Read This Book…

In the small town of Springville, GA, things are done the way they’ve always been done…including hosting separate proms rather than integrate them. Maddy Washington is a loner in Springville, and she tries to fly under the radar, but when an unexpected rainstorm reveals that she’s been passing as white her entire life, the school is in an uproar. And when the bullying hits the Internet, it’s time to change their image. Cue: the school’s first integrated prom. The white teen in charge of it even gets the idea to have her boyfriend, who is Black, invite Maddy as his date to show the world they’re not as racist as everyone thinks. But Maddy has been told what to do her entire life, and when prom night starts to go wrong, she finally comes into her own terrifying power.

This book is an obvious homage to Stephen King’s Carrie and there are a lot of parallels between the story, characters, and events, but whether you’re a King fan or unfamiliar with King’s classic, this book really does stand on its own. The characters are compelling, and Jackson does a really great job at encapsulating the mental gymnastics many go through to justify upholding the past, while also showing how many characters have learned to adapt in order to survive in Springville. It takes some truly unexpected twists and turns, with some gratifying moments and some horrifying ones, and it left me wondering how on earth everything would be resolved. It’s not a book for the faint of heart, but it is a fascinating look at small town tensions and what happens when everything reaches a boiling point. Unlike White Smoke, this book doesn’t have a lot of sustained suspense or scary moments, but it has an incredible amount of tension that has you hurdling to an explosive ending!