Title: White Smoke

Arthor: Tiffany D. Jackson

Genre: YA horror, thriller, mystery,

No. of Pages: 373

Age Recommendation: 15+

Rating: 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Publisher & Publication year: September 14th, 2024 by Quill Tree Books

Awards/Nominations: Pennsylvania Young Readers' Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult (2023), Ladies of Horror Fiction Award Nominee for Best Young Adult (2021), Ignyte Award Nominee for Best YA Novel (2022)

Tags: female lead, haunted house, thriller, contemporary, psychological thriller, addiction and substance abuse, blended family, identity, friendship, mental health, trauma.

ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦋 The short review version:
When I read White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson, I immediately understood why so many people compare it to The Haunting of Hill House and Get Out. This book was beautifully written, super compelling, and full of twist and turns. I was fully invested and couldn’t stop reading. But you're into cliff hanging endings, this may be for you. I felt like Miss Jackson created a compelling story, but the abrupt ending and cliff hanger left me puzzled and not to lie, a bit disappointed.
Please scroll to the bottom of the page for the Librarians will want to know section for detailed information on this book.

ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦋Book Review for White Smoke:

Loved It but..

White Smoke follows Marigold “Mari” Anderson and her family as they move in to Cedarville a town that can be described as near or around Detroit. From the get go, the town feels off, the Andersons are welcomed to a block filled with decayed buildings barely standing from the remnants of an obvious fire. Their new street is filled with abandoned homes made from sagging roofs, choking vines and horrific burns and in center of it all is their pristine new house with large bay windows and glimmering emerald grass. The stark comparison of the neighborhood versus Mari's brand new home is quite shocking.

The Andersons move into their home thanks to her mother’s art fellowship where an organization called the Foundation gifted the lucky family her winnings- a brand new home in an up-and-coming town completely debt free. (Due to Mari's stay at a rehabilitation treatment center that had put her mother slightly into dept paying for her stay there.) This was supposed to be the new start that the Andersons needed. But right away, the gloomy presence of the empty neighborhood gives the sense that the “fresh start” Mari had hoped for could be hiding something darker. The house feels wrong, the town feels wrong, and Piper- Mari’s young stepsister- seems to have suddenly made an evil new connection.

What really impressed me was how the haunting in the book works on two levels. The house itself is unsettling - things go missing, doors open on their own, strange smells seep through the vents, and Piper keeps talking about a “friend” who wants Mari and her family out. Forever. The supernatural aspect of the house being haunted starts clawing at Mari, who does what any person would do: she tries to tell her family about the odd happenings. But no one believes her.

Already, Maris family has a tight relationship with her. Her mother recently married a white man who has a young white daughter (Piper) who is Mari's new enemy. The blended family has tight tensions as Mari is forced to navigate her new blended family while missing her father. Her parents divorce has created tension where the two siblings (Mari and her biological brother) feel estranged from her mother and her new husband and his daughter. Mari's loneliness drives the story forward as she tries to assimilate into her new home, new school, new family and...new problems. Despite all the new, readers witness the young teen trying to accept and adapt to the new space.

"Change is good. Change is necessary. Change is needed."

We learn that Mari is a character of habit. Driven by her ongoing struggle with her anxiety disorder as well as her blood-curdling deep phobia of bed bugs. Her heighted state of fear and paranoia really blurs into nonexistence when she tries to bring up the strangeness of the new home. I couldn't help but wonder if Mari was truly uncovering something supernatural within the home or was her constant fight against her own fears resurfacing unhealed trauma responses .

It is important to note that White Smoke digs into themes of systemic injustice. Cedarville isn’t just a creepy backdrop Miss Jackson chose, it’s a reflection of real communities harmed by environmental racism, shady “revitalization” projects, and decades of neglect.

The fact that the city’s decay is tied to its history with the forceful removal of its Black residents adds a deeper layer to the horror. Cedarville is a town divided by abandoned homes, boarded-up streets, and a “revitalization project” that feels more like a cover-up by the sunny-smiley real estate agents who help run the Foundation. Jackson blends these social themes into the story without ever making them feel forced.

The family tensions added another emotional dimension for me. Mari’s relationship with her stepfamily, especially Piper, felt fragile and unpredictable. Whenever Mari tried to express her fears, the adults brushed her off, which made her isolation intensify. That dynamic of not being believed really amps up the suspense and feeds into the book’s themes about trauma, trust, and being silenced.

ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦋 What I didn't like about white smoke:

...Something Tiny was Missing.

the pain I felt finishing the book.

The ending.

I need Tiffany Jackson's close circle to advice her to release a second book. A novella. A bonus chapter. A deleted scene. A scribbled diary entry. Anything.

I need to be released from this disappointed finish that Miss Jackson chose.

ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦋📚Librarians will want to know:📚

Themes: gentrification, blended families, stepfamilies, discrimination, mental health, biracial families, marijuana usage, anxiety, bedbugs, moving to a new town, making new friends, attending a new school, siblings, town secrets, false accusations, bad governments, systemic coverups, overdose (mentioned)
Would adults like White Smoke? Yes! (I sure did, its an easy to follow ghost story with complex themes)
Would I recommend White Smoke for a high school library? Yes, definitely!
Would I recommend White Smoke for a middle school library? Maybe. Mari does dabble in the usage of marijuana, and there are a few curse words like "s--t" and "f--k" used regularly in the book. It may be too much for younger middle schoolers, but the ghost story would be easy to booktalk with 8th graders.

‼️Mature Content

Language: Medium - there are a few curse words like "s--t" and "f--k" used regularly in the narration and dialog.
Sexuality: Low - a few mentions of sex and dating, but nothing physical. Mari, who's a cynic about life in general, teases a boy who admits to being a virgin and tells him he could be getting a lot of sex.
Violence: Medium - a riot breaks out, incidents of arson, a girl is hit in the face with a broom and knocked down the stairs in one of the scenes, and a bloody combat breaks from an crowd chasing someone.
Drugs/Alcohol: High - For the first half of White Smoke, Mari is hyper focused on getting high. she also plants her own cannabis garden and smokes with a new friend at school. Mari’s previous abuse of Percocet (an overdose) is also mentioned. Mari also self medicates with an opioid for her anxiety disorder. Adults are depicted drinking wine with their meals.
Other: mentioning of a young man who is accused of breaking into people's homes and sexually assaulting children. (nothing detailed)

ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦋Booktalk or Display Books similar to White Smoke: