Grown

i know i previously lauded tiffany d. jackson as a pyschological thriller master, but i made a mistake in not crediting her commentary on social issues enough. i don't want to backtrack too much, but the social commentary that monday's not coming and allegedly made were just as impactful, if not more so than their plot twists.

i urge you to read this book not for the thrill of finding out whodunnit but for the commentary on the abuse of power and how young people learning how to navigate relationships are often the victims of it. this book should scare you and make you feel sick, especially knowing that this is a fictionalized insider view of an abuse that many young people have suffered at the hands of older partners.

now please excuse me, i still feel sick and need a minute to collect myself again.

As soon as Korey appeared in the story I had a look of disgust. I can smell a predator a mile away and I just knew that man was trash. I wanted to punch him so hard in the neck.

“You know, I got to keep my location on the low. Remember, baby, I'm not your average dude.”

Yeah Korey, you're a damn creep. I swear I hated this character with every fiber in my being.

If a grown man takes interest in you he's a damn creep. No damn near 30 year old man has anything in common with a 17 year old high school student. Everything about this made me sick. He was a creep and I'm glad that everything bad happened to him. Also his entourage? Jessica? Tony? Trash people.

Everyone should read this book because it shows you how people can be wolves in sheeps clothing. Manipulative as hell.

Awesome read.

Thanks #NetGalley for the eAudio ARC. Whew, prepare yourself for this. Even knowing what it was about, as an adult reader I felt physically queasy, especially in the first third as you see all the grooming taking place and you know where's it leading and that it can only get worse. Jackson has said that she loosely based this on the R Kelly story (every trigger warning here) but it's truly about misogynoir and how we as a society don't believe, trust, and protect Black girls. As is expected in her books, the twists keep coming right up to the very end. I liked that she told some of the story through outside perspectives, like a group chat and police interviews. The audio was well read and compelling to the last sentence. I will be stocking up on copies because this one is going to fly.