Reviews

A fantastic retelling of Carrie! This book follows Maddy who is half black, half white but appears to be white as long as her hair is straightened. When the high school finds out about her hair, the bullying begins. This book made me so angry for Maddy and every other black student in this town. A segregated prom?! Hell no. Listening to this book on audio just added to the experience as it involved different points of view played by different voice actors. In addition, the book had a podcast element and those are always better on audio.

birbmcbirb's review

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dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

bmce01's review

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dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

5.0

jmdryden's review

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dark emotional mysterious 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

nattarattat's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

novelheartbeat's review

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3.0

It's been a super long time since I saw Carrie, so it was about time for a retelling! I didn't hate this book, but I didn't love it either. This was another case where the hype monster got me. Overall it was pretty meh for me, and I was underwhelmed. I liked that it takes a hard look at racism, although sometimes it felt a little over the top for being set in present times. The tone of it felt like it would fit more in a historical setting. I also thought it was odd that the main character got bullied for being black, but the most popular girl in school was dating a black guy, who was also popular. Seemed a little contradictory.

I feel like there was never any real insight to what was going on in Maddy's head, which would have made the build up to the inevitable breakdown more believable and relatable. I couldn't connect to any of the characters at all. The narration was great, though! It had multiple narrators, which I really liked.

This review was originally posted on Novel Heartbeat. To see a breakdown of my assessment, please visit the full review here.

allysonalwaysreads's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad fast-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

5.0

stunning, Stunning, STUNNING audiobook. I am becoming quickly obsessed with audiobooks that utilize a full cast or take advantage of sound design. The way this audiobook combines podcasts, new stories and different voice actors really brings the story to life in ways that just reading a physical copy can not do.

On top of that, Tiffany D. Jackson is a wiz at a captivating storyline. This is a harrowing book that I could not stop listening too. And the ending! I have chills just thinking about it. The mind of Jackson is wild place. I have no idea how she even came up with these. I loved the personal conflicts each character faced. No single person in this book is truly good or bad. The issues are not black and white! Pun intended. This is easily my favorite Jackson book so far and easily a must read, especially on audio.

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