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A review by year23
White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I’m working on finishing all of Jackson’s books.
This is the weakest by far. The pacing is horrendous, in part due to the repetition of creepy things without any real escalation until the very end. It’s rare for a horror or suspense book to be boring but this is exactly that.
I also just don’t get why this family never considers therapy. Not a single person is like, hey, maybe this teen who struggles with ocd and medicates that behavior needs help. The parents are the actual horror here.
The ending is ridiculous - it’s the second haunted house book I’ve read this year with this EXACT ending so it was both not surprising/twist and also Unearned - the foundation for this was not laid at all.
And characterization - the lack of character development is stark, making the ending less impactful and unsatisfying.
I love this genre so I know I have a high bar, but I beg of authors - you can have horror without all your characters acting completely stupidly and with no sense. Get out is scary precisely because characters are smart, catch on, and then work to outsmart others. I’m just so tired of this showing up in horror cause it’s not scary - it’s enraging/frustrating and honestly cuts against the bigger socio cultural political themes being teased out.
Anyway - if you want a great horror from this author, read The Weight of Blood or even Allegedly. This was a big miss for me and I am so glad i read it later cause I may have missed the many gems from this author.
Another great example of horror (plus comedy) where your characters aren’t stupid but still create real fear and also talk about social issues - The Blackening. I know this can be done so authors take note!
This is the weakest by far. The pacing is horrendous, in part due to the repetition of creepy things without any real escalation until the very end. It’s rare for a horror or suspense book to be boring but this is exactly that.
I also just don’t get why this family never considers therapy. Not a single person is like, hey, maybe this teen who struggles with ocd and medicates that behavior needs help. The parents are the actual horror here.
The ending is ridiculous - it’s the second haunted house book I’ve read this year with this EXACT ending so it was both not surprising/twist and also Unearned - the foundation for this was not laid at all.
And characterization - the lack of character development is stark, making the ending less impactful and unsatisfying.
I love this genre so I know I have a high bar, but I beg of authors - you can have horror without all your characters acting completely stupidly and with no sense. Get out is scary precisely because characters are smart, catch on, and then work to outsmart others. I’m just so tired of this showing up in horror cause it’s not scary - it’s enraging/frustrating and honestly cuts against the bigger socio cultural political themes being teased out.
Anyway - if you want a great horror from this author, read The Weight of Blood or even Allegedly. This was a big miss for me and I am so glad i read it later cause I may have missed the many gems from this author.
Another great example of horror (plus comedy) where your characters aren’t stupid but still create real fear and also talk about social issues - The Blackening. I know this can be done so authors take note!