Scan barcode
A review by plumpaperbacks
White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson
dark
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? Yes
4.0
I’ve literally never read a horror book in my life; the only one I picked up prior to this ended up being too scary for me and I never finished reading it. I only picked this one up because I mistakenly thought it was a thriller. It took a few chapters for me to realize what I’d done, but at that point, I was already intrigued and didn’t want to stop reading. So I decided, even though I didn’t know exactly what I was in for, to push through.
I’m glad I did. I’m not about to read Stephen King or anything, but maybe some of the tamer horror books could be fun to try. As long as I didn’t read this too late at night, I actually enjoyed it. I already love psychological thrillers, so this wasn’t too far off, just more physically creepy as well.
As for this book specifically, I think Jackson did a great job across the board. I really liked the protagonist Mari and her younger brother Sammy, and I found all of the characters to be well-written and developed. Their mom was a decent parent as well, which was nice to see, even though it was quite frustrating to see her take her new husband’s side over her daughter’s. Said husband was also frustrating but even more so, and for a different reason: even when presented with evidence that his bratty daughter did something wrong, he did absolutely nothing about it. He’s quite possibly the most spineless father. Massive facepalm.
And then there’s Piper, the bratty daughter in question. I don’t think I’ve ever found a child so insufferable. I just— *muffled screeching* Ahem. Anyway, despite my sizable list of reasons why I despised this child—which I can’t share because spoilers—her involvement in the story wasn’t what I’d expected it would be. She took the story in a unique direction and I liked it. And, shocking as this was…. I even ended up kind of liking her?? Who knew that was possible??
And the house? That’s one big, overflowing bucket of NOPE. Creaky floors, slamming doors, awful stenches, objects moving after they were set down or disappearing entirely, disembodied voices…. I would like to say again: NOPE. Add in the psychological thriller aspect, where Mari’s family doesn’t believe her and we don’t actually know if any of this is happening, and it’s quite a tumultuous, unsettling time.
As if that wasn’t creepy enough, the neighborhood the house is in isn’t right either. Everyone is suspiciously happy until things start going wrong, and plenty of things go wrong. Cedarville isn’t as idyllic as they’d like you to believe, and the residents have a bit of a mob mentality….
The only good people in town are Erika and Yusef, Mari’s new friends. Yusef was super sweet, and Erika was hilarious. I was really glad that Mari had at least a bit of something resembling normalcy in the midst of all this paranormal chaos. I was also glad that there was no romance, despite both of her friends being single. While I’m sure I could’ve been convinced to ship either couple, it felt right to focus solely on the horror aspects of the novel.
I think my one complaint would be the ending. At the very least, I wish we’d gotten an epilogue, if not another chapter or two talking about what happened next. As it is, I feel that the book ended kind of abruptly. I turned the last page, saw the acknowledgments, and was like, “Wait… what? There’s gotta be more.” Turns out, there was no more, unfortunately. The end. Curtains.
All in all, slightly disappointing ending aside, I was surprisingly impressed by my first horror novel. Dare I say, this won’t be my last…? We’ll see. But I definitely recommend this book, both to seasoned horror lovers and those looking for a little something different this spooky season.
Representation
I’m glad I did. I’m not about to read Stephen King or anything, but maybe some of the tamer horror books could be fun to try. As long as I didn’t read this too late at night, I actually enjoyed it. I already love psychological thrillers, so this wasn’t too far off, just more physically creepy as well.
As for this book specifically, I think Jackson did a great job across the board. I really liked the protagonist Mari and her younger brother Sammy, and I found all of the characters to be well-written and developed. Their mom was a decent parent as well, which was nice to see, even though it was quite frustrating to see her take her new husband’s side over her daughter’s. Said husband was also frustrating but even more so, and for a different reason: even when presented with evidence that his bratty daughter did something wrong, he did absolutely nothing about it. He’s quite possibly the most spineless father. Massive facepalm.
And then there’s Piper, the bratty daughter in question. I don’t think I’ve ever found a child so insufferable. I just— *muffled screeching* Ahem. Anyway, despite my sizable list of reasons why I despised this child—which I can’t share because spoilers—her involvement in the story wasn’t what I’d expected it would be. She took the story in a unique direction and I liked it. And, shocking as this was…. I even ended up kind of liking her?? Who knew that was possible??
And the house? That’s one big, overflowing bucket of NOPE. Creaky floors, slamming doors, awful stenches, objects moving after they were set down or disappearing entirely, disembodied voices…. I would like to say again: NOPE. Add in the psychological thriller aspect, where Mari’s family doesn’t believe her and we don’t actually know if any of this is happening, and it’s quite a tumultuous, unsettling time.
As if that wasn’t creepy enough, the neighborhood the house is in isn’t right either. Everyone is suspiciously happy until things start going wrong, and plenty of things go wrong. Cedarville isn’t as idyllic as they’d like you to believe, and the residents have a bit of a mob mentality….
The only good people in town are Erika and Yusef, Mari’s new friends. Yusef was super sweet, and Erika was hilarious. I was really glad that Mari had at least a bit of something resembling normalcy in the midst of all this paranormal chaos. I was also glad that there was no romance, despite both of her friends being single. While I’m sure I could’ve been convinced to ship either couple, it felt right to focus solely on the horror aspects of the novel.
I think my one complaint would be the ending. At the very least, I wish we’d gotten an epilogue, if not another chapter or two talking about what happened next. As it is, I feel that the book ended kind of abruptly. I turned the last page, saw the acknowledgments, and was like, “Wait… what? There’s gotta be more.” Turns out, there was no more, unfortunately. The end. Curtains.
All in all, slightly disappointing ending aside, I was surprisingly impressed by my first horror novel. Dare I say, this won’t be my last…? We’ll see. But I definitely recommend this book, both to seasoned horror lovers and those looking for a little something different this spooky season.
Representation
- Black bisexual protagonist
- Black side characters
- sapphic side character
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, Addiction, Blood, and Gore
The protagonist has anxiety. And though there’s no tag for this, it seemed important to mention that there’s frequent mentions of bedbugs; after an infestation in her family’s old house, Mari is paranoid she’ll find them in their new house.