I bought this book because it was advertised as horror and I wanted a horror book, but it was a bit disappointing because I didn’t find it scary. But it was still pretty good!
The book contained a heap of clichés but I think that the author knew that it was very cliché and I liked that about the book. To be honest I haven’t seen/read that much horror before — only parodies of horror — so I can’t really judge White Smoke. But I’m gonna judge it anyway. I think the book was trying to parody the stereotypical horror genre while also being a horror book itself, if that makes sense? But I don’t really think it managed to do both very successfully because whenever there was a “scary” scene I felt by like laughing. I’m sorry. 😭
I also think that the other themes kinda took over the book and didn’t leave enough room for the horror part even though the book was supposed to be horror. I thinking that while it’s good to have multiple layers to the story, the book focused more on the non-horror parts.
Anyway I’ve been very negative in this review so far. The book was still pretty good. It was easy to read and I liked the setting and its backstory. I also liked Marigold as a character because I felt like I related to her quite a bit with her anxiety. I also did like the thing with Piper being a suspicious little brat because it added suspense to the book.
I do feel like the ending could have been a bit more interesting though. There certainly was a plot twist, but I don’t think it was a very good one. It felt a bit like they were trying to make it as PG as possible which I can understand since it’s a YA book but still I was disappointed. I think that a good horror book should have stuff in it that you can’t really explain, however everything in White Smoke was kinda tied up in a nice little logical bow so it felt more like a mystery. That’s all I can really say about the ending without giving spoilers haha.
Even though this book certainly wasn’t my favourite, I think I will read more of the author’s work in the future because some of her other novels look really good!
White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson, 14+* ★★★.5
*This age recommendation is only my opinion. Some younger people might feel comfortable reading this book, and some older people might not. That's fine, either way. Warning for themes of drug use, overdose, sexual references, swearing, anaphylaxis, anxiety, anxiety around bed bugs, violence, gore, arson, mentions of sexual assault, potentially upsetting themes and disturbing themes.
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