Grown was phenomenal! From start to finish I was completely gripped and hooked.

Enchanted Jones is your average high schooler with aspiring dreams. She wants to be a famous singer. After meeting Korey Fields, those dreams might actually be true. But is Korey who she thinks he is?

This book has a lot of triggers in it, such as, rape, abuse, pedophilia, and so on. While if you are familiar with R. Kelly, and this book is similar to his case, it is extremely different and provides a look into a young woman being taken advantage of.
I really think this book gives a lot of insight to the fact that Black Woman are very unprotected in our society. It can be used as a tool for people who believe that “those girls knew what they were doing” and show them the truth in what is going on and the easy steps celebrities can take to hide the bad things they do.

5 Stars!!

Thanks to NetGalley for access to an eArc copy of this book.

I liked a big portion of this novel, and wanted to really love it but there were parts I felt were just not fully developed and a little cliche.

The book felt very reminiscent of things that I read in the news about the R. Kelly's case. The story is told from the perspective of Enchanted, a 17-year old aspiring singer. I liked the character of Enchanted and think that teens will love this book, the writing style and storyline are really good too. Like I say, I think teens will love this book.

The picture Jackson paints isn't pretty, but not nearly as horrendous as I felt it really would be at times I felt that some teens will not see the true wrapped and ugly nature of the subject matter for some of the glitter in Enchanted's story. I like how Jackson puts Enchanted's story within the framework of a whodunnit murder mystery and does address mental health and social justice issues, but I felt those additional layers just aren't developed enough. and they left me wanting more. psychological twists like in Monday's not coming but I just felt it wasn't as strong or well developed in this novel and that felt disappointing because I was really expecting so much more with all the hype I had heard on this novel.
I love Jackson's work and would still recommend this book. I just didn't feel it lived up to the same quality I felt in the other two novels I have read of hers.


Sad this is not better.

This is the first novel I've read authored by Tiffany D. Jackson, and now, I am currently purchasing all of her works. That's how powerful this book is--it immediately reels you in with an opening scene and keeps you ferociously flipping pages to find out what happens next.

Grown follows the life of Enchanted Jones, a 17 year old aspiring singer who is fearlessly dedicated to making her dreams come true. However, chasing her dreams quickly turns into a spine-chilling nightmare when successful R&B star, Korey Fields comes into her life.

Korey Fields is a rich and powerful man who preys on Enchanted and other girls by exploiting their dreams and using his status as a successful artist to belittle, abuse, and rape young, hopeful artists.

This novel is a must read because it sheds light on misogynor and how Black women are disrespected, mistreated, and not protected. It gives strength to survivors who have experienced sexual violence, and makes readers think about how we are showing up for Black lIves, especially Black women.

Read this book right now. Listen and lean into Enchanted's story, and demand justice for Breonna Taylor and the countless other Black women this country has failed.

This book was so easy and so hard to read. The writing and story were well done while the content was so painful. Every step of the way you want desperately to grab Enchanted, hold her close, tell her she's worthy, and save her from her situation. Ultimately, as hard as it is, she's eventually able to save herself. This book should make you rage, because although Enchanted might be a fictional character, her story is all too real. I did find the Gab situation at the end a bit of a stretch, but overall a great book. I'll definitely be recommending it.

I loved this book. I was a little apprehensive to read it because Tiffany Jackson messes with my head. Allegedly really did something to me. This was a little lighter at the beginning, but it does get pretty dark fast. Enchanted is such a strong girl with a supportive, loving family, and the way the story is written makes her journey totally believable. I highly, highly recommend for HS and up.

Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson is a master class in young adult fiction. Enchanted Jones wants to be a singer. Enchanted Jones meets international superstar, Korey Fields. Enchanted Jones is told he'll make her a star. Enchanted Jones might have murdered him. The nuances of Enchanted's experience are beautiful and heartbreaking. The dichotomy of her age and her situation is always on display to remind the reader that Enchanted is not grown; she's a child who has been preyed upon. This book is haunting, because it's almost nonfiction. Enchanted Jones and Korey Fields may not be real, but their horrific story is, unfortunately, a tale as old as time. Believe women. Read this book.

This story was definitely tough to get through because of its emotional weight. The mental heaviness takes its toll, which is part of what makes it a good narrative for people to learn. I think it is a powerful book that sheds light on the mistreatment of black women in our society, the blame put on victims, and the handling of mental illness. I don’t think ‘enjoyed’ is a good word to use when describing my emotions reading this novel but I do think it is something others need to read and I will be recommending it.

Grown has some trigger warnings: rape culture, abuse of a minor, gaslighting, grooming, drug use/addiction

There is a lot going on in this storyline, but that’s because Tiffany D. Jackson has to encompass the very real rape culture that society has created. Readers start off with the scene of a crime, and piece together chapters between “then” and “now,” knowing that Korey Fields is dead.

Enchanted Jones, “Chanty,” is a seventeen year old Black girl who has very real dreams of becoming a famous singer, but these aspirations are overshadowed by her big-sister-duties, her parents’s dreams of her attending college, and her dedication to the school’s swim team. However, her best friend Gab pushes her to go to an audition, where she meets twenty-eight year old superstar singer, Korey Fields, and the magnetism between the two is so palpable and so disturbing that it has readers cringing from the moment Korey lays his hand on Chanty’s stomach.

Everything spirals from there and Chanty is taken on as Korey’s “protege,” though the grooming to become his prisoner has already begun. Though Chanty is given multiple opportunities to escape Korey, it is no wonder that she is unable to and even when she does, the opposition she faces is horrifying - especially when she is the main suspect in Korey’s murder. Chanty is made to feel as if she is losing her sanity; instead of taking into consideration the Stockholm syndrome that she develops during her time with Korey, she is made to question if she has a psychological disorder like her grandmother. Chanty even questions the existence of her best friend, Gab. This is a puzzle that Chanty has to piece together, with very little support from anyone except her parents, who are living in the regret of agreeing to send her on tour with Korey Fields in the first place.

This story is the story of the #MeToo movement, and all of the women who want to say something, but cannot - all of the women who have said something, but are shamed into hiding - all of the women who stand up for themselves, and face their oppressors. This story is also the story of Black women and the #MeToo movement, where the added intersectionality creates more oppression and more disbelief on behalf of police, family, friends, and on-lookers.

This book is recommended as mature YA. Young adult readers need to be aware of the trigger warnings, but it is also an important read to understand the layers of what women, especially Black women, are up against in a society that makes it so hard for them to speak out against their oppressors.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for the ARC of this book.

Wow! This story just gets harder to put down the more twisted it gets.

Grown opens with the Big Incident, but quickly sends us back in time so we can experience everything alongside Enchanted. Before Korey Fields begins to seize control of her world, Enchanted's POV is sweet and lighthearted; I almost forgot I was reading a crime/thriller novel. But once we start to see flickers of Korey's dark side, the dark momentum doesn't stop. My mind was brimming with questions until the final page.

This is an important, timely novel about the evil that comes into power and the women and girls we need to believe.

An incredibly written book about a difficult subject that needs light shed on it. knowing that every young lady wants to reach fame and fortune and can't wait for the opportunity to come along, is written in a way to help the shock of the subject of young ladies being taken advantage of them by Jekyll/Hyde type characters. showing the charisma of a prominent character only to realize there are two sides to a person. sometimes the other side they show you in private is not what you signed up for the characters are well-developed and intense throughout the novel which contribute to the plot.

Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson is a YA contemporary fiction novel with an intriguing mystery/suspense element intertwined throughout. The book is told from the perspective of Enchanted, a 17 year old aspiring singer, and switches from describing events that occurred “then” and “now.” The story is compulsively readable, and I found myself unable to put it down. The story drew me in from the first page!

Some of the content of the novel might be difficult for YA audiences, and I would recommend this primarily for older teen and adult readers.

I received a digital copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Tiffany Jackson has done it AGAIN! After reading and loving Allegedly, Let Me Hear a Rhyme, and Monday’s Not Coming, I was super pumped to see this title, especially with its storyline. Tiffany so effortlessly weaves so many twist and turns into her stories, surprising her readers around each turn. I could not put this book down. It’s connection with a relevant current-day problem made the story even more intriguing.

I have been looking forward to reading #Grown since I first heard about it. Right off the bat, readers need to know that the central premise of this book is loaded with trigger warnings: rape, grooming, mental & physical abuse, kidnapping, and more. These aren't asides. They are the point. An R&B superstar, Korey Fields, takes a 17-year-old aspiring singer, Enchanted, as his protege. But his influence quickly turns sinister with the storyline mirroring many details of singers such as R. Kelly, which Tiffany Jackson addresses before the book begins. Fields ends up dead (not a spoiler as it happens in the first chapter), and the end of the book becomes a murder mystery -lite while exploring the fallout from Enchanted's experiences. While the triggering topics are obviously difficult, the storyline is very important to help explore how young girls could fall into this type of situation. Thank you to the publisher and #NetGalley for the advanced copy.

BOOK REVIEW: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Tiffany D. Jackson’s (@writeinbk ) novel Grown is so powerful, so timely, and a must read for every young adult (and above!). Drawing inspiration from the horrendous R. Kelly nightmare, Jackson portrays how a teenager falls victim to a manipulative grown man.

Enchanted is a 17-year-old Black girl in a sea of white. She yearns to sing on a big stage and find a place where she truly can be herself and be seen for who she is. Due to a chance occurrence, Enchanted is intertwined in the life of singer and producer Korey Fields, a 28-year-old man. This relationship will lead to devastating consequences for Enchanted.

Enchanted awakes on the floor, covered in blood in Korey’s penthouse where she later finds him dead. The rest of the novel flashes back to Enchanted’s journey to this moment and forth to the investigation of the crime. Who killed Korey Fields? Why would a teenager fall victim to a grown man? Jackson covers these topics tactfully and maintains the terrible reality that many girls face in our society today.

Trigger warning: drug usage, sexual abuse, child trafficking, child predator

Thank you @netgalley and Edelweiss for the digital ARC of this book.

#bookreview #bookrecommendation #bookrecommendations #bookreviewer #fivestarread #fivestarbook #ireadya #yalit #blackauthors #ownvoice #ownvoices #teachersofinstagram #bookstagram #booklove #readthisbook #spiveys📚club #grown

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the eARC I received in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book was perfect. I requested it because I’m a huge fan of Monday’s Not Here and wanted to see what else the author had going on and I have to say that this book is one of the most timely, relevant books I can imagine having teens (especially teen girls) read. The steps of grooming are shown in such a meticulous way that it really outlines what young girls need to look out for when an older man gives them attention. I will definitely be using it as a summer reading list book next summer and, depending on what happens with student reaction, potentially in the future, as well.

Jackson pulls her subject matter for "Grown" straight from the headlines of R. Kelly's nightmarish case. She does a really good job and it is a good read, but in this reader's opinion, the author tried to do too much with a difficult subject for a delicate audience. Real life was too horrific to go into detail for a YA book (and this book seemed like it was trying to appeal to the younger YA set which is good - the message needs to get out.) Unfortunately, making the book a murder mystery may have been unnecessary and confusing to the actual issues being discussed.

Tiffany D. Jackson has done it again!!! I was hooked from the first sentence. I honestly couldn't put this book down. This ripped from the headlines page-turner is so important. This tragic story brings awareness to the world of black female victims who are often forgotten, overlooked and not taken seriously. I had so many emotions while reading this and definitely has it's trigger moments. I absolutely LOVED this book and can't wait to sing its praises.

GROWN is a ripped-from-the-headlines thriller that is also so much more. Enchanted Jones is a 17 year old who dreams of being a singer. She feels trapped by her family’s move to a city, and the resulting need for her to spend a lot of time caring for her younger siblings. When she gets the opportunity to travel with superstar singer Korey Fields, she wants it more than anything. GROWN takes us down the path as Enchanted is groomed, abused, and twisted up into Korey Fields’s life.

Tiffany Jackson never disappoints with her twist endings, and GROWN is no different. At the same time, the strong theme of the way Black women are treated by the people and institutions who are supposed to protect is clear and gutting. Various secondary characters show the ways that even “good” people can turn victim blaming and cruel, and how others may surprise you.

Enchanted’s story is at turns heartbreaking and horrifying, and I felt the ending was very satisfying. If you enjoyed ALLEGEDLY and MONDAY’S NOT COMING, GROWN is a must-read.

This was a very interesting story and a representation of how quickly a relationship can take a bad turn. Youth, desire, hope , love and the will to survive all play an important role in how we perceive our actions and our future.

brb, I am *running* to pick up every book that Tiffany D. Jackson has ever written. Because Grown was 🔥🔥🔥 I think it was my favorite book of 2020 so far. If you’ve read her other novels, which should I read next?!

Thank you to @harpercollins @katherinetegenbooks @netgalley for the digital ARC! Mark your calendars, GROWN comes out Sept 15 🗓

📖 Summary: Enchanted Jones has dreams of making it as a singer, so when the legendary Korey Fields takes an interest in helping her find stardom, she’s excited for her life to change. Cut to: Korey Fields is lying dead covered in blood, and all signs point to Enchanted. This book tells the story of a teenage girl’s loss of innocence at the hands of a man with fame and power. Grown is unforgettable.

💬Themes: power, #me too, mental health, abuse

⚠️Content Warning: sexual abuse, rape, assault, child abuse, kidnapping, drug addiction

📑 My favorite quote is actually just the chapter “Jellyfish” so I won’t spoil it and will leave it at that for those who have read it!

📝 Final Thoughts: This page-turner is truthful, powerful and impossible to put down. Pre-order this book so it’s in your hands on Sept 15!

6 ⭐️ out of 5 (Can I do that?!)