Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson
I barely made it, but I met my summer reading goal. I wasn't sure I was going to get to read this book this summer. I put it on hold a few weeks before school was out, and it finally became available the day I went in for in-service. It was definitely worth the wait.
This is Mary's story. She allegedly killed a three-month-old baby when she was nine years old. She served time for it and is now in a group home. She finds out that she's pregnant, and once the person running the group home finds out, it becomes clear that everyone is going to try to take Mary's baby. She contacts a lawyer, and they appeal her case. Through her story, the reader can see the holes, and how it is possible that Mary didn't commit the crime.
So many times while reading this, my heart breaks for this girl. She's sixteen, and her mom sold her down the river to save herself. She's treated abominably in this group home, both by the people running it and the other girls living there. At one point, one of the girls pushes her down the stairs. It's a miracle that she doesn't lose her baby or die herself.
This was a good read. If nothing else, it has opened my eyes to what some group homes are like. The past couple of years, I've had students from a local group home, and it is hard to imagine what these girls go through. Honestly, I pray that none of the girls I have in my classes have experienced the horrors I read about in this book.
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