Tiffany D. Jackson is one of the best authors in YA fiction today. In White Smoke, it's a perfect blend of psychological thriller and horror exploring gentrification, mental health, and systematic racism. The story ends up being incredibly poignant, while staying entertaining from start to finish. Highly recommended to readers looking for something fresh and scary this October. Be sure to check out White Smoke today!

White Smoke was a YA Thriller that took me on a rollercoaster ride. The beginning was a slow and steady crawl with a few bumps of suspicion as it eased toward the middle. Once the story was over the hill, I was reading full speed ahead. It's safe to say I enjoyed the book...until it just ended abruptly. I wasn't looking for a "bow-tied" ending, but I was expecting something more than what I read. I've read three other books by Tiffany and was afraid that this would continue the pattern where the twist was in the last chapter. However, the ending was just flat and if it wasn't, it would be perfect.

Will be published on Forever Young Adult on July 26, 2022.

Content Warnings: If you have a phobia of bedbugs you may want to avoid this. Like, seriously. Book contains discussions of addition, drugs and overdose, mental illness, racism, and murder.

Cover Story: Creeptastic

This cover is so pretty and yet vaguely creepy. I love the look on the girl’s face as she stares at the reader and the colorful smoke swirling around her hair. No notes!

The Deal:

Marigold’s current, psychologist-approved motto is that “change is good, change is needed, change is necessary.” She’s put her family (mom and new step-dad, plus her BFF little bro and her manipulative B of a step-sister) through a lot of the last year, so she goes along with a move from the California coast to the Mid-West where her mom has won a cushy job that also gives them use of a home rent-free.

Cedarville is in the midst of a makeover after economic downturns and drugs have ravaged the town’s population. In addition, there’s been multiple fires (possibly caused by riots, but let’s not discuss that) that destroyed most of the street Mari’s family now lives on. Their house is newly renovated, but there’s some strange things afoot: The construction crew has alarms to drop everything and leave at 5pm on the dot. The foreman tells everyone they are not allowed in the basement. And everywhere she goes, Mari feels like she’s being watched or finds objects sitting out where they shouldn’t be.

But ghosts aren’t real, right? And there’s certainly nothing wrong with this supposedly idyllic little town…right?

BFF Charm: Nay

Oooh boy. There is a lot to unpack about Mari. Mari has had a ROUGH year: a bedbug infestation, psychosis, addiction and its aftermath, and a shitty boyfriend who betrays her. Not to mention that as we went further into her story and watched how her family reacted to her issues, I felt like she was not getting the proper amount of mental health counseling she needed. So I have a lot of sympathy for her, and I know she isn’t at her best. But that doesn’t mean I’m willing to just hand over a BFF charm either, and a lot of that has to do with how she treats others and her obsession with pot (more on that below). I understand with Mari’s extreme anxiety why she wants to smoke constantly, but having to be in her head while she makes dumb decisions surrounding her all-consuming acquisition of pot…it’s not for me.

Swoonworthy Scale: 3

There are way more girls than guys at Mari’s school. Of course, being new and acting uninterested means she catches the eye of Yusef, the most popular single dude around. Mari is standoffish, but they slowly bond over a love of gardening and Yusef’s adorable personality. However, Yusef—for reasons that are revealed—really dislikes drug use, and Mari’s rekindled passion for gardening is because she wants to grow her own pot plants, so…it’s hard to swoon when you know there’s probably a blow-up coming. Also, with everything else going on, there isn’t time for this to be a big kissing book.

Talky Talk: A Slow Descent Into Mediocrity

So right off, the spooky vibe was on point. Bad smells coming from the vents, unexplained movement around the house, the ever-present feeling that someone is watching you when you’re alone. Jackson set us up for an excellently creepy mystery. But, unfortunately, it just didn’t quite come together in a satisfying way.

There were SO many threads to weave together—discussions of mental health, the hauntings at the house, the mystery of the town’s history and too-good-to-be-true future (which in itself contained multiple topics like gentrification, racism, and corporate corruption), Mari’s step-sister Piper’s escalating actions and their family dynamic—and there wasn’t enough to pull them all together in a cohesive tapestry.

The ending was (kind of) unexpected and intense, but it literally also ended at the WEIRDEST moment—way too abrupt with zero wrap-up. We needed an epilogue to pull everything together into one perspective and perhaps get a little comfort after such a heavy story.

Bonus Factor: Blended Families

It’s not like Mari’s new family dynamic is anything to emulate, but there’s a lot of interesting friction between how Mari’s Black mom has raised Mari and Sam and how her White step-father dotes on his ten-year-old daughter, and if they can become a cohesive unit. Like everything else, though, it felt too surface-level and didn’t feel explored deeply enough to make any kind of point or observation.

Factor: Horror

Jackson keeps you on your toes about whether or not it is a supernatural event taking place in Marigold’s house, but, regardless, there is clearly something happening, and it freaks Mari out so much she doesn’t sleep and obsesses over getting high to chillax. But yet her internal monologue the day after she’s watched a door slowly open by itself or witnesses a hand trying to open the shower curtain (moments that left her FREAKED at the time) does not line up. She’s like, oh whatever! It’s all fine! Jackson tries to make me believe that she has fallen sleep every time she’s watched a scary movie with her brother and apparently has then never heard of any horror tropes, but I don’t buy it, not when it feels like Mari is supposed to live in today’s world.

Also, side-note: they have a dog, and I just want to tell you now the dog survives. #sorrynotsorry for that “spoiler” but anytime there’s a family pet in a horror setting I’m always on edge. It’s a trope I hate.

Anti-Bonus Factor: Racism

I don’t want to touch upon this too much since it’s part of the mystery, but Jackson works in a lot of commentary about small towns and their troubled pasts, gentrification, unfair laws, the prison system, and a whole host of things that I wish would’ve been explored more deeply.

Anti-Bonus Factor: Drugs

Now, look, I am for legalization (get that tax, use it for good) and medical use of marijuana, and even if you want to just be high for funsies, you do you, boo. That does not mean I want to hang out with you while you do it though, because in my personal past experiences, people who are obsessed with pot make it their entire personality and it’s the most boring effing thing in the world to me. So I found myself rolling my eyes at Mari a LOT, and it definitely soured my perception of her (though this is where I felt the mental health support was majorly lacking because she was turning to getting high as a way of coping as her anxiety was still clearly on-going). I appreciated that Jackson wasn’t trying to condemn or promote drug use, but rather explore the real-world reasons one may like or dislike it and let you draw your own conclusions.

Relationship Status: One And Done

Our date started off promising, but as we sipped our lattes and discussed our pasts, I realized there was just something that didn’t fit, and I think you realized it too because you snuck out the back exit and didn’t even say goodbye. Rude, but I’ll get over it.

FTC Full Disclosure: I received my free review copy from Katherine Tegen Books. I received neither money nor peanut butter cups in exchange for this review. White Smoke is available now.

I enjoyed this YA thriller. We follow a blended family, told from Mari’s POV, as they move to a new town for a fresh start. But once there everything isn’t as charming as it first appeared. Most of the town is in a state of disrepair, things go missing, and people want nothing to do with the the house they moved into. Is it all in her head or is something not right? The story moved at a great pace and kept you wondering what would happen next. I would have liked a little bit more closure at the ending, the book seemed to end in the middle of a scene. But I didn’t want to put the book down. Thanks to NetGalley for providing an arc!

This book opened my eyes to the judicial system so much. With so many students having parents in jail, many for petty theft or small amounts of drugs, I feel they can seriously relate to this book. Such a good recommendation for boys too!

I could not get into this book. The entire story was rather convoluted. I like this author, I know she had good intentions for this story, but it was a mess.

Such a great new twist on horror! I haven't read other horror books quite like this. I love a good spooky story, but one with social consciousness and messages about mass incarceration and racism hit in an entirely different way. Horror can feel like a genre that's "light", not in terms of content, but in terms of impact. But this book provides plenty of scare and tons of impact at the same time.

Marigold is a tricky character to root for at times. She makes a lot of questionable decisions and hurts people in the process. But as you get to know her and find out the things that she's been through and the many ways that she herself has been hurt, you become so sympathetic to her and her story. And the setting of this book, in the fictional town of Cedarville, was incredibly dynamic. Cedarville was a character unto itself! The abandoned homes, the wariness of the neighbors, the troubling history all fed into the dark vibes and the strong message of the story.

I really enjoyed this book and it's already been popular with my students!

Moving to a new town, into a haunted house? What could go wrong? When Marigold’s family moves to a new town, for a fresh start, shes anything but excited. After a traumatizing event, she’s constantly followed by the mistakes and memories of her past. Will her mistakes ruin any chances she has in her new town?

This book was good. Dropping the reader right into the action, this book was fast paced and filled with suspense. While I don’t think this was the best YA thriller I’ve read, I’m definitely interested in reading some of Tiffany D. Jackson’s other works !!

Her writing is beyond amazing. It’s the type of writing you’d expect for a YA book and a quick read! It’s the type of writing that keeps you interested.

However, I do think this book could have used some more plot twists! Despite the ending being more or less unfulfilling, it was a great quick read, perfect for spooky season!

I also really wish we could’ve gotten more background to the characters and their stories!! What’s gonna happen with Erika? What about Yusef and Mari? I wish there was an epilogue!! This could’ve given us an insight to Piper and Mari’s relationship’s development. Overall a bunch of things were left unanswered. Not sure if this means we’re getting a sequel, but I’m all for it!

Suspense mixed with the traditional plot twist you expect from Tiffany Jackson. My students love this book.

Tiffany D Jackson is such a gifted writer. She keeps people guessing in all her books. White Smoke had me trying to figure it out the whole time. I was a little shocked about the mystery. Great book!

Marigold’s blended family has just relocated from the sunny California coast to the run-down midwestern town of Cedarville. Their historic house, still under renovation, is part of her mother’s Grow Where You’re Planted residency with the Sterling Foundation. As the artist-in-residence, Raquel and her family will live in the home for free. Free housing means less debt, which is important after Mari’s recent stay at Strawberry Pines Rehabilitation Center. From the first page, it’s clear that she is facing real mental health challenges: programming medication reminders on her phone, repeating calming mantras, and obsessing about bedbugs. Meanwhile, Mari observes unexplained noises and disturbances in the house, including strange smells and items disappearing. The desolate neighborhood adds to the spooky ambiance. Jackson, a prolific and versatile author, is known for her real-life inspiration and plot twists. Indeed, many episodes in this haunted house story are based on real reported ghostly incidents. She also brings elements of a psychological thriller to her first horror novel.

I was nervous about starting to read this book because I am not much of a horror fan, but Tiffany managed to write a beautifully lyrical novel that touches upon so many aspects of the Black American experience along with issues of mental health. There were a few spots where I wonder about the message, like the easy forgiving of her step-father's racism, but this can lead to great discussions in classes.

Only now do I realise I completely forgot to write a review for White Smoke – maybe I was still too freaked out?
Anyway, even though it's way later than expected, thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an early copy of White Smoke.

Even though it's been a few months, this was one of those books that you don't really forget easily!
I love how it's been compared to Jordan Peele's movies – I feel like that's completely spot on. It's not horror that's overtly gory, or relies on jump scares (I know, I know, jump scares in books are pretty rare). Rather, it relies on a feeling of terror that clings on as long as you keep reading, and even after you've closed your book.

Tiffany Jackson is definitely one of those authors that always succeeds in making me completely engrossed in her books. I can't wait for the next one!

I had so much fun with this book. I read it mostly while on the treadmill and it was so fast paced, it kept my mind fully occupied. Yes, this is marketed as YA but I’m sure older readers will enjoy it as well.

Haunted house? Downtrodden neighborhood? It’s just such a great book; I don’t want to give away anything else. Check it out if you’re looking for a spooky, fast read.

What can I say that has not already been said? Tiffany D. Jackson is the writer of the generation and I will continue to recommend everything she writes to anyone who will listen to me. I’m a sucker for a good haunted house story and this definitely delivered!

Tiffany has done it again! This is a real page-turner. Just like Allegedly and Monday’s Not Coming, it’s full of surprises that you didn’t think of and keeps you talking out loud to the characters. You really get into the characters and start to have the same feelings and sentiments about Piper and her shenanigans. I definitely wanted to smack her smile off her face a couple of times. This definitely needs to be made I to a movie but what I need most is to know what happened to Mr. Sterling and his trifling Foundation. I know it doesn’t end like this. It can’t. I have so many questions. Lol.

Tiffany Jackson does it again! This is a must read! I will definitely add this book to our library collection!

It honestly love Tiffany B. Jackson's writing.. I just did not connect with this book. The main character keeps mentioning how she thinks everything is bed bugs and that got to be a bit annoying. The MC suffered major trauma in her life and she needed to deal with. It was bothersome to me because she was trying to self medicate and that her mom didn’t see that therapy was necessary. This story felt slow in places and then too fast in others. Loved the idea but there were issues that were troubling.. The ending was disappointing. I recommend other books by Tiffany B. Jackson and will continue to follow her as an author.

This book is so good I bought multiple copies for our library during the Halloween season. Since then, they haven't spent more than an hour on the shelf. Spooky, gripping, and written with Jackson's usual power of prose, this book is absolutely phenomenal. I look forward to her next turn with horror!

Wow. Just wow. Is there anything Tiffany D. Jackson can't write. When Mari and her famile move to a new town they bring so much baggage. Mari is struggling with addiction recovery, her brother is struggling with his parents divorce, and Mari's stepsister Piper is getting on her last nerve. Mari is skeptical of her surroundings, but it's unclear if it is from being burned by friends in the past, moving across the country, or her new stepdad .... or all of the above. Her haunted house turns into a long town mystery she is determined to solve.

As a middle grades/middle school teacher, I would not put this book in my classroom library due to the drug content. I found it too above what I am comfortable having available on my own bookshelf; however, I would recommend for high school teachers and mature readers who can understand Mari's addiction consumes her life, but also helps her to grow confidence in her recovery and her friendships.

Highly recommend! 4.5/5 stars. The ending left me hanging, but I couldn't put it down!