augustinedreams's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Police brutality, Domestic abuse, Gore, Murder, Racial slurs, Violence, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, and Hate crime
Moderate: Sexism, Misogyny, Gun violence, Cursing, and Alcohol
birbmcbirb's review
- 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
Graphic: Racism, Blood, Gun violence, Police brutality, Sexism, and Religious bigotry
tifftastic87's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I wanted this to be a five star, but I think it missed a few key points for me.
I really loved the idea of a new twist on Carrie, bringing in an issue that is in our forefront right now and especially in 2020 when it seems like this book was written. I really appreciated the telling of a story about how mean high school girls can be to each other from the perspective of a female writer, but I think the story fell short here. There clearly was intersection between her being a woman and her being bi-racial that given the length of the book could have been used much better.
The main reason I say this is in Carrie the tension in Carrie's home is created by her mother being afraid for her purity and uses her religion heavily to keep that. She believes that any form of sexuality, including puberty, is sinful and is extremely abusive from that angle. Likely because of how she was treated by Carrie's father. In The Weight of Blood, Maddy lives with her father who treats her as his personal housewife because he clearly is one of those men who "long for a simpler time." He only watches old movies, listens to old music and is against new technology. This is never explained really, except that he does it to protect Maddy. He believes if he can teach her to dress and act like *white* homemakers from the 50s, he can protect her from what people will think of her being mixed. My confusion is that Maddy's femininity doesn't play that big of a role in her character development, except that it gets Kenny's attention. We get the root of all of Maddy's father's abuse and it is
Spoiler
because she has the same powers his mom hasKenny is convinced by his girlfriend Wendy, who very much has a bit of white savior in her as well as "I don't see color" kind of attitude. She is also very hard to like, even though she gets the best redemption arc, because she is the type of girl who just does everything to have the dream future with the dream guy. Her life revolves around Kenny and Kenny's revolves around football. Kenny shows the most character growth in a way, because he starts trying to push back against his life being determined for him but that is only because he falls for Maddy. And he falls for her because she is "not like other girls." Which is not just me being snarky, it is literally written in a book published in 2022. I have no words, I thought we were past this or at least trying to be. There is also quite a bit that reminds me of those 2000s nerd to hottie movie transformations, because he starts noticing how pretty her eyes are when she starts to not wear glasses and then we get talks about her small frame and thin figure when she starts wearing skirts and "men's undershirts." Honestly, I am kind of sad that Jackson didn't bust out a blue chambray workshirt on us. I think the interactions between Kenny and Maddy and the insta-loviness was just a little too tropey for me.
I also really did not like the explanation we got at the end from Maddy's father on her true roots. It really felt like we were supposed to excuse his abuse of Maddy because he had his own trauma. Abusers often abuse, I don't think we need to be reminded of this and be given a seen where we are supposed to feel pitty for him.
Maddy did a lot of what she did for Kenny, which is from my memory a change from the original story. Carrie did it for herself. She may have had feelings for Tommy and she lashed out from being tricked, but its not the same as what happened here, I mean
Spoiler
Maddy only snapped out of her grief enough to survive because she was told Kenny was aliveI will say, Jackson can write. I appreciated her flow and descriptions the pace was nice and characters were developed, even if I didn't like the direction they were developed in. I really hated Jules, right down to her court testimony. I very loudly made a grumbled exasperated sigh noise of disgust when reading that part actually. I was actually upset with what happened to Kenny after the incident in the barn, and it wasn't all just in reaction to the type of event it was. I genuinely cared about him. I do wish we would have got more of his mother and sister, I liked them. His dad is a dick though.
Graphic: Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Racism, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Classism, Cursing, Death, Grief, Hate crime, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, and Gore
bites_of_books'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? It's complicated
5.0
The supernatural aspect of this book was done so well, it doesn't overpower our main character and also gives us a lot of intrigue as to what really is happening with her powers. This has been described as a Carrie retelling and I feel like it keeps the spirit of Carrie while Jackson gives it her own twists and style.
I listened to the audiobook, which was awesome because it has a whole production with almost a full cast, and really helped immerse me in the story.
This is a very difficult book to read because there is a lot of outright racism, bigotry, mysoginy, etc etc. Do take care when reading, check for all content warnings!
I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys horror that focuses more on the horror that humans are capable of and also if you want characters who are multidimensional and who go beyond what you expect from them.
Graphic: Gaslighting, Gore, Body horror, Bullying, Grief, Gun violence, Blood, Murder, Child abuse, Classism, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Cultural appropriation, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Police brutality, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Sexism, Toxic friendship, and Violence
readabookmofo's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.0
I also loved the intensified romantic interest compared to the romantic subplot in Carrie by Stephen King.
-
THE BAD:
This book was too similar to Carrie for me. It was difficult to not compare the two novels because they’re so alike. Once I realized this was pretty much a modern retelling, I lost interest. I knew how the story was going to end. Jackson used so many words and phrases ad nauseam; it took me out of the reading every single time and made all the characters feel lifeless. The romantic subplot started off fantastic, but quickly sunk. The storytelling was lacking at points by relying upon various mediums to build anticipation. Yet all it did was cause frustration; in many of these instances, all I wanted was the POV of the FMC, which would have been perfect. The ending was also very underwhelming.
-
Overall this was just an okay book for me. I’m interested to read more from Tiffany D. Jackson and get a better idea of her own voice. Again, it was hard to not compare this to Carrie because it followed it too closely. It wouldn’t be my first book recommendation honestly.
Graphic: Racism, Child abuse, Sexism, and Bullying
Moderate: Vomit and Blood
Favorite Quote: "How can one man who knows nothing of the weight of blood tame you?"natnat_7'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Gore, Racial slurs, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Suicide, Car accident, Ableism, Child abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Violence, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexism, and Vomit
tiimoun's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Death, and Cultural appropriation
aformeracceleratedreader's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
My heart goes out to Maddy in so many ways. I can't begin to imagine the hurt and difficulties her character had to face.
I wish some characters were spared from death
Spoiler
like Mrs Morgan who seemed like the only teacher who gave a shit about the racism happeningSpoiler
Jules had died. That girl was vile through and through and lied even after losing her arm, her college acceptance, her best friend. F that bitch. Didn't acknowledge any of her wrongdoings to Maddy or any of the other black kids. She is irredeemableThere are heavy topics in here so read content/trigger warnings.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Hate crime, Confinement, Toxic friendship, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Car accident, Racism, Violence, Vomit, Dysphoria, and Grief
ashes_rose's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Death, Gore, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Sexism
averagesparrow's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Spoiler
the main antagonist survives, good people die, and there is no justice. But Maddy lives, finds a small measure of peace, and that’s all we can ask. Here’s to the Maddys out there, lost in the world and betrayed by those who should protect you. The life you’ve been given isn’t fair, but you can survive and someday you’ll thrive.Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Classism, Death of parent, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Gore, and Gun violence