Just cruising through my #23in23 book challenge list – I even got two of them done this month. That review is coming soon.
Never did I think I would want or like a Carrie retelling, but here we are! Also, can’t complain about this book matching my nails and the fact they feel rather villainous makes it even more fitting.
THE WEIGHT OF BLOOD – Tiffany D. Jackson (Released September 6th, 2022)
Book Description:
Author Tiffany D. Jackson ramps up the horror and tackles America’s history and legacy of racism in this YA novel following a biracial teenager as her Georgia high school hosts its first integrated prom.
When Springville residents—at least the ones still alive—are questioned about what happened on prom night, they all have the same explanation… Maddy did it.
An outcast at her small-town Georgia high school, Madison Washington has always been a teasing target for bullies. And she’s dealt with it because she has more pressing problems to manage. Until the morning a surprise rainstorm reveals her most closely kept secret: Maddy is biracial. She has been passing for white her entire life at the behest of her fanatical white father, Thomas Washington.
After a viral bullying video pulls back the curtain on Springville High’s racist roots, student leaders come up with a plan to change their image: host the school’s first integrated prom as a show of unity. The popular white class president convinces her Black superstar quarterback boyfriend to ask Maddy to be his date, leaving Maddy wondering if it’s possible to have a normal life.
But some of her classmates aren’t done with her just yet. And what they don’t know is that Maddy still has another secret… one that will cost them all their lives.
My Thoughts: 5/5 stars
A retelling of Carrie?? I didn’t realize I needed this in my life and how much I was going to love it. Carrie will always have a special place in my heart as it was my first King book (and around 11 or 12). I loved how Jackson changed this story to make it more modern and give the character of Carrie, Maddy in this book, a revamp for the the retelling. Maddy isn’t a high school girl being bullied for being poor and odd, but she’s instead being bullied for being exposed as biracial. When the racism of the students at her Georgia high school is exposed in a viral bullying video, they decide to have their first integrated prom. And of course, those of us who have read the original, know how that ends for everyone..
I had no idea segregated proms were actually a thing in this day and age. While I was loving all the horror elements throughout the book, it really made me remember why I loved Carrie, the focus on the real issues made this book standout on its own. The racism, microaggressions, bullying, the pressures put on Maddy to be passing as white, manipulation from her father, and having to face the white complacency that continues to happen. The horrors of her powers and what they lead to melding with the horrors of her everyday life made for the perfect storm of suspense and intensity. I KNEW how it would end and couldn’t put this book down because I NEEDED them all to experience what was coming. I cheered for Maddy like I did Carrie and recommend to anyone that loved the original to give this a read.
Jessicamap Reviews 