Book Review: White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson

‘White Smoke’ by Tiffany D. Jackson was released in 2021, and tells the story of Marigold and her family, who move cross-country to move into a new home as part of a competition, where artists could apply to move to a town in the process of being revitalised, in order to bolster the community in the dilapidated area of Cedarville, and allow them the opportunity to create their work in a new home, without worrying about the mortgage. All in exchange for attending a variety of function events hosted by the board in charge of the scheme.

This book could be incredibly triggering as it explores themes of institutional racism, drug addiction, and contains reference to paedophilia, and scenes which imply harm to children and animals.

As the first family to move in as part of the scheme, Mari, her brother Sammy, and step-sister, Piper are feeling incredibly isolated.

After a horrific trauma, of uncovering a mass of bed bug nests throughout her house, left Mari with a debilitating phobia, which triggered immense paranoia, and phantom sensations, she finds herself turning to recreational drug use to cope with the anxiety she feels. But when she overdoses on weed, laced with fentanyl, she ends up needing therapy, and rehab. Which was incredibly expensive. Mari needs the fresh start and the clean slate for her family’s sake.

But when strange happenings are happening from the get-go, Mari finds herself convinced of two things: she needs to get her hands on some weed, even if that means growing it herself in a dilapidated house across the street, and that her ten-year-old stepsister is possessed by some malevolent demonic entity, and inadvertently uncovers a conspiracy that has been over thirty years in the making.

This story tackles many heavy themes within it, and does so masterfully whilst maintaining the same tension suspended over you throughout. I read this book in one sitting, and was gripped by the horrors taking place.

From exploring how children cope with trauma and grief, recovering from addiction and healing your relationship with your family, to how deep institutions and money-hungry parasites are willing to orchestrate horrible events in order to achieve their end goals, ‘White Smoke’ is an incredibly sad story that makes you want to scream in frustration and terror.

I was mortified with what information had evaded Mari and her friend, Tamara, outsiders forced to witness, or experience the restrictive lifestyle in place in Cedarville, and how, Erika, and Yusef, children who were raised to internalise how life is in the area coped with the racism and the poverty, whether it be through recreational drug use or through striving to be an inscrutable figure in the community, working to make the Maplewood area better for the residents.

Too bad, both of them are just feeding the machine.

Jackson was incredible with her contrasting uses of physical horror, tension and paranoia. Readers grow used to the routine and regimented lifestyle that Mari lives by as she regains her family’s trust, so the second that her alarms stop going off, you as the reader go from accepting events as being true-to-life because she’s definitely medicated, to doubting the reliability of her experiences, like Yusef. You understand that she might be tripping, or hallucinating due to being off her meds, but also don’t want to question if that shadow under her door was real.

Then there’s the physical horror, and how Mari’s fear about bed bugs manifests in the narration being filled with facts to explain why she may be panicking. Furthermore, even by the end of the book, you find yourself wondering how much of the events of the book were perpetuated under the guise of being harmless pranks. After all, to a ten year old, like Piper, pranking your big sister who “doesn’t like bed bugs”, by putting coffee grinds in the cracks in the sofa, would seem harmless until you’re in her head, or have a deeper understanding of what’s happening like Sammy does. Its interesting to consider how much of the events took place with good intentions, or at least playful ones.

I loved how harrowing the penny drop moment really was in this book. The second I read that sentence, I was nauseated, horrified about how everything fell into place, and the subtle double entendres that had been hiding in plain sight the whole time. It was brilliant!

I cannot recommend this book enough!