This book! Wooooowwww Tiffany has once again done it! Masterfully woven relevant topics with a fictional tale that managed to not only entertain but to teach. I loved the mixed media that was used throughout including interviews and podcast transcripts. The characters, the plot, the writing all meshed seamlessly! I can see this book being used in classrooms.

Maddy has a secret. Her mother was black and her father wants her to pass as white. She has done it for many years; even going so far as staying home if there is even a chance of rain … she can’t take the chance that her hair will change. Her carefulness ends when it begins raining during a school run. She can’t stop what happens to her hair and everyone sees the truth. It doesn’t take long for Maddy to become the target of mean girls and the viral video spurs students to ask for an integrated prom. Yes, it is 2014 and their school still holds TWO proms. One is for the white students and one is for everyone else. Unfortunately, her classmates aren’t done picking on her and Maddy’s other secret is more than they expect.

The Weight of Blood is a stand-alone supernatural novel that tells the ending at the beginning and then exposes the hidden truths throughout the rest of the story. I enjoyed the varied points of view. Sometimes readers will learn through a person’s experience, sometimes a podcast transcript, and other times an interview. All questions are answered at the end and I believe most readers will see a commonality to a famous story by Stephen King.

First impression: A remake of Carrie, where she is white passing in a semi still segregated high school in Georgia.

This was from an omniscient narrator which really worked for this story. Maddie, who was bullied when her classmates thought she was just weird and white starts getting racially bullied when it rains and her hair returns to its natural texture. I have been a fan of Tiffany D. Jackson since reading her first book, Allegedly. It's really amazing to see her growth as an author because TWOB was really well done. I only wish we got one final glimpse into the better life Maddy lived after she got away from Springville and met up with her mother.

Hmmm. I am really conflicted on this book. The plot and all of the themes were extremely compelling. However, the writing style really did not work for me - it felt like a high school writing project. I often really enjoy podcast-style storytelling in books, but in this case it felt amateur and frustrating.

The concepts were really over the top in the best way, so I must say it's a really memorable book - but fell kind of middle of the road for me.

Was it Maddy? Decide for yourself and read The Weight of Blood. I was hesitant at first because I found Jackson’s last attempt at something potentially paranormal lacking and I wasn’t sure about taking in Carrie (only because I don’t like Carrie). It was phenomenally well done though. Where White Smoke lacked focus on the themes and social commentary, The Weight of Blood makes up for it ten fold. As a white educator I found myself reflecting a lot. The only thing I would take stars off for is Mr Washington because he seems like a caricature, but it could also be done for a reason. I highly suggest this book for readers into YA books, especially horror with social commentary.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this arc to review.

4.5 stars for this amazing YA horror story! Tiffany Jackson does it again and will continue to be an auto-buy author for me! In this nod to Carrie, by Stephen King, Jackson turns the story on its head, making the story even scarier by adding in elements of systemic racism. The story is told in two different time lines, 2014 and a significant time later. The later timeline is told through a podcast, where Michael, a man obsessed with the Maddy case, interviews people involved and "experts" to determine what the cause of the prom tragedy really was. The 2014 timeline is told through third person, focusing on different characters along the way. We get to see how Maddy is bullied through the eyes of Maddy, her peers, and even the bullies, who think they are just joking around and don't understand the magnitude of their actions until it's too late. I really enjoyed reading both timelines and enjoyed seeing all the characters' lives. This book definitely deserves its prom queen crown!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I had to think long and hard about what I wanted to say about this book before writing this review. I'm just going to come out and say it: This is Tiffany D. Jackson's best work to date. And if you've read any of her other novels, you know how lofty a statement that is.

First off, the growth of TDJ's writing is just stunning. I have always been captivated by her ability to bend a plot and take a reader on a journey with twists and turns they never see coming. She does all of that with The Weight of Blood, but she does it with some of the most beautiful prose I've ever read. I wanted to tag line after line because the writing was just that good. As a writer, sometimes I read books and I only wish that someday I could be that eloquent. This was one of those books.

Tiffany D. Jackson toes the line of YA most of the time. She's often criticized for writing books that are "too mature" for young adults and thus she ends up on a lot of book ban lists. As a parent, an educator, and a reader, I have to say that all of that is nonsense. Young adults NEED these books, especially one like this. Jackson tackles mature topics with poignancy that few YA authors in this space do. There is ALWAYS a thorough message to accompany any particularly hard-to-read scenes. This book was plenty hard to read in parts, but I understood why. It was necessary for the reader to really feel Maddy's pain in order to understand her response. And what a response it was.

Jackson thoroughly catalogued every type of personality in this space and I really appreciated that attention to detail. There were characters that represented the bullied, the bullies, the standers-by, the well-meaning but completely misguided parents, the also very well-meaning but somewhat misinformed teacher. I could see myself in all of them and felt empathy for each one. (Except Jules. That bitch can burn.) She left very few stones unturned when addressing every part of this issue. It's the first time Jackson has taken race on head-on and she did it in a way that was not only graceful, but so, so powerful.

The other thing that completely floored me about this novel was the narration. Jackson intersperses podcast scripting into the narrative and the storytelling is just fantastic. It really adds a layer to the novel that was slightly reminiscent of Sadie. I'd catalogue this book right up there with Summers' masterpiece. It was that good. As always, Jackson also weaves nonfiction right into the narrative seamlessly. As you're reading, you just know she did her homework.

I'm sure I'll be gushing over this one until the next time she impresses me. Knowing Jackson, I'm sure that won't be too long.

Content warnings: language, violence, child abuse
Classroom library: Mature grade 9+

Wow! The Weight of Blood absolutely blew me away. It is really hard for a fiction book to include culturally revenant, hard to talk about themes without it sounding preachy but Jackson did it beautifully. I can not wait to get this in the hands of my students.

SPECTACULAR! AMAZING! I was drawn into the story immediately. I think the podcast format to retell the events paired with watching them play out was genius. I could feel Maddy's anxiousness and fear in her daily life; Kenny's character was so well written, between being who his dad wanted to be, his friends and his sister, the emotions it took him through-phew! All aspects of racism were covered, the blatant, the microaggressions, the white privilege, I mean all of it! I finished it in 2 days and absolutely loved this Carrie remix.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC. The last time I stayed up way into the night (OK, early morning) to read a book, it was Tiffany D. Jackson’s Grown. I finished The Weight of Blood this morning around 12:30 a.m. because I didn’t want to wait to find out what happened in this exquisite book.

Jackson combines Carrie with The Hate U Give to give us The Weight of Blood - a captivating novel that shows what happens when main character Maddy Washington is terrorized by her racist classmates and discovers her power of telekinesis.

Maddy’s powers first show themselves after her period - a trope that is commonly used in fiction and is vaguely disappointing. But, the rest of the novel makes you forget this common trope! Maddy is a likable character, and the back-and-forth between her chapters and a podcast about her make for quick reading.

Fans of Jackson’s won’t be disappointed, and those wary of horror won’t be so scared that they won’t enjoy it. Highly recommend!

Inspired by a horror classic, Tiffany D. Jackson's the Weight of Blood's spotlights racial inequities and Black history, a clever update of Stephen King's Carrie. Overall, though, it didn't work for me. I had a hard time swallowing Kenny's attraction to Maddy, her father's outlandish behavior, the hackneyed characterizations and sometimes awkward writing (e.g., "Something unsaid passed between them, a palatable mental intimacy, the connection sizzling in her ear"), I know my high school students will eat this one up. It's going on our to-order list.

I love the way this one makes the reader think about race, racial identity, and race relations. Excellent character development, but I didn't always love the direction the storyline took. I would love to discuss this one with someone (I'm thinking some discussion will increase my rating of the book even more)!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC.


Description from NetGalley:
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.

This is basically a fresh retelling of Stephen King’s Carrie, and I’m absolutely in love with it. I feel so much for Maddy. She’s really just finding out who she is in this book. The book plays out very similarly, replacing religion from Carrie with race and racism. Springville is so stuck in its racist roots and tradition that it’s hard not to scream at many of the white characters in this book. The topic of white saviors comes up with Wendy, while other white students are learning the real world consequences for racist behavior that they think are just jokes. Because of race being the center theme, this book feels very fresh with twists that I loved and didn’t see coming.

Overall: 5/5

The Weight of Blood took Carrie and made it better. I could not put this book down and it will absolutely will go into my classroom library. Tiffany Jackson DOES NOT MISS.

Let me start off by saying that I could not put this book down. Second, I was so angry at that backwards town and it's west side citizens. Third, I did not see some of Jackson's twists coming. I gasped loudly at certain parts of this book. Two thumbs up from me.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel. 4/5 stars.

I want to preface this with I have never seen nor read Carrie. This is based on Carrie. It is basically Carrie but insert a LOT more blatant racism and a lot of microggressions into a town that seems like could be from the 60s but is actually from modern day.

The story is about Maddy Washington, and while we get her perspective, we also get the perspective of many of her classmates, along with this being told with various podcast episodes interspaced throughout the narrative as the podcast tries to tell the story of what happened and "Maddy did it."

Honestly, I was expecting this to be much more of a thriller/horror, but it really wasn't? It does get a bit grotesque toward the end, but overall, this is more of a psychological read than a horror read. Maddy's dad tries to brainwash her into a 1950s white housewife, including a prayer closet with a collage of white women for her to think about becoming. She's lived most of her life pretending to be white, until rain ruins her straightened hair -- which her dad blames her for. There's a LOT, and I mean, a LOT of racism in this book, and it really connects to the plot as the cause for what happens and how a lot of people were bystanders.

It was an intense read, but I also didn't want to put it down and could have easily read it in one sitting.

This was incredible! I've loved everything I've read by Tiffany D. Jackson and this did not disappoint. I can't wait to recommend this book to people. The writing is fantastic, the characters felt real, and the story was just fantastic. Jackson has the unique ability to make you feel along with her characters and it really drives the story forward. If you even remotely like YA, read this book.

A great Jackson as always. I liked ho this was told multi media style similar to Carrie. This would definitely go over well with my reluctant readers

Maddy Washington has been an outcast since she mysteriously entered public school in middle school. Given the nickname Mad Mad Maddy and exacerbating the assumptions by wearing smelly, old clothes, no one really wanted to get to know her. Everyone assumed she was a white girl, too, until one fateful day senior year during gym class when it started to rain. That day, and the days leading up to prom, were the catalysts to the infamous massacre that occurred on prom night.

THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD. Definitely check trigger warnings because there are many including child abuse, racism, and on page gore and violence. Fans of Carrie will love this retelling! This is the original Carrie, but add a secretly biracial protagonist, a white dad who hates his daughter’s Blackness, and a town who can’t seem to escape the “good old days” of segregation. The characters in this book were awful which means Tiffany D. Jackson did an amazing job with this character development (or lack thereof) and gives us a mystery/paranormal/anti-racist book perfect for spooky season! The format of this book is one that is easy to eat up in a mere 8 hours (that was me) because it is told in a format with a podcast exploring the massacre interspersed with the inner thoughts and feelings of all characters involved. This book was EXCELLENT!!!!

A decade on, the only answer anyone in Springville, Georgia has for the destruction of half their town is, "Maddy did it." Madison Washington was an extreme outcast who often missed school. But one rainy day, her greatest secret was discovered - Maddy is Black passing for white on orders of her racist father. The humidity brings out the true texture of her hair, resulting in a perfect target for classmates to throw their pens. When video of this harassment is spread on social media, students are horrified by the negative outcomes. Desperate to repair all their reputations, the white class president launches a campaign to hold the high school's first integrated prom and volunteers her Black football all-star boyfriend to take the reclusive Maddy as his date. But good intentions lead to unimaginable consequences when racial tensions collide with Maddy's newly discovered ability.

Jackson deftly explores various reactions to systemic racism while telling the story of a girl embracing the power of her identity. Highly recommended for ages 14 and up (younger for fans of scary stories).