Allegedly

A Psychological Thriller

De: Tiffany D. Jackson

Narrado por: Bahni Turpin

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?

©2017 Tiffany D. Jackson (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Bahni Turpin’s stunning narration of this audiobook at some points seems like a multivoiced performance.... Turpin excels at giving dimension to even minor characters - bullying housemates, pretentious and cruel housemothers, and the lawyer who is determined to get Mary justice.... From the gripping beginning to the unsettling ending, Turpin maintains the intensity of this compelling story." (AudioFile)

A manic mind f*** and I love it.

Would you listen to Allegedly again? Why?

This mind-churning and disturbing novel is a gut punch that leaves the reader breathless and unsettled.

Allegedly is told from Mary’s perspective. When we meet her, Mary is a 15-year-old girl living in a group home, serving the sentence given after she killed a baby.

Allegedly.

Mary is an unreliable narrator, and her perspective leads the reader on a tense journey that’s compulsive and nerve-wracking–a ride that you might not want to be on, but you can’t get off, because your craving for the truth keeps you turning the pages.

Tiffany D. Jackson is a talented writer who showcases a twisted creativity as well as a smart mind with Allegedly. Her characterization of the protagonist and antagonists is vivid and layered, twisted and human, and I love how complicated she makes them. Every character in this book is fucked up; they are layers of jagged pieces that make it difficult to piece them together, but it’s oh so fun to try. Mary is an enigma. Her mother is also confusing and unstable. They both know the truth, but it’s unclear who is actually telling the truth, and the anxiety…oh, the anxiety is delicious as you read.

Also, along with Mary and her Momma is a group of girls interrupted, girls who would sooner kill you than braid your hair, who live in a house with Mary under the supervision of a cruel and neglectful social worker. Mary lives under constant threat of violence, and the physical and emotional abuse that she endured for years in a corrections facility, compounded by the terror-filled minefield she maneuvers in the group home, leads her to seek comfort in the arms of 18-year-old Ted. Mary ends up pregnant, and she must fight to keep her baby.

The characters drive this book and the mystery is enhanced by their unstable personalities. It would be easy to label each as disturbed and write them off as immoral, unsympathetic, and irredeemable, but Jackson does well to make sure that it’s clear that the environment is a factor as well as nature. Although, there are plenty of moments when you’ll think, “These girls are fucking crazy!”

I like that Jackson doesn’t label any of the characters. She does use excerpts from psychiatric professionals and social workers to give some background on Mary, but she realistically shows the contradictory conclusions and diagnoses that are prevalent in psychiatry, especially pertaining to a girl like Mary who is tossed around the system.

Listen, this book will leave you conflicted. I’ve been thinking about it for the last week, since I read it, and I still vacillate over the moral quagmire that this novel presents. It’s fitting that I’m writing this review on Mother’s Day, since the interplay between Mary and her mother creates the most conflict and angst, and has left me agitated. This book elicits a multitude of emotions, ranging from sympathy to disgust, sadness to rage, fear and hope. They all linger in the end as you’re left a bit rootless. You won’t find safety in this book.

I’m struggling with whether to give this 4 or 5 stars, since the last chapter is open-ended. There’s the potential to finish feeling dissatisfied, but the flip side is that the author leaves it all up tho the reader, which can be fun. The more I think on Allegedly, the more I love it. I love it as it is, but I must say that it would be a fantastic, disturbing series, unlike other YA series filling the market.

I’m definitely re-reading this one. I recommend.

What does Bahni Turpin bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

This novel is narrated by Bahni Turpin, who has been voicing a ton of the hot novels lately, including "The Hate U Give," "The Sun is Also a Star," "The Underground Railroad," and a bunch more. I knew that it would be great, when I saw that she was the narrator, since she does such a fantastic job with emotionally charged reads (she made me cry during THUG). I particularly love her voice for Mary since the character is equal parts genius adult and irrational child, so it’s a thrill to experience the sinister world of Allegedly through Mary’s grey perspective as well as Bahni’s sweet voice. The narration is gripping, so audiobook fans should definitely check it out.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, this book required some breaks for processing my feelings.

Great story!

Omg! First of all, the narrator for the audible book, Bahni Turpin is AH-MAZING! She changed her voice for each character. You knew who was talking every time. There were a couple of solid plot twists. The whole story is very intriguing and kept me interested from beginning to end. The ending was nothing how I thought it would be and that was okay because it worked. I don’t want to give anything away. Just trust me and read/listen to it!

I would love to see more from this author and I would DEFINITELY listen to more audible books read by Bahni.

OH MY GOODNESS!

I will never be the same after reading this book. As soon as I finished I immediately sought out others who had read it, so I could debrief and discuss it. The reader did an amazing job and the author wrote an outstanding story. Heartbreaking, infuriating, confusing, twisty and turning..... a few humorous parts. This book has it all. I also want to make a point to donate books to juvenile homes/detention centers after reading this book. It is mentioned over and over how they lack books and how frustrating that is. (I've recently read 2 books that both mention this issue)
A great book to pair with this would be "After", it has a somewhat similar story line, a girl accused of attempted murder of her own baby.

So moving!

The story is gripping, I was so drawn in my her story and struggle, the narration is impeccable, every character was unique and different, I had to remind myself that it was a single narrator.

Awesome story and narrator! Definitely recommend

I wonder if there will be a sequel! This book was everything I needed. It kept my attention from beginning to end (even though I’m shocked and disappointed by the outcome)! It gives a look at what some of the people in the system go through. It’s heartbreaking and wrong!

To be surrounded by so many people who aren’t shit and you turn out to be the same way, girl.... she had me fooled! I was rooting for her! To find out she really did kill her disappointed me. I thought for sure she was covering for her mama, but a small inkling in me felt like she did it, but was in denial. All she kept saying was, “I didn’t mean to throw her.”

I knew her mama wasn’t biologically hers. I had that small feeling from the beginning. I feel like her mama stole her though.... just saying.

I loved Ted, hated Ted, and loved Ted. It was a rollercoaster with him! I hate he probably won’t see his son again!!

I loved the narrator. She kept me interested and I was able to tell who was speaking with no problem.

WOW

The story pulled me and had me hanging on the end of my seat. This was a Crazy rollercoaster ride of emotion. Love this book.

Awesome!

Would you listen to Allegedly again? Why?

Yes, I would listen to this book again because it was written and narrated remarkably well!

What did you like best about this story?

The emotions in the book of the various characters

What does Bahni Turpin bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Bahni Turpin made the story line awesome with all her emotion and expression of each character.

Any additional comments?

Bahni Turpin is the best narrator I have ever listened to!

IM NOT EVEN SURE IF I KNOW WHAT HAPPENED?

as a social worker I can attest to the things happening in their book. The system is broken and failing these beautiful children establishing habits/ lifestyles and perceptions that are just terrible.

I enjoyed listening about Mary and can’t tell you if she a killer or not!! This was well written! A great discussion choice.

Hang on!!!

This is a story, well told, intriguing and breath stealing! Once you’re rooting for the character.... then all of a sudden you’ve been punched in the stomach! WATCHE OUT!

I didn’t want it to end!

Loved the voice, the story, the pain. Going to search for more books by this author