Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson

13 reviews

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

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

psistillreadyou's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Police brutality, Racism, and Gore

Minor: Pedophilia

thatenbyisisreads's review

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.

---

Content Warnings

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

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?

---

Content Warnings

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

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

Minor: Confinement and Fire/Fire injury

madyou's review

mysterious tense

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Cursing, and Mental illness

Moderate: Kidnapping and Medical content

Minor: Death of parent

solenekeleroux's review

dark 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? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Addiction, Blood, Gaslighting, Stalking, Panic attacks/disorders, Fire/Fire injury, and Racism

Moderate: Murder, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Police brutality, Confinement, and Body horror

bookish_ann's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Colonisation, Classism, Child death, Violence, Police brutality, Gaslighting, Addiction, Murder, Drug abuse, Religious bigotry, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Fire/Fire injury

kyrstin_p1989's review

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. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Gaslighting, Murder, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Racism, Police brutality, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Animal cruelty, Death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Addiction, and Panic attacks/disorders

emily_mh's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-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? No

4.5

I could not put this book down! It was so gripping and fast-paced. Jackson did a superb job at crafting a super tense, atmospheric storyline that was rooted in and explored systemic racism. The MC of the story, Mari, was so dynamic and undergoes really meaningful development. I also liked the focus on sibling relationships. I cannot wait to read more of Jackson’s backlog because this has just solidified to me how much I enjoy her writing. 

I docked a half star because at first the plot is a little directionless, and the ending could have done with a bit more resolution. 

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Gore, Classism, Violence, Cursing, Ableism, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Blood, and Kidnapping

Minor: Colonisation, Excrement, Sexism, Transphobia, Vomit, Body shaming, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Medical content, Death, Car accident, Murder, Physical abuse, Animal death, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Rape, Child abuse, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Homophobia, Child death, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Gun violence, and Confinement

Graphic warnings for insects, gentrification, imprisonment, anaphylactic shock, divorce Moderate warnings for eye trauma, sleep paralysis, self injury, blackmail, missing loved one Minor warnings for loss of a loved one, bomb, menstruation, theft Use of the ableist s-slur. It is my understanding there is a different culture around this word in the US? But I don't know why it was not edited out in the UK/Commonwealth copy.

gem114's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

Thank you to HarperCollins Children’s, NetGalley, and author Tiffany D. Jackson for the opportunity to read and review this novel!

White Smoke is a young adult horror novel that touches on gentrification, blended families, drug use/abuse, mental health, and the criminal justice system. 

Marigold’s mother thinks it’s a blessing when she lands a writing fellowship that will give their family the fresh start it needs. When they get to their new home in the midwestern city of Cedarville, Mari starts to think their blessing is more of a curse. Marigold already suffers from acute anxiety, but she really thinks she’s losing her mind when things start going missing, doors open and close on their own, and strange smells fill the house.

Honestly, the horror aspect of this novel genuinely freaked me out. With that said, I had a hard time relating to Mari and felt frustrated that it didn’t seem like she was getting the help she needed to handle her mental health challenges.  In the novel, Mari smokes weed to help combat her anxiety, and her reliance on it definitely makes it more of an addiction. Unfortunately, the writing simply seemed repetitive rather than garnering sympathy or understanding about why a person may turn to drugs for escape.

Overall, it wasn’t my favorite of Jackson’s novels, but it was still an enjoyable read that has valuable messages about systemic issues of gentrification and incarceration. 

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Suicide attempt, Police brutality, and Kidnapping