Inspired by the R. Kelly affair, “Grown” chronicles Enchanted’s descent into hell when a rap master takes her under his wing.
Résumé
Korey Fields is dead. And when Enchanted Jones wakes up with blood on her hands, she has no memory of the night before. All she knows is that Korey was her ticket to stardom. That he is no longer there, and that everything accuses her.
Enchanted lives up to its name: its voice is truly enchanting. When her family moves to the suburbs, she struggles to find her place in her new high school under the label of the solitary and reserved young black girl. Until the day when legendary R&B artist Korey Fields spots her during an audition. Suddenly, her dream of becoming a professional singer takes off.
Enchanted is dazzled by Korey’s luxury life. But soon the girl’s dream turns into a nightmare. Behind Korey’s power and charisma lies a dark side. The one who wants to control his every move. Who pushes her to do things she doesn’t want. Who doesn’t listen when she says no. Except now he’s dead, and the police are at his doorstep…
About the book
“Grown” is a novel by Tiffany D. Jackson, published by Editions Hugo New Way. Aimed at an audience of teenagers and young adults, it should be noted that this novel deals with very hard subjects. Inspired by real facts related to the case of R. Kelly, the story traces the descent into hell of Enchanted when a master of rap decides to take her under his wing. The topics covered are rape, sexual and physical violence, manipulation, abuse and psychological violence, among others.
My opinion
Honestly, it is very difficult to give a detailed opinion on this book. “Grown” is very disturbing, very violent in what happens. It’s rare that a book stirs me so much but here I really wanted to vomit from start to finish. The writing is very nice and catchy, which makes the whole thing very easy to read. But what also makes it easier to project into the story. We quickly understand the descent into hell that awaits Enchanted, and at the same time the writing gives us the impression of living all that with her and it’s really atrocious.
I can’t not talk about the cover, though. I was immediately drawn to the beauty of this cover, but I particularly appreciate that Hugo editions decided to keep it. Indeed, this is the cover of the original version, and we have so few covers with black characters in the French edition that it is a pleasure to finally see a character correctly represented on the cover.