Allegedly by Tiffany D Jackson

The Quick Cut: A teen girl who was convicted of murder for an infant is living in a group home. She feels the need to prove her innocence when she gets pregnant and cannot keep the baby herself. A Real Review: It's easy to get complacent and assume that the world is a relatively just place. Bad things can happen to good people, but the world is a generally good place, right? There are many aspects of culture and society today that overlook seriously unjust situations, without correcting them. In this story centered on Mary, those injustices are highlighted and put center stage. Mary is far more well known than she'd like to be. Convicted of the murder of a three month old infant, she was vilified and picketed against during her trial - with crowds of parents begging for her execution. Now she's living in a group home, seeing her mom once every other week, and trying to improve her life. She's studying for the SATs and trying to save money to live on her own when life throws her another hurdle: she's pregnant. When social services makes it clear they will not let her keep the baby, she does what she never felt the need to before: prove her innocence. Will she find justice and get her life on track? Or will it just stir up more issues? This book might be categorized as young adult, but it should be required reading for everyone. The content is littered with triggers, yes, but it discusses a dark part of society that many of us choose to ignore. Allegedly is a masterwork in highlighting the injustices built into our society when it comes to race, the judicial system, and mental health. Mary is smarter than anyone gives her credit for. She's also got some serious mental health issues from the years of abuse and parental neglect she's experienced. What she has endured is unimaginable and would cause anyone to have problems to work through. She's gotten none of that, though because she hasn't had anyone to stand for her consistently though her life. The problems for Mary compound though because the only reason she ends up in the situation she's in is due to her conviction. Since she was convicted at the age of 9, she's never received proper sexual education. Due to her inconsistent case workers, she's never had persistent mental health care. Her mother shows obvious signs of mental health issues and abuses Mary mentally. No one played the role of parent for Mary and because of that, she ends up in a completely avoidable situation. Proper preventative steps would have completed changed the course of her life. Mary may be fictional, but her story is real and happens on a regular basis. The bipolar representation here comes in the form of Mary's mother. She avoids taking medication, which does happen quite routinely. She in turn has extreme swings, from manic excitement and energy to depression with neglecting her responsibilities. Without another adult in Mary's life, it leaves Mary to be an adult at an insanely young age. A profound story that highlights injustice. My rating: 5 out of 5