ALLEGEDLY

Author(s): Tiffany D. Jackson

Stand-alone or Series: stand-alone

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Trigger warning: abuse, death, grief, rape, self-harm, pregnancy

SPOILERS BELOW

Hard to celebrate the day you were born when everybody seems to wish you were never born at all.

It’s safe to say that Tiffany D. Jackson is a new favourite author of mine. I’ve read all three of her books, and loved every single one of them!

Allegedly follows the story of Mary B. Addison, a girl who was convicted of killing a baby when she was nine years old. Now she’s sixteen, pregnant, and fighting to prove her innocence so she can keep her baby.

So let’s start by saying that I didn’t really expect the ending. I really did believe in her innocence, and I was convinced that her mom was the one. But then it’s revealed that she does have a mental illness (possibly bipolar?) and that she will take her pills to ensure she’s a good mom. The last few pages turn really chilly. All through out the book Mary is relatively harmless. She does have fits of rage but she seems to control herself pretty well. But at the end, she talks about everything as if it’s normal, and admits to not only killing Alyssa, but also pouring bleach in Ms. Stein’s coffee. It’s almost like a 180 change. I have a feeling that she might win the case and be able to keep Bean, but as she mentions that he won’t cry and be good for her, I also have the feeling that there might be a repeat of Alyssa.

I liked the snippets of interviews, book passages, articles etc that are included in between the actual telling of the story. It added more to the story and revealed information slowly to contribute to the build up.

I did like Mary as a character. She did try hard and work a lot to protect the people she loves. Her relationship with her mother is fraught, but she clearly loves her or else she wouldn’t have wanted to drop the case. She does everything she can to protect Bean by taking the SAT and saving every dollar she can. She even tries to protect Ted by keeping him away from her.

It’s jarring though the recounts of the mobs who called for Mary to be tried as an adult and even to carry out the death sentence. Yes a baby died and that’s a horrific tragedy, but killing another child is hardly any better? Children are not so innately evil as to just go around murdering babies. If something like this happened, then Mary should be given help to prevent it from happening again. She shouldn’t have been put in jail, subjected to the cruelty of other inmates, the sexual abuse from COs, and then put in a home where she fears for her life. That doesn’t solve the problem, just adds more to it.

All in all, Allegedly is a powerful book that really digs deep in the story of women and girls who are often overlooked by society. I really recommend it.

Thank you for reading and see you next time ❤