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A review by penandswordinn
The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson
5.0
Tiffany D. Jackson is an instant buy for me when it comes to her books. She has such a great way of building complex characters in situations you can find yourself in. With her newest book, The Weight of Blood, she decided to take on the concept of Carrie with a mixture of racial tensions in a small town.
This story follows Maddy Washington, a girl who for most of her life, presented herself as white when she is mixed. When the entire school finds out about this lie, racial tensions begin to boil over in the town. Some students decide to take a stand and call out the racist history while other students try to "stick to the old ways." While there are paranormal elements to the story, it is also a story of modern racism and just what we will accept about our surroundings and what we will fight to change.
I did like the alternate chapters that were told through book snippets and podcast recordings. It gave a perspective that wouldn't have necessarily been seen if we stuck to the characters we were following. Each character was so realistic to me, whether they were blindly ignoring their racist thoughts and actions or with their confusion in their roles in the racist acts.
My one gripe with this story was the romance. I think because Kendrick found he could be himself around Maddy, he fell hard and fast. I was almost expecting there to be a twist that Maddy put a love spell on him. But when we look at horror movies, it is an insta-lovey world, especially when you don't know whose going to die next.
While I was disappointed with the ending giving no information on what happened to Maddy after the prom, I think this is still a good ending. We are left, like those who have written about her and talked about her on podcasts, wondering what happened to Maddy. We are left to wonder if she lived happily ever after or if we will see her again.
Thank you to NetGalley for gifting me an ARC for an honest review.
This story follows Maddy Washington, a girl who for most of her life, presented herself as white when she is mixed. When the entire school finds out about this lie, racial tensions begin to boil over in the town. Some students decide to take a stand and call out the racist history while other students try to "stick to the old ways." While there are paranormal elements to the story, it is also a story of modern racism and just what we will accept about our surroundings and what we will fight to change.
I did like the alternate chapters that were told through book snippets and podcast recordings. It gave a perspective that wouldn't have necessarily been seen if we stuck to the characters we were following. Each character was so realistic to me, whether they were blindly ignoring their racist thoughts and actions or with their confusion in their roles in the racist acts.
My one gripe with this story was the romance. I think because Kendrick found he could be himself around Maddy, he fell hard and fast. I was almost expecting there to be a twist that Maddy put a love spell on him. But when we look at horror movies, it is an insta-lovey world, especially when you don't know whose going to die next.
While I was disappointed with the ending giving no information on what happened to Maddy after the prom, I think this is still a good ending. We are left, like those who have written about her and talked about her on podcasts, wondering what happened to Maddy. We are left to wonder if she lived happily ever after or if we will see her again.
Thank you to NetGalley for gifting me an ARC for an honest review.