Reviews

White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson

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leanansidhes's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.25

dairling's review against another edition

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4.0

Listened to the audiobook. Barbarian meets When No One Is Watching.
I will be happy to never hear about bed bugs again. Also omg I get it, weed! I hate when parents have literally no belief in their children, no matter a complex history or not.

elyssam's review against another edition

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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

3.75

For the most part, I really liked this book! It was intense and a little spooky. I like the plot and the character development. But at the same time, there were some disappointing factors. The ending didn’t feel finished and there were a lot of loose threads.

valandthegianttbr's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

i was so hooked by this book!!!! i def recommend the audiobook to really *experience* it, i was so scared & tense the whole time omg

i got spooky eerie “haunting of hill house” vibes — which is super high praise as a hill house stan

i LOOOOVED the combination of classic horror themes (family looking for a new start in a rundown town, old house that’s definitely haunted, hella creepy kid) with real social issues (gentrification, the war on drugs, disproportionate incarceration of Black men). it was done soooo well & added so much depth to the story without making it feel like “too much”

on the other hand, the weed subplot & the absolute audacity of microaggressing ass alec *were* too much for me & i def was exhausted with these two aspects by the end. the ending reveal was also a little disappointing for me, but the way the story ended?! with no epilogue?! my mouth was AGAPE

idk if i can ever go back to basic white scary stories after seeing so many great examples of this (ofc from bipoc creators, s/o to absolute kings jordan peele & stephen graham jones)

what a phenomenal read & audiobook experience, i am fully in spooky szn mode & ready to read tiffany d jackson’s entire backlist now

elinightingale's review against another edition

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5.0

DELICIOUSSSSS

emi_book_stack's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-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

3.0

pointeshoebookworm's review against another edition

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dark 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

5.0

Content Warnings

chyreads29's review

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4.0

I am a Tiffany Jackson stan. I think she is brilliant at writing suspenseful stories that keep you on your toes. I also really love paranormal horror and psychological thrillers. So, naturally, I was very excited to read this book. And I was HOOKED....for like 80% of it. The story takes a bit to build but in a good way. Mari is such an interesting and messy character. And her (evil) baby stepsister, Piper, really embodies her role. I thought the conversations about gentrification and the criminalization of weed were done very well. To be quite honest, these conversations are what is keeping me from rating this 3 stars. The ending let me down. And not because it ends on a cliffhanger and this is a stand-alone novel, but because it was not the ending I was lead to believe was going to happen after 300+ pages. I don't think it was the best fit. And I know, Tiffany is known for her plot twists. And though I understand the ending she wrote, I just didn't love it. I enjoyed this though and I hope Tiffany continues to play around in this genre!

catherinewyatt's review

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No

1.0

greywolfheir's review against another edition

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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

Content Warnings

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