Reviews tagging 'Child death'

White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson

21 reviews

pagesofplatypus's review

tense 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

4.75

Another knock-out from Tiffany D. Jackson! A haunted house horror that will have you thinking one it's going one way and then another and another.

Mari is a flawed protagonist, dealing with anxiety, obsession/trauma of bedbugs, and weed addiction. Nevertheless, she's still a character you root for as her house becomes more and more haunted. Once again you kind of want to slap the adults because they. do. not. listen!

So the annoying adults and the abrupt (in my eyes) ending are the only reasons I have for giving this a 4.75 instead of a full 5.

I read a good portion of this at night and would say it's on the creepy/eerie side rather than full-on scary, nor is it a gore fest. However, since Mari is absolutely terrified of bedbugs there are a lot of detailed descriptions of bed bugs so if you're squeamish about bugs as I am proceed with caution.

And one last thing for sensitive souls:

Breathe easy because the dog does live

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, and Classism

Moderate: Child death, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury

iamloreal's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I wish a few more details were wrapped up at the end of the story. It ended right as the dust began to settle and it felt a bit rushed. I enjoyed the story though. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Pedophilia

hokulani_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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 was so blown away by the end. i guess i always am with jackson’s books. i think it tackles problems like corruption and the united states’ justice system very well.

 i thought at first it was more of a tame haunted house read but by the end i knew it was so much more.

i could appreciate how each character is written differently and they all had their own flaws. in the end it teaches a lesson of how everyone’s human, and forgiving and growing forward is important. also not being afraid to speak out.

something else i liked about the book was how mari’s “incident” was hinted towards and was slowly revealed towards the end of the book.
jun 25 2024

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Pedophilia and Rape

mzgeee53's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Racism, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, and Gaslighting

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Vomit, and Car accident

midnightgremlin's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad 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

This is not your average haunted house story, it tackles so much more than simply the fear of living within the walls of home belonging to someone or something else. 
I enjoyed the mental health representation of anxiety, panic attacks and obsessive compulsive behaviours attached to anxiety. The way that addiction is portrayed as well, the fact that there is a toll on both the addict/recovering addict and their close friends and family members. 
My least favourite characters happened to be Alec and Piper though they both do end up somewhat redeeming themselves by the end of the story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Violence, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Child death, Death, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Hate crime

diannasbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

The narration in this book was amazing!!! The story was amazing! This story had so many layers to it! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

readsandsuch's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

She can’t keep getting away with this. 

Extra content warning since storygraphy still doesn’t have a specific tag for this:

insects/insect horror. The main character has a phobia of bedbugs and discusses them in graphic detail very often.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Incest, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Child death, Racism, Gaslighting, and Classism

Minor: Pedophilia and Kidnapping

insect horror, bed bugs

thatenbyisisreads's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful 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? No

4.0

This book had a bit of a slow start for me, but it picked up eventually. I made the grave mistake of reading this at night and I had to double check that I was alone in my room.. Don't be like me unless you like scaring yourself.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Police brutality

Minor: Child death

catsandbookstacks's review against another edition

4.0

Do you have a fear of bed bugs? If the answer is yes, skip this book.

White Smoke is a YA haunted house horror with a lens focused on addiction, gentrification, blended families and the criminalization of marijuana.

I love a haunted house story, asking yourself whether it's paranormal, just in your head or some other explanation. The author blends social commentary into the horror, which is what I typically expect within the genre these days. I'm upset at myself for sleeping on Tiffany D. Jackson until now and look forward to reading more!

Jackson set the ominous scene of Cedarville and Maple Street through the dilapidated neighbourhood, construction workers leaving the site as soon as 5pm hits and odd things happening around the house.

The steady build of peculiar occurrences are balanced by Marcella Cox's vivid narration. I felt anxiety each time Marigold spiraled over her fear of bed bugs. I admit, I checked my bed halfway through this book.

Marigold struggles to find her footing within her family and in a new town. The relationship she has with her brother is heartwarming, though she holds a lot of guilt over him finding her overdosing. Stepsister Piper is just as annoying as you'd expect a ten year old to be from the eyes of an older sibling.

The ending was somewhat abrupt and I could have used an epilogue to provide a little more closure for the characters and town. Perhaps a sequel?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Mental illness, and Racism

Moderate: Child death, Death, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, and Gaslighting

Minor: Confinement and Fire/Fire injury