Tiffany D. Jackson is such a masterful writer and THE WEIGHT OF BLOOD is an outstanding addition to the books she's written so far. Toward the middle of this novel, I was pretty sure I knew where everything was headed--and then I remembered "This is a Tiffany D. Jackson book!" There were lots of surprises and turns that proved me very wrong--and the one thing I did guess right didn't matter because the journey to the end was well worth it. THE WEIGHT OF BLOOD is an excellent, timely retelling that brings so many current issues to a boil in a small town that could be anywhere in the United States. Seeing these elements collide in such a way is both cathartic and terrifying. I can't wait to share this book with my students! I already recommend MONDAY'S NOT COMING all the time and I'll definitely be adding THE WEIGHT OF BLOOD to that list.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an eARC of this title.

The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson is a retelling of Stephen King’s Carrie. It is told in 2 timelines:
1. the events as they happen &
2. A podcast taking place many years after Prom. When the podcast guests are asked what happened that night, everyone says “Maddy did it”

The cover caught my eye, then the description made me want to read it. Once I started reading, I could not put it down. You can read the publishers description for the story summary, and I do not want to put spoilers here, so I will just say this is a must read.
Be prepared for ALL the emotions to come up when reading Maddy's story. I cried while reading this book.

Content warnings: Racism, bullying, child abuse. colorism, police brutality, racial slurs, violence/gore/murder, allusions to sex
I will definitely be purchasing this one for my high school students.

3.5 stars

Positives:
Many elements of the original story can be found in this book (bullying, telekinesis, revenge). What sets this book apart from the original is the commentary on racism. There were definitely a few moments in the book that made me stop and reflect. I thought the characters were developed really well. Each had their own personality traits that make you love them (Maddy, Kenny, Mrs. Morgan), or hate them (Jules, Wendy, Kayleigh). Also, I did enjoy the slow build of the relationship. I'm generally not someone that enjoys romance, so that surprised me.

Negatives:
There are excerpts from a podcast and a book that was written about the events that took place throughout the book. This isn't something that bothers me when I feel like it is adding something to the story, but I didn't feel they were necessary here. They contributed to my feeling that the book was incredibly slow in the buildup. That exciting ending that the story is known for was too short, in my opinion. My only other negative was the multiple POV's. Again, this isn't something that generally bothers me. There were a few chapters from inconsequential characters that I felt would've been better told from a different perspective or eliminated altogether.

Overall, this was a solid retelling of Carrie. The positives definitely outweighed the negatives for me. I enjoy retellings of classics (and Carrie is definitely a classic in my opinion). Most surprising thing for me was the fact that I enjoyed this more than the original book!

YA horror - AT. ITS. FINEST. If you loved Parasite, Get Out or Us, you've gotta pick up this book. Tiffany D. Jackson's latest horror uses a high school's first integrated prom to shine a light on the insidiousness of a town that thinks it's moved beyond its racist past when it's really only moved an inch.

Fast paced, I loved that Maddie's story unfolds from multiple angles -- her own account interspersed with a true crime podcast and excerpts from a book about the prom night. It's a book destined to be optioned.

CW: Medium graphic violence, use of the N-word, institutionalized racism, religious extremism

Wow, Tiffany Jackson does it again! I'm blown away by everything she puts out, and The Weight of Blood might be her best. I could not tear myself away from this and think all ages will absolutely love this book.

A true crime podcast investigates a deadly high school prom night and attempts to discover if one girl was responsible for the destruction.

Maddy Washington has always been the outcast odd girl at school who got teased and bullied. When Maddy’s closely guarded secret that she is biracial is revealed, the bullying ramps. Maddy learns to fight back with terrifying consequences.

The Weight of Blood is author Tiffany D. Jackson’s homage to Steven King’s Carrie. She dishes up a creepy horror story of revenge and uses it to examine racism and identity. I liked how Jackson constructed the story around a podcast. I thought it was a cleaver way to introduce background elements and characters and it kept the plot moving quickly. The characters are so well written. I loved Kenny, the school’s popular Black star quarterback and Maddy’s prom date. It was interesting to see his growth from popular jock who just smiles and overlooks his white friends’ casual racism to realizing he can’t just ignore it anymore- especially when Maddy is the target.

Jackson’s take on Carrie does the original proud especially since the true horror here is not the bloodshed, but society’s deeply ingrained and unacknowledged racism.

First of all, I cannot thank NetGalley and the publisher enough for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book! Tiffany D. Jackson has outdone herself with this reimagining of the Carrie story. Though she is very clear that the story takes place in the 21st century, it still feels like it ought to take place in the early 1970s, which only underscores how disturbing the town is in its beliefs. My only criticism is that *SPOILER* I want to know what happened to Kenny and Kali in the aftermath of the incident. I cannot wait to put this in students' hands.

I love everything Tiffany Jackson does. This did not disappoint. 5 Star read for sure. The combination of the “Carrie” storyline with the tradition of racism of the Deep South and the social justice aspects today’s society made this feel like a Jordan Peele movie! I loved the format of mixing the podcast transcripts with the stories of Kendrick and Maddy. I can’t wait to recommend this to teens!

This Carrie retell will really keep you on the edge of your seat.
This story switches viewpoints so you see the story unfold many different characters. Maddy is a little strange according to her classmates. This senior girl is hiding some big secrets. First she’s biracial second she’s telekinetic. Being biracial should be a big deal unless your in Springville, GA. This small town is stuck in the 1960’s keeping racist ideas because “it’s tradition”. Maddy’s father makes her go to great lengths to hide her race until one day it unexpectedly rains and her first secret is out.
This story follows Carrie pretty well while adding in societal racism and a crazy old fashioned town. Be prepared to get hooked from the first page.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this book.

I totally admire this novel, but oh! what a traumatic read does it present. Certainly some (many) readers are going to be triggered by some or much of the issues presented here. Unspeakable events occur. shocking, startling, infuriating. Deciding "it just couldn't happen" is just burying our respective heads in hot sand. It can and does, maybe not in every specific instance, but enough. Society should hang its pathetic proverbial head in shame.

This book is incredible. A Carrie inspired book that focuses heavily on societal racism and identity? Say less. Jackson does it again with this one. The pacing is spot on and Maddy's character is so captivating, such an absolute force. The way that Jackson threads the supernatural into this book makes is seamless and believable, and it was everything I could ever want.

Title: The Weight of Blood

By: Tiffany D. Jackson


Stranger Things meets Carrie! Tiffany D. Jackson has done it again with this horror/suspense book. Main character, Maddie, has been hidden away for a great deal of time by her mercurial father. When she is “allowed” to attend school she cannot divulge a secret her father forces her to keep; that she is biracial. Soon her secret is discovered that she has been passing for white as racial disparities in the school and town finally surface. Now for the piece de resistance, Maddie also has telekinesis. What will she discover about her past and how will the town survive their future? Find out more in this fast-paced, podcast-style read, The Weight of Blood, by Tiffany D. Jackson.

4.5 Stars

Book Review 📚-

Happy labour everyone! I finished this book this morning and had to review it right away while it was all still fresh!

I don’t want to give anything with the summary so swipe for the synopsis!

•Small town
•Spooky and Carrie vibes
•Spotlight on Racism

Tiffany Jackson!! Girl this was amazing!! I was honestly hooked from the first chapter. Actually I was hooked from the author notes before the book started!! I loved the format of the podcast post Prom and the telling of the story leading up to it! I loved how to book ended and basically everything about Mandy!! You all need to read this one!!

Thank you Harper Collins Canada for this advanced copy!

As a horror fan, I found the new take on Carrie fantastic and relevant. But also as a horror fan, I found it almost too close to the original novel that it took me out of reading it a bit. For my students, I could see this as a fantastic entry point for them, because Jackson is a fantastic writer, but for myself, I couldn’t get into it completely. Still love Jackson and find her to be an automatic buy, but this one was not for me and I recognize that.

The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson is a young adult horror novel with “Carrie” vibes. This story follows a group of seniors in Springville, GA as they prepare for Prom Night. Told from different perspectives we follow the story of Maddy Washington a young biracial girl with a big secret. Tiffany tackles the racism in American history and is inspired by the practice of separate proms that until this day is “tradition” in small southern towns. This novel is a true depiction of the way society treats anyone who is not white. It addresses the roles people find themselves in and how people choose to portray themselves. This book made me angry, uncomfortable, and sadly reminded of similar experiences I witnessed during my time in high school. A lot of these characters felt inspired by people I knew in high school. I felt for Maddy, Kenny, and Kali. I was shocked to learn that towns like these exist to this day, in 2022 under the guise of “keeping tradition”. I think this novel did an amazing job at addressing real issues but also engaging the reader in Wanting to know what will happen next.. The outcome/consequences for a lot of characters were predictable but realistic. This is my first novel by Tiffany D. Jackson but certainly not my last. I think this book should be read by all! Definitely recommend. 4.5⭐️

Both the author and genre (YA Horror) are new to me. Social media was not quiet in terms of what type of retelling this was, so I began reading with a pre-conceived notion of what was going to happen. Though once I started it wasn’t hard to figure out how this book would end. Not just because of the spoilers online but because of the format. Told from a couple different points of view and also through interview/excerpt pages from a book, told much of the story before it happened eliminating any element of surprise.

The Weight of Blood is a story of racial unrest, bullying and dysfunctional families. It was hard to read at times and though it takes place in 2015 I felt like it went farther back into the 60’s with the segregation of races. There were a lot of characters here and at times I struggled to connect with who was who.

Deemed as a horror book I was looking for the fright, things that go bump in the night or just anything to invoke that feeling of scariness. And not just with the ending, but throughout the story. But I didn’t feel that vibe and honestly (I know I am going against the general response to this book, could be an age thing) but I didn't feel any type of emotion other than sadness for the main character and Kenny.

The Weight of Blood reminds me of Mean Girls meets Firestarter meets Carrie. It's a racial bullying story with some supernatural elements. The way the story jumped around disrupted the flow leaving me craving just to read the main story and not the interviews and other fillers.

My thanks to HarperCollins CA for a digital arc (via Netgalley) in exchange for a honest review.

PHEW
That was something else.
I don't know where to begin.
Tiffany D. Jackson is really a writer like none other.
This was twisted, enraging and just incredible.
I was invested from the first chapter to the last one. I wanted to scream and throw things and just felt everything.
The best part is that we knew how it was going to end from the very first pages, the author straight up spoiled us at the very beginning and that just made it even more interesting to me. I just had to know how everything got to that point and I still somehow had hope on a lot of things. That was just so smart. Everything about this was smart actually and it just made me fall in love with Tiffany's writing even more.
This book also talked about racism, colorism, bullying, parental abuse... And I just think it should be in everyone's hands. Everyone's.
The Weight of Blood truly is this good and I just cannot wait to read whatever Tiffany D. Jackson writes next.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the advance Kindle copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
•
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. Devoured. In. One. Sitting. Wow, this is basically a revamped Carrie with social commentary. A mousy girl in a small town in Alabama is outed as being Black, something her abusive, past-obsessed, God fearing father tried to hide (and trained her to hide) her entire life. In the wake of this news, her racist town is turned upside down, ending in one night of bloody horror because she also inherited telekinetic powers from her mother. The author leaves just enough stones unturned, and I couldn’t get enough of this story. Definitely geared towards older readers. It comes out this Tuesday! Recommended for grades 9+.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for the ARC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #NetGalley #TheWeightofBlood

The beginning took some getting used to with different media used and time line not well established. I like the NPR True Crime podcast addition. This feels very much like a modern Carrie. All the racism depicted in the book, from microaggressions to macro incidents were so real it was hard to read sometimes. The comeuppance for the school bully felt so righteous and good. But the similarities to Stephen King's Carrie were too much; they pulled me out of the story. Yet, knowing pretty much what was going to happen didn't lessen the dread I felt. But the ending was so unsatisfying! I wanted to know what happened.

Holy crap! So many thoughts!
First, White Prom, Black Prom- what the heck?!?
Second, Jules deserves all the bad things and more.
This is a story told in a series of podcast transcripts, news articles and prose describing event surrounding prom season in the Deep South in 2014.
Maddy is a mixed race light skinned half negro who has been made to live a sheltered, white life by her abusive father. She has been frightened and repressed her whole life, but her father claims that he is making her “white” for her own good. If people knew she was half black, they would treat her poorly- ironically it’s not possible that anyone could treat her as poorly as her father did by trying to “protect” her.
Kenny, or Kendrick, is the star quarterback who happens to be black, but due o his athletic abilities, he has practically lived a life of white privilege. His white girlfriend and all of his white friends seem to just conveniently overlook the true color of his skin, and they take pride in his athletic prowess in a football field. Jenny is headed to the University of Alabama next year, and has the world at his feet.
Wendy, Kenny’s girlfriend, is best friends with Jules, the town darling and together they are the popular, mean girls who rule the school.
After a freak rainstorm that catches Maddy outside and gets her hair wet, Maddy’s true heritage is revealed because her hair swells into an Afro- like state, and all heck breaks loose as a result.
Maddy’s secret magical talents start to manifest, Wendy starts to see Jules’s true nature & urges Kenny to befriend Maddy & take her to prom in order to mend fences between color groups, and Kenny starts to see that the girl Maddy has been hiding behind glasses and baggie clothes and silence may really be the girl he has always been meant to find.
A fingernail biting adventure from start to finish, and Tiffany Jackson once again is a master of storytelling! Whew!!!