The Haunting of Hill House meets Get Out in this chilling YA psychological thriller and modern take on the classic haunted house story from New York Times bestselling author Tiffany D. Jackson!
I was granted eARC access to White Smoke by the publisher via NetGalley in conjunction with the HarperCollins Canada program for YA influencers known as HCC Frenzy. Thank you to all involved in affording me this opportunity! My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.
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About the Book
White Smoke
by Tiffany D. Jackson
Published 14 September 2021
Katherine Tegen Books
Genre: YA Horror
Page Count: 384
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!
The Haunting of Hill House meets Get Out in this chilling YA psychological thriller and modern take on the classic haunted house story from New York Times bestselling author Tiffany D. Jackson!
Marigold is running from ghosts. The phantoms of her old life keep haunting her, but a move with her newly blended family from their small California beach town to the embattled Midwestern city of Cedarville might be the fresh start she needs. Her mom has accepted a new job with the Sterling Foundation that comes with a free house, one that Mari now has to share with her bratty ten-year-old stepsister, Piper.
The renovated picture-perfect home on Maple Street, sitting between dilapidated houses, surrounded by wary neighbors has its . . . secrets. That’s only half the problem: household items vanish, doors open on their own, lights turn off, shadows walk past rooms, voices can be heard in the walls, and there’s a foul smell seeping through the vents only Mari seems to notice. Worse: Piper keeps talking about a friend who wants Mari gone.
But “running from ghosts” is just a metaphor, right?
As the house closes in, Mari learns that the danger isn’t limited to Maple Street. Cedarville has its secrets, too. And secrets always find their way through the cracks.
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My Review
My Rating: 4 Stars
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Oh my goodness, where to start? I was so excited to get access to this book after hearing Tiffany talk about the inspiration behind the story. I love a good haunted house story, and after being absolutely devastated by Tiffany’s emotional storytelling in Grown, I was eager to find out what she would do with a ghost story. I will say this one really came together in the second half, especially the last third, and blew me away! That said, the first half was rocky.
In terms of connecting and empathizing with main character Mari, I ran hot and cold with her. The way Tiffany writes Mari’s extreme anxiety is so convincing and familiar to me and my heart breaks for what Mari goes through. Also, major props to Mari for sticking up for herself in moments when she decided to be a little vulnerable and got ignorant comments in return. “I have anxiety is a complete statement.” is a perfect response to “What do you have to be anxious about?” YES! Mental illness does not discriminate, people! I also love how fiercely Mari cares for and protects her brother Sammy. On the other hand, her addiction issues didn’t consistently have the same genuine feel on the page. Sometimes it worked, Mari’s feelings and motivations felt right, and it pushed the story forward. Other times it just felt forced on the character and didn’t quite work.
The pacing in this book makes a very abrupt change just a little more than halfway through, so perspective readers reading this be aware of that. If you’re liking it, not loving it, and you’re getting hung up on the slow start, push through! If you like the characters, you love Tiffany’s writing, and you’re wondering when it’s going to really turn from like to love, somewhere between 50% and 60%, hang in there.
This book has quite the twist in the final third followed by a very abrupt ending. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’m going to be vague, but I do want to “discuss” to an extent. I both did and didn’t see the twist coming. I guess what I’ll say is I saw where Tiffany was going with it but she went farther and bigger than I imagined. I also want there’s an element to the characters figuring out what’s going on that’s very 90s sleepover ghost story and on that page I was ready to be mad about it, but again, it goes so much farther than that. The twist is so much bigger than that. All was forgiven! In terms of the abrupt ending, we get some major character growth and very important bonding and new understanding between Mari and another important character that was excellent, but we also kind of end with the world on fire, so to speak, and that really flies in the face of how much the growth and understanding feels like an ending. We’ve followed a character arc to a concluding point and got some closure, but the bigger problems aren’t even close to being solved. I think it’s appropriate to the type of horror being written, but I think it’s going to make a lot of readers angry, and I think some ratings are going to come in lower than deserved when reviews get written too quickly because it’s not necessarily what loyal readers might be expecting from this author.
Overall I did really enjoy White Smoke, again particularly the latter half, and I do highly recommend it. It’s not a new OMG amazing 5 star favourite and I’m a little disappointed about that given how much I love some of Tiffany’s other works (especially Grown, I will praise that book forever) but this is very good for the genre and still a solid book overall.
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I referenced Grown a couple of times in that review. Want to read my review of Grown?
I like books and shows about ghost. Thanks for sharing, I’m going to check this book out.
I love Tiffany D. Jackson! I’ve got to check this one out.