I went into Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson fully expecting to feel it in every fiber of my being, but I still wasn’t entirely prepared for this well-written book.
Mary’s life is undoubtedly a reflection of many. Thoughts immediately turn to the faces of children of color on the news almost nightly as victims of circumstance linked to unacknowledged issues in their communities, not to mention the stories we may know personally. Tiffany Jackson creates a complex, thought-provoking plot that contains layers of emotion and relevance without exploiting the very real experiences that exist in this world. The most poignant moments occur when Mary faces her mother for several minutes at a time during weekly visitations at the group home where she lives, or when she sits with the other occupants of the home who all have their own experiences that have perhaps permanently shaped their world views.
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?
Buy Allegedly at The Strand here.