White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson

 

White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson

I gave White Smoke by Tiffany Jackson 4 out of 5 pages.

White Smoke can be classified as a YA horror novel with underlying themes of racial inequality, injustice, socioeconomic disparity, gentrification, and criminalization of addicts and recreational drug users.

The reader is introduced to Marigold and her blended family; her mother, her younger brother Sammy, step-father Alec, and younger step-sister Piper, along with Buddy the dog. The family moved from California to a small area known as Cedarville after her mother receives an opportunity of a lifetime. It is a much needed escape for Marigold, who is running from her own demons, only to find she ran right into more demons.

Marigold starts to experience some strange occurrences in the house and begins to believe the house is haunted. It doesn’t help that no one believe Marigold except for Yusef, a potential love interest in the story. As more and more occurrences happen, Marigold’s family begins to think her past demons are what fueling the current demons Marigold is experiencing. As the story progresses, Marigold starts to uncover even more creepiness surrounding the town, the houses in her neighborhood and the Foundation that offered her mother the opportunity of a lifetime. Marigold’s research and perseverance leads to a twist no one can possibly see coming.

White Smoke, at first, felt very repetitive, with a lot of emphasis on Marigold’s past and her mental health. I did find myself questioning when we would get to more information about the house and the eeriness of it all. I found Tiffany Jackson was able to incorporate a lot of much needed topics that were relevant to the present, however, I felt as though she skimmed over these topics instead of offering a little more depth into them such as the criminalization of addicts or the racial injustice that was occurring in the area. I think a lot of twists and turns were left untidy and glazed over. I really loved the twist towards the end of the novel. It was nothing that was predictable and it really set the novel up for a possible sequel should Jackson decide to continue on with Marigold’s story.

As far the characters in White Smoke, I felt they were lacking some depth, other than Marigold, however, I think they were developed enough to give a good sense of their personality. The way Jackson portrays Piper added to the element of creepiness and I think she personally could’ve ran with it more and really honed in on the possession element she alludes to. I also would’ve preferred that she upped the haunted house factor. It was descriptive, but again, at times it appeared elementary and glossed over. The real reason I rated this a four and not a three, was solely for the twist that hits later on. Sure, it has been done before in other books, however, it was not something expected for this novel and it left me with so many questions and wanting more.

I would highly recommend reading White Smoke if you’re looking for an easy read with the characteristics of horror, creepiness and everyday issues currently plaguing our world.