White Smoke

An allegedly haunted house, an evil step-sister, an abandoned and rotting town, and distrustful neighbors crowd together in this sharply told story about a girl running from her past. With each page, my paranoia grew until there was no easy way to tell what was real, and what was a red herring. This book was freaky. I was afraid to read it late at night because if I did, my over-active imagination would absolutely torture me with sinister nightmares.

If you’re looking for a modern haunted house story that will keep you up well past your bedtime, here’s the ticket. From the moment Marigold and her family arrive at their new, too-good-to-be-true home, she senses that something is off. Is it the unfriendly neighbors? The way the workmen abruptly drop their tools and leave at 5:35 every day? Or is it the creepy noises only Mari seems to hear at night? And what is that smell? The sense of dread is so keen within these pages that I found my anxiety ratcheting up with every scene. Not… show more.

I love White Smoke because it takes all the best elements of a classic haunted house story and weaves them with the very real horrors of shady politicians, misinformation, racism, and bedbugs. Marigold is a fantastic main character who remains compassionate and fierce as she grapples with the mistakes of her past. I think what I loved most about this book is the way it plays with the idea of what it means for people and places to be haunted. White Smoke is also fantastically creepy, with sharp writing that kept me turning pages right up to the end.