White Smoke

Tiffany D. Jackson

Sep 2021 · Katherine Tegen Books · Narrated by Marcella Cox

About this audiobook

The Haunting of Hill House meets Get Out in this chilling YA psychological thriller and modern take on the classic haunted house story from New York Times bestselling author Tiffany D. Jackson!

Marigold is running from ghosts. The phantoms of her old life keep haunting her, but a move with her newly blended family from their small California beach town to the embattled Midwestern city of Cedarville might be the fresh start she needs. Her mom has accepted a new job with the Sterling Foundation that comes with a free house, one that Mari now has to share with her bratty ten-year-old stepsister, Piper.

The renovated picture-perfect home on Maple Street, sitting between dilapidated houses, surrounded by wary neighbors has its . . . secrets. That’s only half the problem: household items vanish, doors open on their own, lights turn off, shadows walk past rooms, voices can be heard in the walls, and there’s a foul smell seeping through the vents only Mari seems to notice. Worse: Piper keeps talking about a friend who wants Mari gone.

But “running from ghosts” is just a metaphor, right?

As the house closes in, Mari learns that the danger isn’t limited to Maple Street. Cedarville has its secrets, too. And secrets always find their way through the cracks.

* An Amazon Best Book of the Month * Parade's Best YA Books of the Year * Indigo Best Books of the Year * SLJ Best Books of the Year * Kirkus Best Books of the Year * A YALSA Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults Book of the Year *

Ratings and reviews

A pretty good coming-of-age horror novel about a down-on-their-luck family receiving a too-good-to-be-true offer from a shady-as-hell rich man's foundation to live for free in a renovated victorian mansion. It's categorized as a YA novel, but issues of gentrification, the racist/classist prison industrial complex, and mob mentality are front and center, while sensitively exploring anxiety, OCD, and addiction in its troubled protagonist. The audiobook's voice actor is great and naturally portrays all of the characters, from the teenage protagonist to her family, peers, neighbors, and even a small town televangelist that appears on TV throughout. There's a somewhat predictable and slightly disappointing twist, but it's written and narrated well enough for it to work in the context of the overall story. The highlights of the book are definitely its characters and their relationships, which of course make the horror elements more effective.

I really like this one very good book for October

About the author

Tiffany D. Jackson is the New York Times bestselling author of Allegedly, Monday's Not Coming, Let Me Hear a Rhyme, Grown, White Smoke, The Weight of Blood, and coauthor of Blackout and Whiteout. A Walter Dean Myers Honor Book and Coretta Scott King–John Steptoe New Talent Award winner, she received her bachelor of arts in film from Howard University, earned her master of arts in media studies from the New School, and has over a decade of TV and film experience. The Brooklyn native still resides in the borough she loves. You can visit her at www.writeinbk.com.