Tiffany D. Jackson cements her spot in the horror genre with her second billed horror, THE WEIGHT OF BLOOD. Heavily inspired by Stephen King’s CARRIE, readers familiar with the classic tale will note similarities pretty early on, but Jackson’s twist and fresh lens is enough to give even the most well-versed horror fans something new to sink their teeth into.

Mad Mad Maddy is scared to death. Weird things like unexplained earthquakes keep happening, her classmates are trolls, oh, and it rained today. The very last thing Maddy ever needs to happen, or her secret will be revealed.

From chapter one, Jackson wastes no time fine tuning the eerie mood and ratcheting up the tension to level eleven.

From the author’s note at the beginning, you know you’re getting the visceral experience of the much-debated integration of schools and school functions in the south. She entertains you with the knowledge that even into the ‘90’s proms we’re still racially segregated.

Without spoiling too much, it is safe to say that hat no this safe in this story, much less the reader.

5 stars

**HUGE thank you to Katherine Tegen Books for granting me an eARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!**

Maddy, a biracial high school senior, has passed as white her entire life at the behest of her abusive father. She's also been bullied by her classmates since starting school. When a sudden rainstorm causes her straightened hair to reveal its true texture, the bullying only increases. As Maddy tries to deal with the trauma, she realizes that she also holds a great, dangerous power.

Rep: Biracial (half Black, half white) female main character, Black side characters

Content warnings: Racist comments, physical acts of racially-motivated intimidation, internalized racism, microaggressions, use of blackface, use of the n-word, forced "outing" of a light-skinned Black teen, verbal and physical abuse from a parent, religious trauma, sexism, bullying, police brutality, gore, blood, death, mass murder, grief, fire, neglect, food shaming, cheating, friend breakups, underage drinking, mentions of sex

God, this book was AMAZING. I've never encountered something so hard to read and simultaneously so hard to put down. Tiffany D. Jackson is a certified genius.
Usually I'm not a huge fan of multiple points of view, but it works perfectly here. What really impresses me is how Jackson manages to make other characters sympathetic (to a degree) while not sugar-coating their flaws. For instance, while Wendy has done detestable things, I nonetheless found myself rooting for her to grow and change.
Some of the racist acts are explicit in this book, while others are more under the radar -- and that's part of what makes this a masterpiece. Here, racism isn't just the use of blackface and the n-word. It's also not speaking up when Black students are bullied. It's allowing oneself to play the white savior. It's complacency for the sake of tradition or "taking a joke." Jackson also includes incredible discussions on the harm internalized racism causes.
The characterization of Maddy is wonderful and complex and unlike anything I've ever read. When I started this book, I figured I'd end up adding it to my "hell yes, I support women's WRONGS" list. But I don't think Maddy was in the wrong. Sure, she killed more than 100 people, some of them likely innocent, and destroyed an entire town. The ending actually seems kind of inevitable, and not just because it's based on "Carrie." Not only is Maddy is a victim of extreme abuse, but no white people in town seem willing to confront the legacy of racism without drastic measures. What happened is sad, but so is the story of Maddy's life. I truly don't think anyone could blame her, and in my opinion, that's the mark of an extremely talented author.

TL;DR: White people especially need to read this book.

Wow, I have so many thoughts about this book. In The Weight of Blood, Tiffany D. Jackson tackles all the topics many YA books shy away from. She presents racism, misogyny, colorism, religious extremism, and injustice in a way that makes us all confront our own beliefs and history. While the addition of telekinesis is certainly fictitious, the book was inspired by real life events in our modern day. In a preface, Jackson states that she was inspired to write this book after reading about racially segregated proms in the modern day, more specifically Wilcox High School’s FIRST racially integrated prom in 2014. 2014!! The fact that the events of this book are set on our modern day only makes the presented issues that much more impactful.

The story is less about the tragic events of “prom night” and more about the events and systemic failures that would drive a person to those lengths (of course aided by uncontrolled telekinetic powers). Personally, I love the reflective way in which it was told and how Jackson weaves the narrative from so many viewpoints. In fact, although Maddy is the protagonist we don’t get her point of view nearly as much as you would expect. Instead, we get her actions and her descent through the eyes of her peers, which adds an additional layer of suspense since we are often left without all the facts until it does come back around to Maddy’s POV. Additionally, the story is told from two different point of views in time. We get the events as they happened in 2014, but we also have a parallel narration in the form of an investigative podcast who aims to unravel the mystery behind the tragic day. I found that angle very interesting to read, especially since it brought in testimonies and perspectives we wouldn’t receive just from setting it in one time frame or the other.

Lastly, I must give praise to Jackson’s writing style. This is a book that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Although the middle does drag a bit, there is always an underlying tension that keeps you up at night, reading to the end. I felt that her descriptions of gore and violence were not overdone. They certainly aren’t for the squeamish, but it didn’t feel like they were overtly graphic as I find with many other horror/thriller novels. It is that balance of suspense, horror, and very real modern issues that give Jackson’s writing a unique style.

The only thing that knocked it down to a 4-star read for me were minor stylistic things that bothered me throughout the book. For example, Jackson uses some heavily cliched phrases along the lines of “she wasn’t like other girls” and “she let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding”. Additionally, it switches POVs sometimes within chapters and while there are line breaks to warn you of that, there is no indication of whose POV you are entering until you keep reading and for me that was a bit jarring and difficult to keep re-settling into while reading. However, if you can look past these minor things then, content wise, The Weight of Blood is a 5-star must read.

I have mixed feelings about this novel. I never actually suspended my disbelief of the premise. The horror story about “bad hair” didn’t jibe. Fortunately for me, I didn’t need to, to enjoy Maddy Washington’s story. A biracial teen passing for white at the coaxing of her overbearing and nostalgic white father, Maddy gets caught in the rain one day in class. To her horror and the school’s shock, her hair grows and coils, revealing her big secret. Maddy as white as she claims.

The school outcast, Maddy is socially awkward and lives with so much internalized hate she’s convinced the sky fell down with the rain. Before the incident, she has withstood the taunts of her classmates, but when her hair reverts to its natural state, things gets exponentially worse. Here is where things stalled for me. I get how hard life is for Maddie and understand how parents can indoctrinate their children to their detriment. I don’t understand how the automatic response to her hair is that she is black or how the revelation sparks more ire. It’s 2022! I’m from Alabama, the Deep South, and I can’t see events realistically going down this way.

Still, it’s Maddy belonging to the liminal space of the superficially integrated high school that catalyzes the more interesting aspects of the book. Inspired by Stephen King’s novel, Carrie, Jackson gifts Maddy with power. Namely, she starts showing signs of telekinesis and pyrokinesis. Being sheltered, Maddy does what any smart girl with questions does. She researches. It’s around the time of her supernatural development that she discovers her miseducation. The more she knows, the more her power and confidence grows. It’s a delight to read.

What I liked most about the book was its commentary on race. It brings up many race theories. First, there is the idea of the tragic “mulatto.” Maddy’s favorite movie, one she would never let her father know she’s watched, is Imitation of Life. While both the star and Maddie are biracial, it’s Maddy’s desire to be mothered that draws her to the film. More than that desire, though, it’s clear that not having a relationship with anyone who looks like her harms Maddy. This theme is underscored by the odd dynamics at the school, particularly Kenny’s role as the “exceptional negro.” Jackson animates the double consciousness and varied experiences of being black in America. These kids aren’t just multi-faceted characters. They represent the different degrees of melanin-based privilege.

Around fifty percent, the plot becomes increasingly more mystical. We start with a sort of if-Carrie-was-black situation and end somewhere else entirely. The incremental interviews go a long way in building tension. From the start, we know there was a prom massacre, but we don’t know exactly what happened. The excerpts add layers of the enigma that is Maddy Washington. I want to root for her, but I’m held back from doing so because, so far, allegedly, she’s a murderer. There’s no way I could stop reading.

The Weight of Blood is definitely my second favorite book by Tiffany D. Harris. It’s inventive and sinister and heart-wrenchingly done. If Carrie and Ace of Spades had a love child, TWOB would be the squirming ball of natural chaos it delivered. If I was still teaching, I would buy a classroom set and get students talking. Instead, I’m getting copies for my teen girls, so we can have a book chat.

Thank you to @writeinbk, @katherinetegenbooks, and @netgalley for giving me an eARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Did I start this book and finish it the same afternoon? I sure did. If you’re a Carrie fan you are most likely going to love this. I loved the writing, the characters, the plot, the pacing - everything. It covers a lot of important topics and it puts a new and diverse spin on a horror classic. This is my second Tiffany Jackson book and it won’t be my last.

Thanks to Harper Collins for this ARC.

Delving into the horrific massacre at a small southern town's first integrated prom, podcasters ask: who was the biracial girl blamed for the carnage, and could rumors of her telekinetic abilities be true?

Deliberately parallel to Stephen King's Carrie, including the journalistic excerpts in each chapter, The Weight of Blood both springs from and revolutionizes classic horror tropes, using Carrie's plot as a vehicle for exploring microaggressions and the weight of a town's racist history on the shoulders of its younger generations, both Black and white. The narrative follows multiple viewpoints, including Maddy, a white teacher who wants to be a better ally, a white student who doesn't want to be racist, an unapologetic white racist bully, and the Black football star struggling to find his place among white friends, fellow Black students, and a family split between philosophies of "keep your head down" and BLM-equivalent activism. The result is a nuanced, challenging, story that will stick with readers long after they close the book. Add Jackson's masterful suspense plotting and gripping character development, and you have an unputdownable masterpiece that will have kids clamoring for more. An essential addition to any YA collection and must-read for horror fans or fans of Jackson's work in general.

I absolutely loved this book! I could not put it down. The way that Jackson writes is so accessible to read and pulls you along while keeping your interest. I should expect a classic Tiffany D. Jackson twist at the end, but this one still surprised me! I will be reccing this to all teens.

This brilliant Carrie homage addresses racism, sexism, and the urge to fit in wrapped in an engaging horror package. Maddy has been passing as a white girl in her Southern hometown at the demand of her abusive father, until the day a surprise rainstorm reveals her secret to her classmates. At a school that hosts segregated proms, the cruelty Maddy, a shy, quiet girl who struggles to make friends, experiences begins to go viral, setting up a storm of controversy that will eventually end in mass murder. As usual for Jackson's work, the most horrible elements are taken directly from real life, and the buckets of blood spilled pale in comparison to the pain and anguish the characters feel every day. Highly recommend - feed your inner horror fan, your true crime lust, or your YA obsession.

I am a sucker for all things Tiffany D. Jackson. She has such a way with storytelling and I have never read a book by her that didn’t immediately pull me in. When I saw the cover, I immediately knew this one would be no different.

As always, 10/10 for character development. Even the side characters were so well developed that I felt like they were all real. The way that they were written was so well done that I could literally feel their emotions, pain, trauma, and anger. I enjoyed how the book went back and forth between the documentary and the real story. It flowed really well and it was interesting to hear people’s stories being told after the fact and being able to see the different perspectives from certain people after years had passed.

There was some heavy, heavy racism in this book. It was painful to read, especially knowing that nothing in the book was far fetched, and in fact it was all very realistic. I could feel the internal conflict, internalized racism, and white supremacy that the characters were experiencing. Everything was so well done that as I was reading I was able to feel the emotions of the different characters.

The only thing I have to say about this book that is not raving praise is that parts of it felt kind of slow. Especially at the beginning, it felt like things took a little too long to get started.

Overall, this is an absolutely fantastic read. The Carrie retelling was very well done, and after things got rolling, they never slowed down.

The Weight of Blood is a must buy and a must read for all libraries that carry YA fiction. A modern retelling of Carrie, this book delves into issues of colorism, the history of racism, racial violence, and White privilege in a small southern town of the U.S.A. Jackson writes her main characters as complex people; there are no straight villains or heroes in this novel.

This is a must-read for YA horror fans!

Tiffany D. Jackson has delivered a powerful spin on the horror classic "Carrie", set in a town filled with racists determined to keep the deeply ingrained racial hierarchy intact. The buildup to a tragic prom night is told through flashbacks from different viewpoints, a modern day podcast, and news articles. We know from the start that the prom in May 2014, Springville's first ever integrated prom, ends with much of the town in flames and scores of people dead. Maddy Washington, a student who is biracial but passes as white, has been bullied by her classmates since she first stepped into Springville's schools as a middle grader. The bullying and harassment increases when it is revealed that Maddy is biracial, something that her father tried to hide all of her life. The abhorrent behavior from her classmates, coupled with Maddy's telekinesis and increasing power, come to a head on prom night.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this title. It's a really engrossing book and horror fans will be riveted to the last page.

Everything about THE WEIGHT OF BLOOD is a big win! If you love Carrie, then you will absolutely love this book. It is made clear up front how much the author loves Carrie and it's not a re-telling but there are quite a few homages and plot similarities. But Tiffany Jackson builds upon all of that, twists things up, and adds a more modern approach as well as themes of racism, identity as skin color, hair style, & passing, bullying, religion, self identification, and more. It's a remarkable story and my emotions were all over the place reading this one. Jackson is a HUGE 2 for 2 in horror books this year for me (the first being White Smoke which I read in January). It is such a treat reading her stories and I am always on the lookout for whatever she decides to do next!

This book holy wow. I am SHOOK! It is classic TDJ - messes with your mind, makes you question what is real and what isn't real, and highlights race and racism in a way that feels ripped from the headlines.

You can read the synopsis of this book, y'all know what it is about. It's got Carrie vibes. Young high school student gets bullied when people realize she is Black (biracial) and has been passing as white. Bullying video becomes public which puts Maddy front and center of a discussion about race that is happening not only at her school, but in her town and in the whole US. People take sides. Nastiness and racism runs rampant. As Maddy tries to pry apart what is real and what isn't, as she is befriended by the popular Black quarterback, strange powers start to manifest. And when the shit hits the fan, the shit. hits. the. fan.

This book has everything. The classic white cheerleader who thinks she's "woke" but is really a white savior and problematic af. There's the bullies - the white kids who are racist and are ok with it. The Black quarterback who has to toe the line in order to stay popular, uses his white girlfriend as a shield (as she does for him) and only starts to open up as he connects with Maddy. The racist adults. You don't really root for anyone in this book except for Maddy. Everyone else is shades of gray in the way they treat her - always either as a means to an end or the subject of their vitriol. And it deals with deep themes: colorism, being biracial in a world that so clearly wants you to choose an either or. Child abuse and parent abandonment. The importance of community especially for Black youth.

This story is told in the past (during Maddy's reveal and the subsequent horror) and current time with a podcast. There are interviews sprinkled throughout. This interesting framing adds to the thread of not knowing what is going to happen, not knowing what is true and what is false.

Although you kind of know where this story is going to go, the surprises are still endless. I can't spoil anything because it is just mindblowing. Not as creepy as some of TDJs other work (I'm looking at you White Smoke), TWOB makes you think. It makes you as the reader ask yourself, "what would I do?". "Who would I be?" It asks, what does it mean to "pass" in a world that labels everything and everyone?

This book is about systemic racism. It might not seem it, but the layers and depth are there. It's about how a community can be accountable for violence, stemming from years of injustice, and still blame the victim. And ultimately it is asking us what we would do. What side are you on?

This review feels like a mess but ultimately you have to read this book it is UTTERLY AMAZING.

I was so excited when I heard about this book and how it's a Carrie retelling but I was actually very apprehensive about reading this. I love Carrie but what if it's just Carrie with some changes? What if it isn't as good as Stephen King's?

The Weight of Blood is a very obvious Carrie retelling so having read that, I knew I will enjoy reading this no matter what. However, the story does lose some of that intended tension because I already have a general idea of where the story is going. Nevertheless, I was still on the edge of my seat most of the time.

The bullies here are worse. They're racist bullies so their shallowness, ignorance, and vileness are amplified.
This book is longer so there was more time to explore the characters which I really liked because I was able to gain a better understanding of them. There are characters I admired right from the beginning but then I slowly saw their faults and they felt more real to me. Then, there are characters who I hated and scoffed at but as I read the book, while I still wasn't a fan of them, it made me think that they're just doing the best that they can.

While I think the story will work even without the podcast parts, I actually liked those. I do wish the interview with some of the podcast guests were a little bit longer. I just wanted more details from them!

I love the writing. The pacing is done well. I didn't want to stop reading it.

I think I like the ending?? It was sorta clear but also a little bit open-ended. I would have loved to have an epilogue but at the same time, I don't think it's actually needed.
One thing that's quite unclear to me is how real is the love? Is Maddy supernaturally compelling this love to happen? Or was it really just a fast development?

So is it just Carrie with some changes? Yes, but they're good additions and Tiffany D. Jackson should be proud of this book.
Is it as good as Stephen King's? In my opinion, yes.

A modern version of “Carrie” mixed with privilege, racism, and a satisfying revenge. The story was a little slow at times, and the characters were downright horrible human beings. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. Thanks NetGalley for my advanced copy!

Thank you HarperCollins and Netgalley for this EARC in exchange for my honest review

Honestly this book took me by surprise! I wasn’t expecting a retelling of Carrie to be this good. The way it was so dark and twisted kept me reading and reading. I really liked how it talked about poc issues and how it’s still relevant to todays world. I do wish there was a little more at the end, maybe like an epilogue but otherwise I would definitely recommend

Ms. Jackson is an excellent writer. I really enjoyed White Smoke and The Weight of Blood is even better. The book is a modern take on Carrie- bullied outcast Maddy has been raised in a very religious home by an abusive parent. She has very little knowledge about anything modern. She discovers that she has telekinetic powers that manifest when she is in an upsetting or threatening situation. What makes this a more modern retelling is that it occurs in a small town whose laws and traditions are based in racist practices and attitudes. White and black students attend the same school but have very little to do with each other, with the exception of talented Black student athlete Kendrick, who has white friends and a white girlfriend. Maddy is outed as being biracial and the torment she endures is horrific and public, spread through social media. Kendrick slowly realizes that his friends are the ones that torment Maddy and how wrong they are to treat her that way. The choices Maddy, Kendrick, his girlfriend Wendy and their friends make lead to ultimate disaster for the town.

I read this book because Jackson wrote it. I am not a fan of horror and I had no idea that this was a horror book. This story about Maddy, a high school girl who lives alone with her dad and has no friends at her high school, sucked me in from the start. The gory-type horror was fairly minimal in the book. For me the real horror in the book is how Maddy is treated by her classmates and her dad as well as how awful the town they live in is. Jackson was able to deftly take what she is truly gifted at - writing about teens who face terrible lives - and mix it with horror to make a book that will appeal to fans of both gritty realistic fiction and horror. I liked this story much better than her previous horror book, <i>White Smoke</i>.

This updated retelling of Carrie has a biracial protagonist, Maddy, who is raised by a white father. He idolizes the "good old days" of the 50s. Maddie goes to tortuous and torturous lengths to pass as white, but when an unanticipated rainstorm outs her, it's open season on Maddie. She's always been considered odd, but now she's considered to have been posing as something she's not. The bullies are out in force.

Told in part as interviews for a retrospective podcast called "Maddy Did It", this book follows Maddy through the horrors she faces, after a morning rainstorm, through the horrors that occurred at the town's prom(s). Jackson deftly weaves examinations of segregation, allyship, and identity into a neatly done plot that has more relevance and resonance than did the original. It's not didactic, though. This is a fast-paced and thrilling YA horror novel that says what it needs to say and tells a great story at the same time. And despite its trauma and political charge, this book manages to inject a note of hope into an ending that was, in Stephen King's version, utterly bleak.

This should find a wide audience among not just horror aficionados, but thriller, mystery, and true crime readers as well. Adult King fans would do well to pick it up, too.

A perfect blend of character development, gore, and unique formatting with the podcast transcript, book excerpts, and gore and thrills in the climax. A brilliant retelling of Carrie that requires no knowledge of the source material. I'll be buying this for my personal collection and my library's collection.