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torihbu's review against another edition
- 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
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
midnightgremlin's review against another edition
- 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
I enjoyed the mental health representation of anxiety, panic attacks and obsessive compulsive behaviours attached to anxiety. The way that addiction is portrayed as well, the fact that there is a toll on both the addict/recovering addict and their close friends and family members.
My least favourite characters happened to be Alec and Piper though they both do end up somewhat redeeming themselves by the end of the story.
Graphic: Addiction, Racism, Violence, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness
Moderate: Death, Child death, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Hate crime
diannasbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Violence, Medical trauma, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, Racism, Murder, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, and Child death
anxious_librarian's review against another edition
- 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
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."
Moderate: Mental illness, Addiction, Hate crime, Drug use, Medical content, Toxic friendship, and Racism
achay91's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Cursing, Drug use, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
Minor: Toxic relationship
greywolfheir's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Body horror, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Hate crime, Racism, Cursing, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Classism, Kidnapping, and Medical content
Minor: Confinement, Adult/minor relationship, and Bullying
wrensreadingroom's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Violence, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Confinement, Classism, Child death, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Hate crime, Torture, Murder, Death, Vomit, Abandonment, Addiction, Stalking, Gun violence, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Medical content, Drug abuse, Cursing, Police brutality, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
lovealwaysadi's review against another edition
- 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
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
librarybookscene's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Hate crime, and Racism
ecn's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Drug abuse, Racism, Classism, Addiction, Cursing, Animal cruelty, Drug use, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, and Fire/Fire injury