Cbr17bingo White (bingo #1)
I’ve previously read and favorably reviewed two of Tiffany D. Jackson’s novels: Monday’s Not Coming and Grown. Jackson is an outstanding YA novelist, taking on challenging topics such as murder, sexual predation and mental illness. Her novels feature black girls who are sexualized and viewed as adults even though they are children. Allegedly, Jackson’s 2017 debut novel, involves all of the above: a black girl accused of murdering a white baby, her abuse while incarcerated, teenaged pregnancy, and lots of undiagnosed and poorly treated mental illness. It’s the harrowing tale of Mary Addison, 16, found guilty of murder at the age of 9 and now pursuing a path toward a better life for herself and her unborn child. There are plenty of obstacles in her way, and some of them could lead to further incarceration or death.
As with her other novels, Jackson tells Mary’s story in a non-linear fashion. In the present moment, Mary is 16 and living in a group home in the city alongside other girls who have been convicted of a variety of crimes. Jackson gives us Mary’s story bit by bit, flashing back to reports from the crime investigation and interviews with witnesses, mental health professionals and others who had known Mary and her mother. We learn that although Mary almost never speaks, she is in fact highly intelligent and aspires to take the SAT and attend college some day. We learn about her experience as a child in lock-up before being moved to the home, where the staff are negligent and abusive, and the other girls are violent and vindictive. Mary, allegedly, murdered a 3-month-old baby that her mother had been babysitting. Nine-year-old Mary never admitted to the crime, but the evidence and testimony against her, especially her mother’s, sealed her fate. Her trial received national coverage and books have been written about it. Mary keeps to herself at the home, doing what she has to do, but everything changes when she discovers she is pregnant. She wants to keep her baby, but given her situation, the child will be taken from her as soon as it is born. This spurs Mary to reach out to an organization that re-examines cases where injustices may have occurred (like the Innocence Project). Ms. Cora, the lawyer who takes on Mary’s case is very excited to help her, as Mary’s trial was big news when she started law school and Ms. Cora always felt that Mary’s best interests were not represented. But in order to overturn her conviction, Mary is going to have to speak up and tell the truth about what happened on that fateful day, and in doing so, she will bring attention to her mother, the baby’s traumatized family, and all the things that happened in Mary’s childhood. And there is always that chance that no one will believe her now. When she was 9, the public clamored for Mary’s death. At nine, she was declared a monster capable of murder, and everyone believed it.
The book takes the reader on a tense story, where Mary must start speaking about her past and what really happened, and where her life and that of her baby are threatened by a couple of the nastier girls in the home. Mary’s mother, who visits every other Sunday, is a troubling character who seems to struggle with some serious mental health issues, but she is not the only one. As Jackson takes us to the end of the story, the reader gets the truth about what happened to Mary and the baby, and it was shocking. Jackson really knows how to tell a startling, tragic story. I was not surprised to learn that she also directs horror films. Her books, though rooted in the real world, are full of genuine horror. I was riveted and finished this 387 page book in about one day. I recommend it but be warned — triggers for violence and abuse.
