Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Saunders
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Powerful tale of teen under sway of predatory pop star.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
When GROWN begins, Enchanted Jones is in a blood-splattered hotel room with the dead body of her boyfriend, a famous pop star. The next scene flashes back to her simple life just a few months earlier: She enjoys high school in upscale Westchester County, New York, swimming, participating in a social club for the children of well-off Black families, and helping care for her younger siblings. But her passion is singing. When she goes to a local audition for a music show contest on a major TV network, she meets megastar Korey Fields. They exchange numbers, and he invites Enchanted and her parents to his next show, with VIP treatment. Korey tells Enchanted that she has promise and invites her to join his recording sessions and tour. Her parents are uncomfortable with it and insist on a chaperone, but they have little control once she's out on the road. Gradually, Korey isolates Enchanted from her family and friends, hits her, pressures her into sexual acts, forces her to drink and take drugs, and even dominates her choices about her artistic brand. When he turns up dead, Enchanted is the prime suspect.
Is It Any Good?
This is a powerful tale for mature readers, with themes such as grooming, sexual coercion, misogynistic power structures, and the routine disbelieving of victims—particularly Black girls and women. Grown is a thinly veiled ripped-from-the-headlines story about a male pop star who preys on young women and girls who want to get into the music business. It's part mystery, part psychological thriller, and part loss-of-innocence story that explores a teen's complicated understanding of and relationship with love, both romantic and for friends and family. Readers will keep turning the pages; the escalating violence is suspenseful. Some of the descriptions of abusive behavior are especially disturbing because they're unusual, memorable, and captured in sharp, original detail. This is a well-written but bleak book that brings to light a societal problem and encourages us to not look away.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Enchanted matures in Grown. What does it mean to be "grown"? Can you be grown and still be a teenager? How might that happen?
What kinds of behavior leads you to trust someone? What are some red flags that lead you to distrust someone? How does Korey try to gain Enchanted's trust, and what are some of the early signs of his coercive behavior?
How does celebrity culture in Grown influence the characters to do or agree to things when they otherwise might not? How does it affect what Korey is able to get away with?
If you were concerned about abusive or coercive behavior, what would you do? Where could you go for help, and who might you tell?
Sexual assault, specifically the rape of main characters, plays a large role in this novel. Talk about resources available to teens: What resources are available in your school and community? The Crisis Text Line is also an excellent way for teens to reach out in times of need.
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Contemporary Fiction
- Topics : Activism , Arts
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Katherine Tegen Books
- Publication date : October 16, 2020
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 13 - 17
- Number of pages : 371
- Available on : Paperback, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate