White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson

I miss my friend Ashlee Norwood who moved away this past year. I feel lucky that we "see" each other on Facebook. But just as nice, I follow her on Good Reads - so I get to see what she is reading and what books she really loves. 

White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson is a book that she recently recommended. I could access this book through SORA along with my Nashua Public Library connection. So off I went on this reading adventure.

It is about a girl, Marigold, who was in a bad place in her life (not spelled out at the beginning of the story) who moves with her family to a new house in a new town. It is a new start for the whole family. But when they arrive at their Victorian home they discover that it has been abandoned for the last 30 years, and that it is on a street in which all the homes are abandoned. Soon after they move in, things begin to go bump in the night...

To be honest, I didn't love it as much as Ashlee did, BUT I did enjoy the book quite a bit. Why?

• It kept my interest - this book is fast-paced all the way through
• It was a creepy horror book in the middle of a pandemic. Sometimes I need a little of relatively unrealistic horror to combat that thrumb of anxiety that COVID leaves in the pit of my stomach
• I liked that it touched on marijuana use - not in a way that it either condemns or favors its use

What didn't I like?

• Parents don't tend to by so clueless - how could you live in a house with slamming doors, horrid smells, and missing items and be totally oblivious
• Some of the characters weren't very well drawn
• Those bed bug references made me itchy the whole way through!

So if you need a break from the pandemic and enjoy a really creepy tale - jump right into White Smoke!