Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson

6 reviews

torihbu's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

4.0

this was an action-packed thrill from start to finish. there were multiple plots going on at once (some more developed than others), but between all of it, i never got confused. i thought the gentrification subplot was a bit under-developed—there's only so much you can fit in 350ish words. but the main character's PTS/anxiety subplot and the main "haunting" of the book were extremely well-written, well-paced, and compelling. everything totals up to present the horrors of reality. just when you think you know what's going to happen next, you'll be surprised by this book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Blood, Body horror, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Drug use, Drug abuse, Bullying, Grief, Cursing, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Alcohol, Racism, Vomit, Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Hate crime

maregred's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Racism, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use

Minor: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, and Death

lovealwaysadi's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Drug use, Gore, Addiction, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Body horror, and Classism

Moderate: Hate crime, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment

Minor: Confinement, Alcohol, Excrement, Racism, and Grief

emily_mh's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I could not put this book down! It was so gripping and fast-paced. Jackson did a superb job at crafting a super tense, atmospheric storyline that was rooted in and explored systemic racism. The MC of the story, Mari, was so dynamic and undergoes really meaningful development. I also liked the focus on sibling relationships. I cannot wait to read more of Jackson’s backlog because this has just solidified to me how much I enjoy her writing. 

I docked a half star because at first the plot is a little directionless, and the ending could have done with a bit more resolution. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Drug abuse, Addiction, Racism, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Gore, Classism, Violence, Cursing, Ableism, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Blood, and Kidnapping

Minor: Colonisation, Excrement, Sexism, Transphobia, Vomit, Body shaming, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Medical content, Death, Car accident, Murder, Physical abuse, Animal death, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Rape, Child abuse, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Homophobia, Child death, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Gun violence, and Confinement

Graphic warnings for insects, gentrification, imprisonment, anaphylactic shock, divorce Moderate warnings for eye trauma, sleep paralysis, self injury, blackmail, missing loved one Minor warnings for loss of a loved one, bomb, menstruation, theft Use of the ableist s-slur. It is my understanding there is a different culture around this word in the US? But I don't know why it was not edited out in the UK/Commonwealth copy.

caseythereader's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

 - I've seen a lot of reviews call WHITE SMOKE the YA version of WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING, and I do think that's mostly accurate, but it's also more than that. For one, it was way more creepy and terrifying!
- I loved that Mari wasn't a picture-perfect protagonist (you know I love prickly women and girls), but also that at the same time she was kind of just misunderstood by the adults in her life.
- I don't want to spoil anything, but the way Jackson incorporated real life injustices into the plot was masterful. I hope it gets young kids to read more about it and get involved in righting those wrongs. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Drug abuse, Drug use, Kidnapping, Violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Minor: Pedophilia

avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Vomit