oliveoilreads's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
linipanini's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Gore
emrjohnson29's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
4.25
Retelling of Carrie by Stephen King from the perspective of a mixed girl. Will leave your stomach in knots & applauding Tiffany Jackson on creating a retelling that transcends the original in several aspects.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Violence
book_cwtch's review against another edition
A new spin of Carrie. Maddy, a white passing student gets rained on and her natural hair becomes the focus of the barely segregated town. When news of her trials reach national news, the town and students must work to save face in the form of a combined black and white prom. Everyone ends up dead, but how and why?
torifaye's review against another edition
4.0
Y’all! This book! Please listen to the audio version! It’s so well done! I can’t imagine just reading the physical copy because the audio is perfection! I don’t even fully know how to process it’s in-depth look into so much trauma. I loved the reading experience, but dang if it didn’t leave me questioning a whole lot! If someone else I know reads this we must talk!
scrubsandbooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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
4.5
I would read all future Stephen King retellings that Tiffany writes. This was superb especially as an audiobook.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Bullying
Moderate: Blood, Injury/injury detail, Torture, Violence, and Religious bigotry
talkeswithtank's review against another edition
If you’re a fan of Carrie, you’ll love this modern retelling! It’s just a gory as the original, but the characters in this one are complex and it’s driven by a storyline about racism in a southern high school.
emmreadsbooks's review against another edition
5.0
This is an amazing Carrie retelling that is *perfect* for spooky season. For awhile I thought that it took place in the 80's until it was just casually dropped in conversation that it was 2014!! And after some Google searches, I found out that these segregated practices still exist in the South. Mind blown.
I loved the podcast angle, as we got to see an outside perspective on the events that went down in Springville. And adding in the multiple PoVs, we get a deeper understanding of the characters who unknowingly contributed to the Springville Massacre. I was honestly cheering when Maddy snapped because they had it coming. After YEARS of bullying and all of the racist behavior she endured, I don't blame her at all. This book made me feel so many things, especially with the ending. Just read it.
*Thank you to Harper Audio for an ALC in exchange for my honest review*
I loved the podcast angle, as we got to see an outside perspective on the events that went down in Springville. And adding in the multiple PoVs, we get a deeper understanding of the characters who unknowingly contributed to the Springville Massacre. I was honestly cheering when Maddy snapped because they had it coming. After YEARS of bullying and all of the racist behavior she endured, I don't blame her at all. This book made me feel so many things, especially with the ending. Just read it.
*Thank you to Harper Audio for an ALC in exchange for my honest review*
debzemanlms's review against another edition
4.0
Should be 4.5 stars. Thank you NetGalley for a copy of the ARC.
Ms. Jackson knocks it out of the park with this look at societal racism in a small town through the lens of a story in the same vein as Stephen King’s Carrie. Definitely an homage to Mr. King!
This was a book I took my time reading, savoring every page, every description of the horrors that Maddy faces. Two proms, one for the white kids, one for the black kids. A girl who is hiding in plain sight as a white girl, who is taunted for being strange, until the truth comes to light that she is of mixed race, white and black, however forced by her father to pretend to be white. The bullying ramps up and the reader begins to wonder who can Maddy trust? Why does Papa treat her like he does? Are Kenny’s feelings true or are they a manifestation of Mandy’s desires manipulated by her “telekinesis/powers”. Told through flashbacks, court documents & through multiple interviews on a podcast investigation, the book asked the reader to consider whether or not Maddy is guilty of what happened on Prom Night in Springfield. This book takes a hard look at how segregation still happens in small towns, where people still turn a blind eye to it and sweep it under the rug.
TW: bullying, physical & emotional abuse, violence, blood,
Ms. Jackson knocks it out of the park with this look at societal racism in a small town through the lens of a story in the same vein as Stephen King’s Carrie. Definitely an homage to Mr. King!
This was a book I took my time reading, savoring every page, every description of the horrors that Maddy faces. Two proms, one for the white kids, one for the black kids. A girl who is hiding in plain sight as a white girl, who is taunted for being strange, until the truth comes to light that she is of mixed race, white and black, however forced by her father to pretend to be white. The bullying ramps up and the reader begins to wonder who can Maddy trust? Why does Papa treat her like he does? Are Kenny’s feelings true or are they a manifestation of Mandy’s desires manipulated by her “telekinesis/powers”. Told through flashbacks, court documents & through multiple interviews on a podcast investigation, the book asked the reader to consider whether or not Maddy is guilty of what happened on Prom Night in Springfield. This book takes a hard look at how segregation still happens in small towns, where people still turn a blind eye to it and sweep it under the rug.
TW: bullying, physical & emotional abuse, violence, blood,