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A review by starrysteph
White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
i launched into white smoke ready to LOVE it. and i did have fun! there were things that jackson did really, really well (i’d love to explore her other books). but there were a lot of loose threads and big misses for me.
the good:
- atmospheric horror and good building of tension; plus the haunted house elements and general “eerie” feelings
- the commentary on gentrification and criminalization of weed (and the general war on drugs) and manipulation by those in power were well-integrated and definitely digestible for young readers (sometimes a little too hard hitting for adult readers).
- great characterization of our lead, marigold. i felt like we really got to know her.
- exploration of a blended family & the sweetest sibling relationship between marigold and sammy
the not-as-good:
- i was physically pained at the way marigold was treated by her family. it was so heartbreaking to watch them villainize her instead of HELP her. this girl had severe, severe anxiety and paranoia. at not one point does her mother try to bring her to a therapist or get her professional help, and no one explores any further way of supporting her. she’s so desperate to heal her trauma that she is hyper fixating on weed .. and her family (who should be her support system) are just calling her a junkie / drug addict every chance they get. why on earth wouldn’t her parents support her (maybe look into medical marijuana so she could access it safely)?!
- the opening was very, very slow and WAY too much of mari’s internal dialogue was focused on weed and bed bugs. the repetition was hard to get through. there were scary things happening around her .. but she didn’t really decide to get involved until the second half of the book. why was the first 30% SO slow and only for us to get one of the most abrupt thriller endings i’ve ever read?
- while the commentary i mentioned above was great, jackson falls a bit into the trap of wanting to say SO many things (gentrification, war on drugs, mental health, mass incarceration, televangelism, etc. etc.) at once that several threads started getting lost. it ended up getting a little messy.
- i guessed the ending pretty much immediately, which made me frown at some of the bigger plot holes during the buildup. predictability isn’t a negative for me, but the issues with the “twist” were. i also think jackson could have had a bit more fun here; the buildup of horror was so great that i wanted to be a little more shocked and delighted at the ending.
- finally, i felt that the character of piper was a little too “adult-cartoon-villain” level cruel at the start. it was unbelievable .. i wished she’d been given a little more depth at the start. and mari’s treatment of her & the way she spoke about her was so sad, too. like .. definitely call out alec for his bad behavior. don’t be so hateful to the 10 yr old kid who suffered a major loss and has been hopping around from place to place! i wished mari came around to her sooner. i would have loved some sister moments.
CW: racism, panic attacks/disorders, drug use, addiction, fire/injuries from fire, death, phobias
the good:
- atmospheric horror and good building of tension; plus the haunted house elements and general “eerie” feelings
- the commentary on gentrification and criminalization of weed (and the general war on drugs) and manipulation by those in power were well-integrated and definitely digestible for young readers (sometimes a little too hard hitting for adult readers).
- great characterization of our lead, marigold. i felt like we really got to know her.
- exploration of a blended family & the sweetest sibling relationship between marigold and sammy
the not-as-good:
- i was physically pained at the way marigold was treated by her family. it was so heartbreaking to watch them villainize her instead of HELP her. this girl had severe, severe anxiety and paranoia. at not one point does her mother try to bring her to a therapist or get her professional help, and no one explores any further way of supporting her. she’s so desperate to heal her trauma that she is hyper fixating on weed .. and her family (who should be her support system) are just calling her a junkie / drug addict every chance they get. why on earth wouldn’t her parents support her (maybe look into medical marijuana so she could access it safely)?!
- the opening was very, very slow and WAY too much of mari’s internal dialogue was focused on weed and bed bugs. the repetition was hard to get through. there were scary things happening around her .. but she didn’t really decide to get involved until the second half of the book. why was the first 30% SO slow and only for us to get one of the most abrupt thriller endings i’ve ever read?
- while the commentary i mentioned above was great, jackson falls a bit into the trap of wanting to say SO many things (gentrification, war on drugs, mental health, mass incarceration, televangelism, etc. etc.) at once that several threads started getting lost. it ended up getting a little messy.
- i guessed the ending pretty much immediately, which made me frown at some of the bigger plot holes during the buildup. predictability isn’t a negative for me, but the issues with the “twist” were. i also think jackson could have had a bit more fun here; the buildup of horror was so great that i wanted to be a little more shocked and delighted at the ending.
- finally, i felt that the character of piper was a little too “adult-cartoon-villain” level cruel at the start. it was unbelievable .. i wished she’d been given a little more depth at the start. and mari’s treatment of her & the way she spoke about her was so sad, too. like .. definitely call out alec for his bad behavior. don’t be so hateful to the 10 yr old kid who suffered a major loss and has been hopping around from place to place! i wished mari came around to her sooner. i would have loved some sister moments.
CW: racism, panic attacks/disorders, drug use, addiction, fire/injuries from fire, death, phobias
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
minor animal injury