A brilliant blend of horror and social justice elements! Tiffany D. Jackson continues to deliver captivating novels with characters that draw the reader in, bringing entertainment and teaching empathy at the same time.

Marigold ODed in California so her recently blended family, including Mpm, brother Sammy, step-dad Alec and stepsister Piper jump at the chance to start over in a burned out Midwestern industrial city where they’ve won a rent free renovated home.

Mari has promised to stay off drugs but there’s the usual new kid in school issues, her residual anxiety and paranoia that led to drug use in the first place, and the truly weird noises, smells, and classic signs of haunting that terrify her and make staying away from pot use so very hard.

Horror story readers will feel perfectly at home, but the real strength is the way that systemic racism becomes part of the intricately layered terror of the tale.

My teen readers LOVED THIS BOOK. It was their first choice for book club and gave us so much to talk about: mental health, relationships, and racism. In addition it was SCARY!

This is a book about Marigold and her family moving to a new town. They are a little concerned when they get to their new house and it is the only house on the street that is not run down and abandoned. As they settle into their new house strange things begin happening.
Well folks I often shy away from horror but not only did I manage to read this whole book I even read some of it at night. This book was scary and dark but I could not put it down. I was glued to the page. I relay loved it and if the ending wasn't so abrupt I would have given it five stars.

Billed as: "The Haunting of Hill House meets Get Out in this chilling YA psychological thriller and modern take on the classic haunted house story."

This description could not be more apt! Super creepy atmosphere and such a compelling story.

I originally requested White Smoke back before it came out, hoping to read it around Halloween given it's creepy nature. But I failed to read it in time for the spooky season and though I would have liked the vibe when the weather was dark and creepy and crisp I didn't want to wait until next fall to get to it. And I am so glad that I didn't wait and a little mad that I didn't read it when I'd originally planned!

White Smoke, Tiffany D. Jackson's first dip into horror, was perfect. It was definitely creepy and had a good amount of both real and imagined dangers. I really liked the characters and how everything was set up and was so surprised at the twist towards the end. I had not seen it coming!

The only issue I had was that I almost wished there about another 20-40 pages tacked onto the end with more of the aftermath and resolution for what happened.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and hope Jackson writes more horror in the future.

I’m a huge fan of Tiffany Jackson! Not a big fan of fantasy but I gave it a chance and enjoyed it. There was so much suspense!

White Smoke is so much more than a ghost story. Tiffany Jackson spins a fine tale but she is not going to let her reader get comfortable for one second with injustice. This books is a masterpiece and Jackson is a master.

Marigold is running from her old life, and even though it’s boring, Cedarville might be the new start that she (and her blended family) needs. Her mom has just become an artist in residence for this sleepy town, and it comes with free housing. It’s just for a while, until they get back on their feet and settle into this new life, but Marigold isn’t the only one with old ghosts, nor is she the only one hiding secrets. The more she uncovers about Cedarville, the more danger she and her family may be in, not to mention the household items that vanish, the doors that open on their own, lights turning off, shadows walking past rooms, voices 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.

This is a huge change from the last book I read by Jackson, Grown, and I loved the change of pace, tone, and subject matter. Lady’s got range! I’m here for everything this book is about, representation, black girls doing their thing and overcoming their obstacles, creepy/unexplainable things happening, potential conspiracies. This book has got it all. I love YA for its possibilities. Plus, I love to see kids seeing themselves in literature, learning that they have very grown up problems, and that it’s okay to not have your sh*t together all the time. Everyone messes up, but living by your values and doing what’s right are the important things. Plus, I love a good ghost.

This one’s been out for a while, and I’ll confess I waited to read it in print, because I’ve had an aversion to screens after long days at work, but I loved holding the library book in my hand, turning pages rapidly, getting lost in the story, and finishing it sooner than I would have liked (I always want more). Definitely check it, and Grown, out. I can’t wait to see what Jackson does next!

Great, impactful book. The students at my library have loved reading this since we've had it in our collection.

I was really excited to get this book. I love hauted houses and towns that aren't quite right. The novel starts off super exciting, and I feel Mari's trepidation. The book is pretty exciting... up until its abrupt end. I'm not one to have things drag on, but there needed to be maybe 20-40 more pages to this book. I also still didn't like Piper. I appreciated the development of their relationship over this book, but she was still obnoxious. However, overall it was a good story. It just needed a proper finale!

Tiffany D. Jackson has done it again! I’ve really enjoyed her other books (Monday’s Not Coming and Grown) and White Smoke was so creepy good! Pitched as “Get Out meets The Haunting of Hill House”, it follows the story of Mari and her newly-blended family moving to a new town, into an old house in an “up and coming” area. Poignant moments about race, gentrification, and mental health. A few things I wanted to find out how it plays out that didn’t get resolved but overall I really enjoyed this book

This book is creepy and fast-paced. I can't wait to recommend this title to high schoolers in my library.

To this day I think Allegedly was one of the best debuts I've ever read, so I know Tiffany Jackson has it in her to do really interesting things. This felt like two separate books, a ghost story and then one that was meant to have social commentary, and she couldn't figure out how to successfully merge the two. That, plus Marigold just being unlikable, plus an ending that was incredibly abrupt, meant this wasn't a winner for me.

White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson opens as a family is arriving at their new home. They've moved away from problems and into a house with problems of its own. The family includes a teen girl, Marigold, her younger brother Sammy, and their stepsister Piper. Marigold's and Sammy's mother married Piper's father. Mari has a past that she wants to forget. Sammy is an honest and loyal brother. Piper seems to be favored by her father. When weird things start happening in their new home, they don't know what to think. Mari thinks she might be hallucinating when she's sees a blackened hand reach into her shower but suspects Piper when items are misplaced. The neighborhood is odd and no one really will talk to them. They just stare. Creepy house, creepy neighborhood and something just feels off to Mari. This is a creepy read that I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend! 5 stars!

Sometimes moving can give you a clean start and other times it makes you face the ghost you are trying to run away from. White smoke is a visceral thriller that will have readers questioning if there are ghosts in their homes. This book is a mash-up of paranormal activity and Get Out, giving readers a satisfying thriller. To say Marigold is flawed would be an understatement, but through all the flaws she is authentic and relatable. She is portrayed as a real teenager and does not skirt away from heavy topics. Nor does it try to paint the teens in a fake light, they are who they are. The thriller aspect is felt on every page and keeps the reader wanting more. The only flaw is the abrupt ending which may leave the reader unsettled.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Oh boy. Where do I start with this. I wanted to love this book so much. I love this author's work. But this did not work for me. I didn't enjoy reading about a teen that highly focused on weed and growing it and that obsession. The hauntedness, mystery aspect was well done. The character was frustrating and insensitive to those around her. The ending felt like it cut off mid sentence. I will still pick up more from this author but this one was definitely my least favorite.

Everyone should read White Smoke. It's a book that leads with hard issues in way too good to be real. I was not expecting this one to have a serious story behind. It's creepy!

Thank you Katherine Teagan Books, HarperCollins Children’s Books for this eARC via netgalley.

2.5 / 5 stars

Dnf at 70 percent.

This book was quite a frustrating read. While I was intrigued by the haunting and sinister vibe this just was not the book for me. There was so much repetition and focus on drugs and smoking, in my opinion, that was to the extreme at times. This book almost felt like it was two different story types at times. While I did like some of the conversations with these topics it just did not provide as much of an impact due to other inclusion which kind of seemed to offset the other.

I did like the discussion of anxiety but I also feel that it too got lost with some of the other things present in the novel. I also cannot say that I really liked any of these characters much. Overall this book was not something I enjoyed much at all.

Sooo this story had moments of complete terror for me, and anyone who loves a good ghost story should check it out. A Gothic ghost story mixed in with a family drama with a dash of some really good points about redlining and gentrification. That is how I would sum up this new horror novel from one of my favorite YA Thriller authors.