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A review by rorikae
White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-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
4.25
'White Smoke' by Tiffany D. Jackson is an eerie haunted house story that delves into the mental health of its main character.
Marigold is dragged along to the Midwest after her mother receives a writing fellowship. Still dealing with the fall out from a traumatic experience last year, she is dealing with the ghosts of her past and the frustrations that come along with having to deal with her stepsister. But then eerie things start happening in their house. On top of her increasing panic attacks, Marigold starts to suspect that something else is going on in their neighborhood and she has to balance wanting to be heard while not giving her family ammunition to question her mental health.
Jackson creates a haunting story that deals with mental health, the broken past of a neighborhood, and the struggles of being a teenager trying to stitch your life back together. Marigold is a deeply flawed but also deeply relatable character that it is easy to root for. Jackson perfectly writes the annoying stepsister, whose presence and actions add another layer to the eeriness of the story. We get hints of what is going on with each encounter that Marigold has and it slowly and deftly builds the tension. There were many moments in this story that freaked me out and I think it is a great October read. I will add that it has very visceral descriptions of panic attacks that are hard to experience but add a lot to how the reader understands Marigold.
I don't know how to feel about the ending. It happened very quickly and I do think there are some pieces that weren't wrapped up. There is one character present throughout the novel that I thought was going to have a larger part to play though his presence did a lot to heighten the off feeling of the world. Even with this hiccup, I still think this is a great read, especially for the fall season, and I recommend the audiobook.
Marigold is dragged along to the Midwest after her mother receives a writing fellowship. Still dealing with the fall out from a traumatic experience last year, she is dealing with the ghosts of her past and the frustrations that come along with having to deal with her stepsister. But then eerie things start happening in their house. On top of her increasing panic attacks, Marigold starts to suspect that something else is going on in their neighborhood and she has to balance wanting to be heard while not giving her family ammunition to question her mental health.
Jackson creates a haunting story that deals with mental health, the broken past of a neighborhood, and the struggles of being a teenager trying to stitch your life back together. Marigold is a deeply flawed but also deeply relatable character that it is easy to root for. Jackson perfectly writes the annoying stepsister, whose presence and actions add another layer to the eeriness of the story. We get hints of what is going on with each encounter that Marigold has and it slowly and deftly builds the tension. There were many moments in this story that freaked me out and I think it is a great October read. I will add that it has very visceral descriptions of panic attacks that are hard to experience but add a lot to how the reader understands Marigold.
I don't know how to feel about the ending. It happened very quickly and I do think there are some pieces that weren't wrapped up. There is one character present throughout the novel that I thought was going to have a larger part to play though his presence did a lot to heighten the off feeling of the world. Even with this hiccup, I still think this is a great read, especially for the fall season, and I recommend the audiobook.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Confinement, Drug use, and Racism