Grown

Enchanted Jones is a 17-year-old high school student, an aspiring singer, and the protagonist of the novel. Enchanted is the oldest in a family of five children, and in her family, “singing is a concept, not an aspiration” (3). Her parents think of singing as a hobby, and although her best friend shares her love for singing, she doesn’t have the same aspirations as Enchanted. Enchanted feels lonely and has a hard time connecting with others. She is also only “one of ten black students in [her] entire school” (5), which adds to her feelings of loneliness. When Korey Fields shows interest in her, Enchanted jumps at the chance to connect with someone who shares her love for music. Their courtship is fueled by music, between Korey’s voice lessons and their exchange of songs over text. For Enchanted, her love for Korey is so entangled in her thirst to become a musician that she has difficulty separating the two.

Enchanted is self-conscious about her appearance as well as her musical abilities. She rehearses for her Music Live audition again and again, because “It has to be perfect, flawless” (8). When she sees the crowd and Korey Fields at the audition, she is sure she will “make a fool out of [herself]” (17).