Orange Is the New Black meets Walter Dean Myer’s Monster in this gritty, twisty, and haunting debut by Tiffany D. Jackson about a girl convicted of murder seeking the truth while surviving life in a group home.
Mary B. Addison killed a baby.
Allegedly. She didn’t say much in that first interview with detectives, and the media filled in the only blanks that mattered: a white baby had died while under the care of a churchgoing black woman and her nine-year-old daughter. The public convicted Mary and the jury made it official. But did she do it?
There wasn’t a point to setting the record straight before, but now she’s got Ted—and their unborn child—to think about. When the state threatens to take her baby, Mary’s fate now lies in the hands of the one person she distrusts the most: her Momma. No one knows the real Momma. But does anyone know the real Mary?
Review by Twinsie Kelly
Whoa! Holy what the heck did I just read?! I have the worst (best) book hangover! A friend of mine read this and immediately recommended the book to everyone. She said the best way to go in was completely blind. Okay, I’ll bite. I purchase the book without reading the blurb on the back, I have no clue who this author is, and did not check out any of the reviews. I highly suggest doing the same, you won’t regret it. Now, if you refuse to go in blind, please continue on and I’ll tell you a little about the story.
This story is about Mary, who is now 16, but at age 9 was convicted of murdering an infant. The story dives deep into the life she has led leading up to this point. In jail, mostly in solitaire because no one knew what to do with such a young murder. She experienced mental and physical abuse…this will make you cringe. She is trying to survive. She is now in a group home and ends up getting pregnant by Ted. He is another group home convict. Mary is truly trying to make something for herself and with some help she starts advocating for herself. She is smart and wants to keep her baby, but she also must literally watch out for her life while living in the group home. A necessary evil. Some of the people in her life are incredibly terrible, but some are really genuine. The hardest part is trying to figure out exactly who you can trust. I went through most of this story just knowing that she was going to win but then you start to feel the doom and gloom. Then, all of a sudden, this crazy curve ball comes flying from out in left field and I sat here like, I can’t believe that just happened. But then the end actually happens, and I just sat there trying to comprehend what I just read. Like, did that just happen? Yeah, that did just happen…OMG! The twist at the end made my head spin!
Tiffany D. Jackson is a TV professional by day, novelist by night, awkward black girl 24/7. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Film from Howard University and her Master of Arts in Media Studies from The New School University. A Brooklyn native, she is a lover of naps, cookie dough, and beaches, currently residing in the borough she loves most likely multitasking.