Reviews with content warning for Racism - White Smoke

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson

97 reviews

anxious_librarian's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Well that ended abruptly!! (How dare Jackson not include an epilogue!) But oh my gods was it good!

After reading You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight I was craving another scary book and WHITE SMOKE has been on my tbr forever. This is my first time reading Tiffany Jackson, and I can see why everyone loves her writing. The town, the house, the characters, felt flushed out and so real! This book felt so grounded in reality which only made the scary aspects more haunting.

Jackson created a perfect spooky atmosphere. Mari's bedbug phobia and severe anxiety were a clever way to ramp up the feelings of unease surrounding what was going on. You're relatively sure something is going on, but it's never clear which instances are paranormal and which are a result of Mari's own issues.

Speaking of Mari's issues, I really enjoyed how what she was going through connected to Maplewood. There's a lot to be discussed here, from racism, gentrification, targeted legislature. I'm still mulling over everything I read but needless to say I'm going to be thinking about this one for a very long time. I appreciated how Jackson was able to show this community through Mari's eyes. She's not a bad person, but she is flawed and a teenager. Learning to see the bigger picture over thinking of only her own wants was such a well done part of the story.

I only had a few small complaints:
1) I didn't think it was always clear when Mari moved from one part of the house to the other. She'd be in her bedroom and the next sentence she'd be opening the fridge downstairs. It feels like the kind of cut that would work well in a movie but can be jarring in a book. Everything else about the writing was stellar!

2) Not enough interaction between Mari and Piper, who is essentially the antagonist. I get why they're on apposing sides but they still hardly interact, it makes it hard to hate someone we haven't gotten to know. I wanted to throw stepdad in the woodchipper more than I cared about what Piper was doing.

3) Epilogue! We needed an epilogue desperately! Even in the form of a podcast transcript or newspaper clipping I feel like we needed something to wrap things up.

Overall, I'm so happy I finally read WHITE SMOKE. Make sure you don't skip the author's note at the end! It adds some interesting context and has an amazing quote that encapsulates the message of the book.

Cover: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨ | Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Final Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

Here are some quotes I saved [there were more poignant quotes but it's really hard to highlight on CloudLibrary, also I didn't know you could highlight until I'd nearly finished😬]

"Truth is, the ground is spoiled here, always has been." He looks at me. "And you can't grow where you're not wanted."

"Forget it! I'm not going down to the cellar of doom in the middle of the night!"

...spotting the perfect pumpkin right by my boot. "There! Got one." I lift it up in the air. "And I shall name you Sweets and I shall carve your eyes and smile with a steak knife."

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ashleytalksbooks's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

I’ve had this book for over a year but finally started and finished it in one day after The Weight of blood. I’m officially a Tiffany D. Jackson Stan and am going to read all her other books.

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stephanielee's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Teen Mari moves with her mother, stepfather and 10 year old stepsister from California to the midwest. Immediately Mari feels like something is off about the house and neighborhood they are in and then she also has to deal with her stepsister Piper being bratty while trying to fit in. We don't know at first what happened to Mari in California, but it is alluded to that she did something bad. We eventually find out what happened to Mari and it is important in understanding why she acts and feels the way she does. When Piper starts talking to a "friend" who doesn't like Mari and wants her gone, Mari starts trying to find out what is wrong with their house. With the help of a friend she makes, they dig into the history of the town and the house and find more than they ever expected to uncover.

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chris_reads's review

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dark informative mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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achay91's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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aheinicke27's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book has so many layers of horror, mystery and social commentary. There were quite a few times when I simultaneously felt too scared to continue reading and too intrigued to put the book down. And that ending? Seriously? 10/10 would definitely recommend, perfect for Halloween!

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