ISBN 9780063056718
Reviewed by Kylie Buckley
Grown is a young adult fiction novel about Enchanted Jones, a talented
seventeen-year-old girl who aspires to be a singer.
Chanty, as she is affectionately referred to, is trying to cope with life’s
recent changes and feelings of isolation. Her family have recently moved from a
seaside town to a suburb: she is one of only ten people of colour at her new
high school and she feels she is missing out on being a ‘normal teenager’ as
she spends most of her spare time looking after her four younger siblings while
her parents are working.
Chanty’s life changes forever when she meets the famous R&B artist Korey
Fields at a singing audition. He pays her some attention, compliments her
talent and offers her tickets to his upcoming show. Chanty is smitten. Korey,
eleven years her senior, soon offers to mentor her. Chanty jumps at the
opportunity and believes all her dreams are coming true. “All this time, my
heart has been beating, but this is the first time I’ve felt fully alive.” The
platonic relationship quickly turns romantic and then turns toxic as Korey is
revealed as a master manipulator. The controlling relationship goes from bad to
worse to tragic.
This novel’s many mature themes include: sexual, physical and emotional abuse, grooming,
rape, drug addiction and violence. Grown is a powerful story suitable
for readers aged 15+ years.
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