GROWN

Sensitive listeners should heed the content warning about child abuse, rape, and other issues contained in this audio. Joniece Abbott-Pratt's narration is so authentic that those who listen should be prepared to fully enter the uncomfortable world of 17-year-old Enchanted. Abbott-Pratt portrays a teen who's not undone by microaggressions at her nearly all-white school and peers' comments about her parents' finances, and her confidence blooms when she swims or sings. Her desire for singing fame takes her to a talent audition, where she begins a relationship with the wealthy, famous, and, one later learns, infamous singer Korey Fields. Abbott-Pratt's reading turns chilling as Enchanted, caught in Korey's web of violence and deceit, is accused of his murder. Enchanted's intelligence shines as she turns sleuth to fully regain her power. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2020]