MAY 2018 - AudioFile
Narrator Imani Parks portrays an African-American teen named Claudia who is learning-challenged. At school, Claudia has always been buoyed by her best friend, Monday Charles, but now, at the beginning of a new school year, Monday is missing, and only Claudia seems to notice. In a story that contains many time shifts, Parks's emotive narration aids the transitions that recall the closeness of the girls at home and the painful bullying they face at school. At times, Claudia is confused by Monday's increasing anxiety, and Claudia’s frustration turns to fear when even her own usually tender parents don't seem to listen to her concerns. In each time period, Parks dramatizes the story's building tension. As Claudia pieces together clues, so do listeners. The surprising climax is poignantly rendered by Parks. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
From the Publisher
A mesmerizing, punch-in-the-gut story about the power of friendship and the horrors hiding right in front of us.” — Laurie Halse Anderson, author of Speak and Chains
“This thought-provoking thriller examines issues such as abuse, gentrification, and the marginalization of people of color with nuance and sensitivity. The narrative deftly moves back and forth between past and present, building to a devastating conclusion. A spellbinding, profoundly moving choice for YA collections.” — School Library Journal (starred review)
“Jackson effortlessly weaves elements of suspense with issues of race, class, and gender, casting a harsh light on a world that often refuses to notice the disappearances of black and brown girls. The twist at the end is both gaspworthy and heartbreaking.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)
“Jackson doesn’t hold anything back when it comes to the pain of abuse and the ramifications of turning a blind eye. It’s a frank, devastating read filled with real and flawed characters, and it’s a story that needs to be read.” — Booklist
“In addition to a gripping plot line, underlying social issues bubble beneath the surface, such as neighborhood gentrification, race, poverty, community, the healing of connection, and the destruction in disconnection.” — The Horn Book
“The gravest, most fundamental challenge in Tiffany D. Jackson’s devastating novel is leveled at a society that purports to value children while allowing untold numbers of them, particularly poor children and children of color, to fall through the cracks.” — Chicago Tribune
PRAISE FOR ALLEGEDLY: ★ “With remarkable skill, Jackson offers an unflinching portrayal of the raw social outcomes when youth are entrapped in a vicious cycle of nonparenting and are sent spiraling down the prison-for-profit pipeline. Dark, suspenseful.” — School Library Journal (starred review)
★ “Her novel effectively joins Ava DuVernay’s documentary 13th and Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow (2010) to become another indictment of the penal system’s decimating power beyond its bars and, more subtly and refreshingly, a pro-reproductive-justice novel. Searing and true.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
★ “The characters are complex, the situation unsettling, and the line between right and wrong hopelessly blurred. It’s also intensely relevant, addressing race, age, and mental illness within the criminal justice system. Well conceived and executed, this is an absorbing and exceptional first novel.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
★ “Suspenseful without being emotionally manipulative, compelling without resorting to shock value, this is a tightly spun debut that wrestles with many intense ideas and ends with a knife twist that will send readers racing back to the beginning again.” — Booklist (starred review)
“Seen through Jackson’s dark portrait of the legal system and the failures of parents and social workers, Mary’s environments are as grim as the stories that play out in them; readers fascinated by procedural dramas will be thoroughly hooked.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“A well-executed, powerful journey into the claustrophobic life of a young girl trying to navigate what little is left after the world has judged her, and what she will do to escape it.” — Mindy McGinnis, Edgar Award-winning author of A Madness So Discreet
“A riveting, gut-wrenching thriller and a stunning debut.” — Daniel José Older, New York Times bestselling author of Shadowshaper
“Tiffany Jackson’s timely and chilling debut will haunt you for a long time. An extraordinary new voice.” — Justine Larbalestier, author of Liar and My Sister Rosa
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)
Jackson effortlessly weaves elements of suspense with issues of race, class, and gender, casting a harsh light on a world that often refuses to notice the disappearances of black and brown girls. The twist at the end is both gaspworthy and heartbreaking.
Laurie Halse Anderson
A mesmerizing, punch-in-the-gut story about the power of friendship and the horrors hiding right in front of us.
Booklist
Jackson doesn’t hold anything back when it comes to the pain of abuse and the ramifications of turning a blind eye. It’s a frank, devastating read filled with real and flawed characters, and it’s a story that needs to be read.
Chicago Tribune
The gravest, most fundamental challenge in Tiffany D. Jackson’s devastating novel is leveled at a society that purports to value children while allowing untold numbers of them, particularly poor children and children of color, to fall through the cracks.
Booklist (starred review)
★ “Suspenseful without being emotionally manipulative, compelling without resorting to shock value, this is a tightly spun debut that wrestles with many intense ideas and ends with a knife twist that will send readers racing back to the beginning again.
The Horn Book
In addition to a gripping plot line, underlying social issues bubble beneath the surface, such as neighborhood gentrification, race, poverty, community, the healing of connection, and the destruction in disconnection.
Booklist
Jackson doesn’t hold anything back when it comes to the pain of abuse and the ramifications of turning a blind eye. It’s a frank, devastating read filled with real and flawed characters, and it’s a story that needs to be read.
Chicago Tribune
The gravest, most fundamental challenge in Tiffany D. Jackson’s devastating novel is leveled at a society that purports to value children while allowing untold numbers of them, particularly poor children and children of color, to fall through the cracks.
Mindy McGinnis
A well-executed, powerful journey into the claustrophobic life of a young girl trying to navigate what little is left after the world has judged her, and what she will do to escape it.
Justine Larbalestier
Tiffany Jackson’s timely and chilling debut will haunt you for a long time. An extraordinary new voice.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Seen through Jackson’s dark portrait of the legal system and the failures of parents and social workers, Mary’s environments are as grim as the stories that play out in them; readers fascinated by procedural dramas will be thoroughly hooked.
Daniel José Older
A riveting, gut-wrenching thriller and a stunning debut.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Seen through Jackson’s dark portrait of the legal system and the failures of parents and social workers, Mary’s environments are as grim as the stories that play out in them; readers fascinated by procedural dramas will be thoroughly hooked.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Seen through Jackson’s dark portrait of the legal system and the failures of parents and social workers, Mary’s environments are as grim as the stories that play out in them; readers fascinated by procedural dramas will be thoroughly hooked.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)
Jackson effortlessly weaves elements of suspense with issues of race, class, and gender, casting a harsh light on a world that often refuses to notice the disappearances of black and brown girls. The twist at the end is both gaspworthy and heartbreaking.
Booklist (starred review)
★ “Suspenseful without being emotionally manipulative, compelling without resorting to shock value, this is a tightly spun debut that wrestles with many intense ideas and ends with a knife twist that will send readers racing back to the beginning again.
Daniel Jose Older
A riveting, gut-wrenching thriller and a stunning debut.
Jason Reynolds
Tiffany D. Jackson chips at the world, then cracks it, then shatters it into shards of discomfort and complexity for the reader to grapple with it. Allegedly, undoubtedly, will linger long after it’s over.
MAY 2018 - AudioFile
Narrator Imani Parks portrays an African-American teen named Claudia who is learning-challenged. At school, Claudia has always been buoyed by her best friend, Monday Charles, but now, at the beginning of a new school year, Monday is missing, and only Claudia seems to notice. In a story that contains many time shifts, Parks's emotive narration aids the transitions that recall the closeness of the girls at home and the painful bullying they face at school. At times, Claudia is confused by Monday's increasing anxiety, and Claudia’s frustration turns to fear when even her own usually tender parents don't seem to listen to her concerns. In each time period, Parks dramatizes the story's building tension. As Claudia pieces together clues, so do listeners. The surprising climax is poignantly rendered by Parks. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
