Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson

2 reviews

pandact's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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

4.0

It took a while for me to get invested and creeped out, but that was even better with the themes of this elevated horror.

Tiffany D. Jackson has mastered characters that are a little too realistic to be either likable or unlikable, and

the shift in the way people talk about weed is another example of this. The whole indica vs sativa thing worked for the characters, but wasn't an excuse or a neat fix. The ending didn't resolve everything either, so Wendell & Wild will be my headcanon conclusion until White Smoke gets a sequel. Did anyone else think she referenced movies that hadn't come out yet in 2021?

Dollhouse is the perfect song for characters dealing with the Sterling stuff (and even the haunting itself), but apparently Melanie Martinez has been accused of sexual assault 😬

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Addiction and Drug use

emily_mh's review

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. 

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Content Warnings

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

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

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

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.