“Forgiveness is the ability to let go of the pain, bitterness, and resentment of others, and most importantly ourselves.”

This is one of the most powerful quotes in Tiffany Jackson’s book, Allegedly, that touched me.

The story begins with slowly understanding Mary’s troubled past. While she tries to tolerate her terrible roommates in her shelter home, Mary has bigger plans to pass the SAT and move out. Mary also works in a elder’s nursery with her boyfriend, Tedd.

As soon as Mary and Tedd find out that they’re expecting a baby, Mary’s plans to move out get more intense. The other girls in the shelter are getting jealous of Mary’s progress in life, and plan to kill Mary’s baby.

Not only that, but Mary’s case of murder gets investigated again. Mary and her mother fight about keeping the secret. While the investigation is being solved, Tedd ends up cheating on Mary, and both go through massive trust issues.

Through it all, Mary has to decide on what to do with her baby, her mother and her boyfriend.

Allegedly is a suspenseful book for young adults, especially those who are in need of some thriller. Allegedly will remind you about the importance of forgiveness and patience. There are family problems, relationship problems, trust issues, and romance.

Jackson has a intense and poetic way of writing. Expect to read the word ‘allegedly’ every couple paragraphs. The book also carries the type of language that is more fit for high schoolers.

In the book, I started feeling very emotionally in touch with Mary. Everything Mary was feeling, I was feeling, while she was talking about her life issues. There’s no doubt that a reader will finish the story and learn a lesson from it.

I think everybody will have their own opinion about the moral of the story. From my point of view, I learned about forgiving ourselves.

The book overall is incredible. Jackson will leave a reader hanging off a cliff with a million questions unanswered. Mary’s journey is extremely relatable in many ways. The feelings are indescribable; there’s love, hate, jealousy and excitement. There’s simply no way of putting the book down.