Reviews with content warning for Death - White Smoke

holy shit. That was a wild ride and i loved every second of it! I was on edge the whole time! It felt a little basic but over all it was brilliant! the end was a good twist tho and i absolutely loved it! I also rly liked the commentary on gentrification.

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catsandbookstacks's review against another edition

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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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peachani's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

My biggest gripe is the ending. I would have liked to see what happened directly after the events of the last chapter, when

Spoiler

The Foundation is finally exposed

. Maybe the author left it ambiguous because in real life, those with money, power and privilege usually win.

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madisone's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

4.25

Tiffany D. Jackson can never fail. The writing is this book was fast paced and descriptive. The spooky atmosphere and the mystery aspect blended in perfectly with a narrative about forgiving past mistakes and family love. I loved Sammy and Buddy entirely, and I still can’t make myself like Alec and Piper very much no matter how hard I try. This was a great October book.

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danaslitlist's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

3.5

Never in my life have I wanted to kick a child more than I wanted to kick Piper.

This is my second book by Tiffany D Jackson after reading The Weight of Blood and I think that did this one a disservice. Because I absolutely loved TWoB so much it was going to be hard for any book by her to be as good. It’s not that White Smoke isn’t entertaining, it’s just that TWoB was so great this one pales a bit in comparison.

However! I highly recommend this one as well. This is the tension and gaslighting of Rebecca meets the eeriness and unsettling atmosphere of Get Out. There were plenty of moments that had the hairs standing up on the back of neck and me shaking my head saying “nope nope nope”, in the best way. Marigold is unreliable, unlikable character (for the first half) who gets you on her side due to the behavior of the majority of her family. I think this works really well to allow the reader to feel isolated and trapped within the events just like Mari.

I think the ending was a bit sudden and wish there was more of a dedicated conclusion but for those who don’t mind that type of conclusion there won’t be a problem.

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kyrstin_p1989's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

3.5

Creepy. Upsetting. Real. This book is about a haunted house in a community that has been destroyed by greed, power, classism and racism. My heart was in my throat several times. Great YA horror story.

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