Korey Fields is dead.

When Enchanted Jones wakes with blood on her hands and zero memory of the previous night, no one—the police and Korey’s fans included—has more questions than she does. All she really knows is that this isn’t how things are supposed to be. Korey was Enchanted’s ticket to stardom.

Before there was a dead body, Enchanted was an aspiring singer, struggling with her tight knit family’s recent move to the suburbs while trying to find her place as the lone Black girl in high school. But then legendary R&B artist Korey Fields spots her at an audition. And suddenly her dream of being a professional singer takes flight.

Enchanted is dazzled by Korey’s luxurious life but soon her dream turns into a nightmare. Behind Korey’s charm and star power hides a dark side, one that wants to control her every move, with rage and consequences. Except now he’s dead and the police are at the door. Who killed Korey Fields?

All signs point to Enchanted.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the eARC of what has to be one of my most anticipated releases of 2020. I met the author, Tiffany D. Jackson, a couple of years ago, and was extremely lucky to hear her speak on a few different panels with various other YA writers. I realized we had a shared love for Stephen King, and after hearing her novel ‘Allegedly’ was written in the style of ‘Carrie’, I was immediately hooked. Since then, my love for her writing has only grown, no pun intended. This work, however, may be my absolute favorite yet. Though the synopsis paints it as a murder mystery, it is so much more. What you’ll find in between these pages is a haunting look at the many dangers of power in the hands of those who use it to manipulate others, the struggle of black women to be heard, and what it’s like to grow up far too quickly.

Tiffany gives us Enchanted Jones, who is a fish out of water. She describes herself that way several times; having been thrust out of her oceanic hometown to a city where she never quite fit in. The only thing that she carries with her through it all is her voice, but this Little Mermaid keeps her head down, knowing she has other responsibilities at home and doesn’t have time to chase the dream of finding her legs in the world of art. However, a close friend talks her into going to an audition, and that’s where she first meets Korey. The book is told in dual timelines, so we know the artist’s fate from the beginning. We are there at Enchanted’s side, reliving her relationship with him and seeing its aftermath. It starts innocent enough, a compliment here, a few comp concert tickets there– but Korey is 28, and Enchanted is 17. The man’s grooming only intensifies from there, using Enchanted’s hope of becoming a professional singer and fear of her family in distress to tie her down.

The subject matter is incredibly heavy, but one I think is needed. ‘Grown’ directly references other novels and Disney movies where possessive older men are romanticized, and I will say that I myself have been enamored with such media. So too would be other younger children who read and watch these in their formative years. Enchanted’s struggle is a common one, and it’s going to be good for an immeasurable number of readers to see their story told as well. Not only from the viewpoint of girls who have been preyed upon by older men, but also those that have used their voice and spoken up against them, only to be silenced by disbelief. This year, you would be hard pressed to not know just how much pain surrounds the black community. You can look at any social media site and see some uneducated fool trying their best to discredit the lives of those who were taken before their time. The seed of doubt is an easy one to sow, and it’s even easier with such an oppressed group. I think Tiffany does an amazing job at using her experience and her platform to shine a light on how important it is to listen to black women– it’s an Own Voices novel that carries so much weight, especially to someone like me who will never fully understand that hardship.

Even beyond the plot, this novel is a work to behold. Enchanted’s lyrical soul emanates from the pages as she describes her life. Tiffany has made this songwriter stand out as such even with only one glimpse of an actual original song; the rest you can feel in the way she details the ocean, how she sees herself, and her love for her family. The book also includes my favorite storytelling device in that it weaves diverse media into the usual written word. There are text messages, police reports, autopsy notes, and more scattered meticulously about that add so much flavor to the story. Bit and pieces like that really make it feel that much more real for me, and it’s an element that Tiffany brings to all of her books that I always look forward to seeing. All in all, this was a fast paced, emotional read that I absolutely could not put down. I knew before I started it that I was going to love it, I just didn’t know how much. It will keep you guessing the whole time as your shoulders are tensed and your jaw is dropped. It’s awful to know that things like this really happen, but I am glad that someone as talented as Tiffany took it on and gave it to us all.

5/5 stars