat. To the point where I actually said “WAIT….. WHAT?!”
“Allegedly” is a fabulous book that I cannot recommend enough, both for the societal themes and for the well crafted mystery. Fans of YA should definitely read it, but I think that this is a GREAT example of how YA shouldn’t be dismissed. Go and get your hands on it ASAP.
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During one of the days my husband and I were cooling our heels after family time, I was getting ramped up in an anxiety spiral, so he suggested that we try and find a book store so that I could calm my nerves a bit. We found one in walking distance from our hotel, and I went on a spree. One of the books I picked up was “Allegedly”, as I’d heard some buzz on it and was solidly intrigued by the concept. As bleak and dark as it may be. So I took it on the plane with me and tore threw a lot of it in one sitting.I liked how unflinchingly honest and real this book was about a great deal of things. Jackson pulls no punches when describing how our criminal justice system treats those who are inside of it, and how it is especially biased against POC offenders. Mary was accused of and convicted of killing a baby, which is, yes, absolutely horrible. But it is made pretty clear from the get go that the attention and rage that is directed at her is based on a deep seated racism in our society. Mary is black, and baby Alyssa was white. Reading about crowds mobbing a NINE YEAR OLD outside a courthouse, demanding the death penalty was gut wrenching, and I was glad that it was put forth multiple times that had the races been reversed between perpetrator and victim, the media wouldn’t have caused such a storm around it. And there on Mary, a child herself, was from then on treated like an adult, an thrown into a legal system that especially punishes people who look like her. I had no doubt that Jackson is taking influence from real life instances, from a nine year old girl being held in solitary to the absolutely abysmal conditions at the group home Mary ends up at.
Not only did I feel that the portrayal of the criminal justice system was accurate, I really liked how Jackson tried to be accurate and fair to portrayals of mental illness in this book. Mary is pretty clearly suffering from some form of PTSD, as her time in prison/solitary confinement as a child has done irreparable damage to her psyche. Instead of going the route of stereotypical symptoms like flashbacks or uncontrollable rage, Mary is skittish, quick to anxiety attacks, and has a heightened sense of flight instead of fight. It’s a side of PTSD that not many people may know about, and I really appreciated that Jackson took such care in her portrayal of it. So, too, is Mary’s Momma portrayed in a pretty realistic way, as a narcissist who may be suffering from bi-polar disorder. We only get to see Momma through Mary’s eyes, but the hints and clues are there that there is definitely something off about her.
Mary herself is a wonderfully created and portrayed narrator (side note: I gotta shout out to the sly aside that one of Mary’s nicknames was Mary Bell… who was also a notorious child aged murderer in England). This book is in the first person, and since Mary has so clearly been stunted from her time in prison there are lots of bits of information that we don’t quite get. The mystery slowly starts to unfold, but you always kind of know that there are things that you are never really going to know about Mary, or her Momma, or the things that happened between them before, after, and even on the night that Alyssa died. You only get to see the various clues to this and the things going on with Ted and at the group home through this lens of a very unreliable narrator. While a lot of the time I think that sometimes this makes some things kind of obvious when it comes to twists, that by hiding certain things you make it obvious that these things are there, Jackson actually surprised me when it really counted. True, I was able to figure out a couple of things, but I feel like it was all one big magic trick that distracted me from the actual solution, so when the actual answers came I was totally knocked off my seat. To the point where I actually said “WAIT….. WHAT?!”
“Allegedly” is a fabulous book that I cannot recommend enough, both for the societal themes and for the well crafted mystery. Fans of YA should definitely read it, but I think that this is a GREAT example of how YA shouldn’t be dismissed. Go and get your hands on it ASAP.
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LibraryThing member Salsabrarian
Booktalk draft: "When Mary Addison was 9 years old, she killed a white baby girl. The outcry in the media and society condemned Mary to a reputation as a psychopathic baby killer. Now Mary is 16. She's spent time in 'baby jail' and lives in a group home with other girls who are criminal offenders.
There is a constant foreboding throughout this book that will keep readers hanging on the edges of their seats. Add to that Mary as unreliable narrator and it becomes a twisted, slack-jawed reading experience.
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They bully and harass her constantly. On top of all that, Mary is pregnant by her boyfriend. With Mary's reputation, no one is going to let her keep her baby. But Mary knows she didn't kill that white baby. She loved that baby like a sister. And she's going to find a way to keep her own baby, whatever it takes." There is a constant foreboding throughout this book that will keep readers hanging on the edges of their seats. Add to that Mary as unreliable narrator and it becomes a twisted, slack-jawed reading experience.
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LibraryThing member aurorapaigem
2017 is the year of amazing books! I don't think I've read one published this year that I didn't enjoy. (I'll have to check my notes) But... This book is top 3 best YA books of the year for me.
The narrator has such a horrible life that I hope no one can relate to and yet I know there are people
I won't give away the details, but if any of the above appeals to you then you should read this book.
Oh and there are some unexpected twists and turns along the way... while also being a well written and compelling story. So read it. *thumbs up*
The narrator has such a horrible life that I hope no one can relate to and yet I know there are people
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out there that will. Just the fact that she's pregnant while living in a group home that she is worried about aging out of in a few years, while working a crappy hospital job and attempting to go to school, makes her existence miserable enough. Then add the fact that she's been in jail most of her life for the murder of an infant and you have the driving action of this book. I won't give away the details, but if any of the above appeals to you then you should read this book.
Oh and there are some unexpected twists and turns along the way... while also being a well written and compelling story. So read it. *thumbs up*
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LibraryThing member HeatherLINC
Well, this book certainly messed with my head and it was difficult deciding who was lying and who was telling the truth. The characters were all unlikeable except for Ms Cora, Mary's lawyer, and Ms Claire, her SATs tutor. As for Mary herself, despite being a complex character, I found her annoying
The book did not portray the criminal justice system, nor social works, in a positive light. They were shown as being racist, lethargic and unprofessional. One thing that really confused me was the likelihood of a nine-year-old child being incarcerated for the murder of a baby when that baby was left in an adult's care. Surely the police should have done more than just base their decisions on the mother's testimony! Despite her hospitalisation for mental issues and the constant acts of neglect and abuse towards Mary, not once was she made accountable to anyone. I would have thought that the school or social services would have been involved long before the death of baby Alyssa ever took place.
Then there was the end . . . really??!!!! What a cop-out! I had a feeling "Allegedly" was going to end this way, but I still felt cheated. I can understand why this book is getting good reviews, but it didn't enthrall me the way it has other readers.
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and was often frustrated with her.The book did not portray the criminal justice system, nor social works, in a positive light. They were shown as being racist, lethargic and unprofessional. One thing that really confused me was the likelihood of a nine-year-old child being incarcerated for the murder of a baby when that baby was left in an adult's care. Surely the police should have done more than just base their decisions on the mother's testimony! Despite her hospitalisation for mental issues and the constant acts of neglect and abuse towards Mary, not once was she made accountable to anyone. I would have thought that the school or social services would have been involved long before the death of baby Alyssa ever took place.
Then there was the end . . . really??!!!! What a cop-out! I had a feeling "Allegedly" was going to end this way, but I still felt cheated. I can understand why this book is getting good reviews, but it didn't enthrall me the way it has other readers.
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LibraryThing member WhitneyYPL
When she was 9 years old, Mary killed a baby...allegedly. She didn't say much in her interview with police and never confessed to the crime. She spent 6 years in "baby jail" before moving in to a group home. Now, she is 16, pregnant and fears for her safety. When Mary realizes her baby will likely
Allegedly speaks to the power of the love a mother has for her child...and also the danger when parenting respsonsibilities are thrust on a child. It is an honest and powerful commentary on the justice system. An extremely impressive debut novel by Tiffany Jackson, Allegedly will haunt you long after you finish reading!
I recommend this book for grades 9-12. Fans of books about tough topics will eat it up. It's got elements of a murder mystery, a legal drama, and urban fiction. So good!!! -EC
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be taken away after it's born, she is torn in half by the thought of losing another baby she loves. She starts to open up about what really happened the night baby Alyssa was killed while in the care of her mother. She opens up about what her mother was really like. She begs for another chance to tell her story.Allegedly speaks to the power of the love a mother has for her child...and also the danger when parenting respsonsibilities are thrust on a child. It is an honest and powerful commentary on the justice system. An extremely impressive debut novel by Tiffany Jackson, Allegedly will haunt you long after you finish reading!
I recommend this book for grades 9-12. Fans of books about tough topics will eat it up. It's got elements of a murder mystery, a legal drama, and urban fiction. So good!!! -EC
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LibraryThing member readbybrit
This was different than I anticipated. I've come to realize I have a bad habit of just reading a few lines of a synopsis and reading purely off of that.
All I knew about this book prior to going in was that Mary had allegedly murdered a baby when she was younger. I also assumed it was a mystery. I
This books deals with some very serious topics and they were communicated quite well. Well enough that you completely understood what was happening or being talked about, but it didn't completely pull you into the darkness of those situations. I'm not sure if I like or dislike that. It's just a facet of the book for me.
I enjoyed Mary as a character and I was invested in both of her main pursuits throughout the novel. The atmosphere and the cast of the group home was very interesting to read about. It was emotional and frightening. Each time any of the guardians from the group home was focused on, I could feel my stomach turn at nearly everything they were saying. I had a similar experience with Mary's mother but not as deeply. I think the relationship between Mary and her mother was written beautifully and contained the depth that actual real life relationships do. In the very beginning, I didn't mind Ted as a character and found him rather nice but after something very serious was revealed and never brought up again, I ceased all positive emotion towards him and was very uncomfortable when he was present in the story. We had a few more characters who all played central parts in the story and I enjoyed each of them. Regardless of my opinions on everyone, each character was complex.
The ending was a TRIP. I didn't expect that whatsoever. I enjoyed it but the more I think about it, I'm not really sure what it does to the end of entire theme of the story. It seems to contradict some very important themes that were woven throughout the entire book and it's bizarre. I've decided to not think too much about it because hey, I liked it. I don't feel like analyzing it beyond that.
I really enjoyed Allegedly. This was my second read from Tiffany D. Jackson and I'm looking forward to picking up what she writes in the future.
All I knew about this book prior to going in was that Mary had allegedly murdered a baby when she was younger. I also assumed it was a mystery. I
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guess you can say there were mysterious elements but I would not classify this as a mystery so I don't know what I was thinking. I completely missed the part of the synopsis where she got pregnant with her own baby until I had the physical book in my hands. All of that being said, I really enjoyed this. This books deals with some very serious topics and they were communicated quite well. Well enough that you completely understood what was happening or being talked about, but it didn't completely pull you into the darkness of those situations. I'm not sure if I like or dislike that. It's just a facet of the book for me.
I enjoyed Mary as a character and I was invested in both of her main pursuits throughout the novel. The atmosphere and the cast of the group home was very interesting to read about. It was emotional and frightening. Each time any of the guardians from the group home was focused on, I could feel my stomach turn at nearly everything they were saying. I had a similar experience with Mary's mother but not as deeply. I think the relationship between Mary and her mother was written beautifully and contained the depth that actual real life relationships do. In the very beginning, I didn't mind Ted as a character and found him rather nice but after something very serious was revealed and never brought up again, I ceased all positive emotion towards him and was very uncomfortable when he was present in the story. We had a few more characters who all played central parts in the story and I enjoyed each of them. Regardless of my opinions on everyone, each character was complex.
The ending was a TRIP. I didn't expect that whatsoever. I enjoyed it but the more I think about it, I'm not really sure what it does to the end of entire theme of the story. It seems to contradict some very important themes that were woven throughout the entire book and it's bizarre. I've decided to not think too much about it because hey, I liked it. I don't feel like analyzing it beyond that.
I really enjoyed Allegedly. This was my second read from Tiffany D. Jackson and I'm looking forward to picking up what she writes in the future.
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LibraryThing member crystallyn
I read this book in less than two days, so tangled up in the story that I had to find out what happens to Mary, the girl in the group home serving time for a murder of a baby - allegedly. When I reached the end, it was a huge WOW moment for me. And I'm still thinking that, WOW.
This is a book that
This is a book that
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I'll be thinking about for a long time to come. Tiffany has a long career ahead of her and I can't wait to read her next book! Show Less
LibraryThing member hexenlibrarian
OMG THIS WAS JUST -- UUUUUUUUUGH So many twists and turns and heart ache and rage I just can't.
LibraryThing member allison_s
This book just blew my mind and heart to smithereens. This is such a powerful book on every single level and the author doesn't shy away from the dark realities of the justice system and mental health care. ALLEGEDLY holds its own with every adult thriller and like any thriller worth its salt makes
And then THAT ENDING. This is going to make a wonderful discussion book. I'm still unpacking my feelings. Holy cow.
Is this seriously a debut????
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you re-think the narrative you think you know every few chapters. Jackson's writing and Mary's voice are remarkable and pulled me to pieces. And then THAT ENDING. This is going to make a wonderful discussion book. I'm still unpacking my feelings. Holy cow.
Is this seriously a debut????
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LibraryThing member Chris.Bulin
Plenty of speed to the plot while having a slow burn subplot. The audiobook was pretty fantastic.
LibraryThing member CarrieWuj
2.5 Feel like I missed something based on all the other gushing reviews. Know I missed something when it came to the ending. It was building to one conclusion throughout only to throw it off completely (and not with a worthy twist, but a weak by-the-way). Mary Addison tells us her story, which I
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could appreciate in her first person voice. She is 16, pregnant, and in a group home after being let out of "baby jail" for the murder of a white baby. Allegedly. The story reveals both Mary's present and her past as the reality of the murder comes to light. Since Mary wants to keep her baby, she is determined to clear her name and the case gets dredged up again. What I found hard to believe throughout was the original shoddy treatment Mary received in the investigation, court, jail. As a minor at 9 years old, she was unfairly suspected, questioned, sentenced. I get the author's point of a black-white case being prejudiced and also that Mary's mother was not an advocate (much worse!) but it just didn't ring true. What was very realistic were the obstacles Mary encountered in the present as she tried to better herself: the incompetent, evil women running the group home, the savage girls she lived with, the bureaucratic mess of standardized testing and the DMV. To her credit, she keeps going. Can someone really be that resilient? Her relationship with her mother was also confusing -- love-hate doesn't begin to cover it on either side. Warped, for sure. But as Mary's case got re-opened, the big reveal became convoluted with clues and withheld information and additional deaths that happened in the same house with Mary and her mother present. And it leads nowhere definitive. I did like the character of Mary and was rooting for her throughout. When she ruminates: "I'd kill for something new to read. Figures of speech are luxuries convicted murderers are not allowed to have," I knew she was a smart one. She is also a victim, but seems like the author couldn't decide which way to play it. Show Less
LibraryThing member readingbeader
Oh my.
Unreliable narrator.
Dead baby killed by another child...allegedly.
Difficult to read at times.
Horrible treatment of accused child.
I had to finish this one to see if there was hope.
Once I book talk this one--I'll not see it until the end of the school year.
Unreliable narrator.
Dead baby killed by another child...allegedly.
Difficult to read at times.
Horrible treatment of accused child.
I had to finish this one to see if there was hope.
Once I book talk this one--I'll not see it until the end of the school year.
LibraryThing member NCDonnas
The first 3/4 of this book was amazing! Absolutely absorbing, dark, and disturbing but felt utterly authentic. I knew from very early in that I would be adding this to my list of favorites. I was captivated by the writing and lost in the story - the audio narration was stellar and truly captured
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the essence of the characters. UNTIL the ending. I feel like the author said to herself "Well, this is such an amazing story, how can I end it in the most dissatisfying way possible. I wouldn't want my readers to love the story TOO much" It's not that it wasn't a happy ending, stories like this don't necessarily need a happy ending. It just seemed like a throwaway ending, there only for some manner of shock value. The only thing shocking about it was that an author capable of writing such an amazing story would think that this was an appropriate way to resolve it. Still, even with that AWFUL ending, I can't rate it lower than a 4 which speaks to how absolutely incredible the first 3/4 of the book was. Also, if you're going to read this, please consider the audiobook - Bahni Turpin gives this story life in a way that I don't think would happen with words on paper. Show Less
LibraryThing member NCDonnas
The first 3/4 of this book was amazing! Absolutely absorbing, dark, and disturbing but felt utterly authentic. I knew from very early in that I would be adding this to my list of favorites. I was captivated by the writing and lost in the story - the audio narration was stellar and truly captured
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the essence of the characters. UNTIL the ending. I feel like the author said to herself "Well, this is such an amazing story, how can I end it in the most dissatisfying way possible. I wouldn't want my readers to love the story TOO much" It's not that it wasn't a happy ending, stories like this don't necessarily need a happy ending. It just seemed like a throwaway ending, there only for some manner of shock value. The only thing shocking about it was that an author capable of writing such an amazing story would think that this was an appropriate way to resolve it. Still, even with that AWFUL ending, I can't rate it lower than a 4 which speaks to how absolutely incredible the first 3/4 of the book was. Also, if you're going to read this, please consider the audiobook - Bahni Turpin gives this story life in a way that I don't think would happen with words on paper. Show Less
LibraryThing member Pepperwings
This made me think of Orange is the New Black, it has really great snippets of people's stories, and also small reveals of Mary's story as the book goes on. Initially I had a little trouble getting into the feel of the book, so I put it down about 1/3 into the story, but when I came back it only
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took a couple sittings to finish the rest! Show Less
LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50
I don’t even know where to start with Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson. This may well be my best read of 2022. It is a haunting and disturbing story about the after effects of a murder case. The media hype was intense as nine year old Mary B. Addison was convicted of killing a 3 month old baby
The book actually opens when Mary is 15 and is now living in a group home with a bunch of other young female offenders. Mary is picked on, ridiculed and beaten. She does work at a senior care centre and there she meets Ted. He gives her the attention and love that she has been craving and all too soon she is pregnant. Mary is overjoyed to be having a baby, until she is informed that social services will be taking the baby away from her. She realizes that she has to finally speak her truth about what really happened to baby Alissa even if in doing so she puts her Mother in the firing line.
I listened to an audio version of the story and narrator Bahni Turpin did an excellent job. Her skilful reading raises this book to another level. The story draws you in and stirs your emotions to the boiling point. Through Mary’s thoughts you learn about her childhood, or lack of one, and her challenging relationship with her mother, and always, skirting around in the background, are details of Mary’s alleged crime. Mary is very intelligent and she comes up with a plan for her and Ted to be together, to get herself to college, and to be able to keep her baby. The adults that have been assigned to look after Mary are negligent at best and the juvenile justice system appears to be one of hopeless desperation and failure. This chilling and dark story so draws one in that I found myself having to remind myself that it is a fictional story. I highly recommend this twisted and powerful novel.
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called Alissa. The fact that Mary is black and the baby was white had a lot to do with why Mary was sent to prison.The book actually opens when Mary is 15 and is now living in a group home with a bunch of other young female offenders. Mary is picked on, ridiculed and beaten. She does work at a senior care centre and there she meets Ted. He gives her the attention and love that she has been craving and all too soon she is pregnant. Mary is overjoyed to be having a baby, until she is informed that social services will be taking the baby away from her. She realizes that she has to finally speak her truth about what really happened to baby Alissa even if in doing so she puts her Mother in the firing line.
I listened to an audio version of the story and narrator Bahni Turpin did an excellent job. Her skilful reading raises this book to another level. The story draws you in and stirs your emotions to the boiling point. Through Mary’s thoughts you learn about her childhood, or lack of one, and her challenging relationship with her mother, and always, skirting around in the background, are details of Mary’s alleged crime. Mary is very intelligent and she comes up with a plan for her and Ted to be together, to get herself to college, and to be able to keep her baby. The adults that have been assigned to look after Mary are negligent at best and the juvenile justice system appears to be one of hopeless desperation and failure. This chilling and dark story so draws one in that I found myself having to remind myself that it is a fictional story. I highly recommend this twisted and powerful novel.
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Awards
Kentucky Bluegrass Award (Nominee — Grades 9-12 — 2019)
Lincoln Award: Illinois Teen Readers' Choice Award (Nominee — 2022)
Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers (Nominee — 2019)
Rhode Island Teen Book Award (Nominee — 2019)
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work (Nominee — 2018)
In the Margins Official List (Fiction — 2018)
Best Fiction for Young Adults (Selection — 2018)
Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (Selection — 2018)
Capitol Choices Noteworthy Book for Children and Teens (Audiobooks — 2018)
Los Angeles Public Library Best of the Year (Teen — 2017)
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Teens (Fiction — 2017)
Young Adult Favorites Award (2018)
New York Public Library Best Books: For Teens (Fiction — 2017)
Project LIT Book Selection (Young Adult — 2019)
Language
Original language
English
Physical description
400 p.; 8 inches
ISBN
0062422642 / 9780062422644