Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson (review)

Enchanted is seventeen when her performance in a music competition draws the attention of music superstar Korey Fields, and when he seeks to take her on the road with him, she manages to convince her skeptical parents to let her go. The joy of achieving her musical goal and of secretly becoming Korey's girlfriend starts to turn sour when Korey's demanding nature becomes clear. Though Enchanted desperately tries to keep him happy ("If I love him hard enough, maybe, just maybe, I can keep the dark side away") she finds herself cut off from her family and controlled by Korey, often as a prisoner, sometimes just as a drugged and hopeless victim who believes escape isn't possible. As the opening scenes reveal, however, Korey's death by stabbing releases her, but she's also the prime suspect in his murder. Jackson (author of Monday's Not Coming, BCCB 6/18) draws on the R. Kelly case to effectively depict the tightening noose of an abusive relationship, enhanced here by Korey's wealth and fame; while Enchanted's youth makes her particularly vulnerable, it's the kind of torment that has no age boundary. Enchanted is credible as a "bougie black kid" who divides her social energy between her nearly all white school and her Black leadership organization, with group chats from the latter included, giving perspective on the public reaction to Enchanted's accusations of Korey. The book mixes things up a little, not entirely successfully, with a few twists and some detective action on Enchanted's part, but what remains is a grim tale that shows how thin a glossy exterior can be and how easy it can be for a girl to believe herself in control in a situation where somebody else holds all the cards.