Reviews tagging 'Classism'

White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson

24 reviews

pagesofplatypus's review against another edition

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

brittonmc1221's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

maresuju's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Confinement, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

chris_reads's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious tense slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Drug use and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Racism, Self harm, Stalking, and Classism

achay91's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Drug use, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Violence, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

Minor: Toxic relationship

greywolfheir's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Blood, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Medical content, Kidnapping, and Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, and Confinement

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

caughtbetweenpages's review against another edition

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

3.25

Not my favorite Tiffany D Jackson book, but still really, really good! Setting Marigold up as an unreliable narrator was an excellent decision in terms of adding to the sense of dread throughout the novel, not only because you couldn't tell whether the horror elements/the supernatural was in her head or real until closer to the end of the story. The looming, constant presence of a darkness both internal and external kept the suspense up throughout, and made me genuinely worried for this child who is regularly ignored or disbelieved by the adults in her life. I wish that some of the interpersonal character relationships were treated differently; I don't think this story needed a romance element, and that in fact it detracted from page space that could better have been spent developing Mari's familial bonds with her siblings (esp. with Piper; I feel like we should've known more about that from the jump), and that the complicated and sometimes shitty way Mari treats all her friends would've been betrayal enough in Yousef's eyes without adding in the element of "he has a crush on her and feels used and betrayed". The twist of the

rich white folks planning to take over the town, push out the Black population, and use the citizens themselves to burn down a neighborhood to make the takeover easier

felt incredibly real, and I loved the ending note of the story was one of taking action against it. This story was about Mari surviving. What comes after is a different story, one that may be even more fraught. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Racism and Classism