Allegedly is a book by Tiffany D. Jackson, Jackson has
written two other books since writing Allegedly. All three books being about
teen girls dealing with heavy topics and the aftermath of some type of
traumatic event. Allegedly is a nonfiction novel about a young girl named Mary
B. Addison who was convicted of killing a baby when she was nine years old.
Allegedly focuses on the aftermath of Marys crime, almost as
if the reader is navigating through life with Mary. The book begins with Mary
telling about how the crime she allegedly committed has affected her and her
mother's life. Her relationship with her mother was always strained due to the
implied mental illness her mother suffers from and is now worse than ever. Her
mother only visits once every couple of months and the visits are very brief.
Mary lives in a group home with other girls who have committed similar crimes,
she's the weakest link and gets picked on by the other girls in the house. Mary
knows she will eventually get out of the group home and that it's better than
baby jail as she would call it. Once Mary turns eighteen she will no longer be
a ward of the state and can leave the group home to start her new life. That is
until Mary gets pregnant by a boy named Ted that she works at an old folks home
with. She knows based on the nature of her crime that she will never be able to
raise her baby, so Mary decides to fight her case and tell the world what
really happened.
Allegedly was an interesting book that had a really attention grabbing plot, my only issue with the book is the ending. Once Mary gets pregnant she seems very adamant she's going to tell the truth so she can keep her baby, but by the end of the book she's done a complete one eighty in her version of the truth. The ending and how Mary handles the situation feels very out of character for her. The entire book she tells us one thing and by the end she's telling us another, this makes Mary feel like an unreliable source. Although I do think this book would be a good read for someone interested in the plot I believe that Jackson writes books for teen girls. If you're looking for a fast paced novel to keep you on your toes I would allegedly isn't the book for you. On the other hand if you're looking for a slower more complex novel allegedly would be a good read.
