Grown

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2020

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Part 1, Chapters 7-12Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Chapter 7 Summary: “Friends to the End”

The next day, Enchanted has lunch with her best friend, Gabriela (Gab). Enchanted tells Gabriela about meeting Korey Fields, and although Gab is supportive of Enchanted pursuing a music career, she also reminds Enchanted that “[Korey’s] too old for [Enchanted]” (30). Enchanted points out that Gab and her boyfriend have a three-year age difference, and quietly remembers that Korey “sweet” (32).

Part 1, Chapter 8 Summary: “Will and Willow Meeting Notes”

Enchanted and her sister Shea attend a meeting for Will and Willow, a group for Black families to connect. The treasurer, Creighton, is quick to point out that everyone has paid their dues “except the Jones sisters” (34), and the vice president, Sean, points out that Enchanted uses slang because “she didn’t grow up in the ‘burbs like us” (35). Enchanted explains that they have to leave early for the Korey Fields concert.

Part 1, Chapter 9 Summary: “VIP Stands for…”

Enchanted and her parents are given backstage VIP passes, and after the concert, they go to Korey’s Greenroom, which is full of celebrities. While Enchanted’s parents are distracted by their favorite singers, Korey flirts with Enchanted and gets her phone number. Korey tells her parents that “[Enchanted] definitely has something special” (43) and he wants to become a mentor for her.

Part 1, Chapter 10 Summary: “Beach Bums”

Enchanted recalls her childhood on the beach in Far Rockaway, New York, and how her love for the ocean is centered on her family memories. She talks about her relationship with her grandmother, who encouraged her to sing from a young age. She calls her family a school of fish, and explains that they had to move because “[their] home was a tiny aquarium” (45), and now her family is “a school of fish surrounded by white fishermen” (45). Enchanted has to help take care of her younger siblings, but she dreams of escaping back to the ocean where she feels at home.

Part 1, Chapter 11 Summary: “Shop Talk”

Enchanted’s father trims her hair one night while wrangling the young children. Enchanted asks her father to consider letting her get a car. When her father says “It’s just not something [they] can swing right now” (49), she asks if she can get singing lessons. Daddy says, “Singing is […] a big risk” (50), and that only the lucky ones make a career out of it.

Part 1, Chapter 12 Summary: “A Whole New World”

One night while Enchanted is watching Aladdin with her younger siblings, Korey starts texting her. They talk about their mutual love of Disney movies, and when Enchanted dares to suggest that “maybe [they] can watch [Swiss Family Robinson] together someday” (54), Korey responds with a “Maybe” and a kissing emoji. Enchanted begins to obsess over Korey on social media.

Part 1, Chapters 7-12 Analysis

This second group of chapters begins the novel’s rising action, showing how Korey manipulates his way into Enchanted’s life. He woos Enchanted and her parents with the VIP treatment at his concert, but expertly uses his celebrity connections to distract her parents while he gets her phone number. He learns that she loves Disney movies, a fact Jackson uses to emphasize Enchanted’s youth, and he quickly strikes up a conversation that he knows will make her like and trust him. Korey is crafty and knows that his celebrity status might impress Enchanted, but if he wants her to really trust him, he has to make her think that he cares about her other interests. Because Disney movies are often associated with childhood innocence, Korey also knows that Enchanted is more likely to trust him if he talks about them.

Enchanted doesn’t just hide her communication with Korey from her parents, she also starts to withdraw from the girls in her life closest to her age, Shea and Gabriela. Teenage girls often rely on their close friends to help them process their feelings when it comes to relationships, but instead, Enchanted further isolates herself in order to hide her connection with Korey. After Gab’s initial warning about Korey being too old for her, Enchanted decides to be more discreet, cutting herself off from a crucial support system and displaying how Korey’s manipulative tactics have already begun to make Enchanted more vulnerable.

Enchanted’s conversations with the Will and Willow teenagers and with Daddy remind the reader of her family’s financial situation. Money is a powerful factor, and one that Korey will come to use against Enchanted once she is touring with him. Additionally, the public embarrassment at Will and Willow that Enchanted experiences when Creighton and Sean unfairly highlight her debt and urban upbringing alienates Enchanted from another group of people who should be a source of support.