Book Review: The Weight Of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson

Thank you @EpicReads for my free book. 

This story tackles important such as racism, passing, complicity and white savior complex.

Notable Quote: 

And instead of holding the community at large accountable for their actions, everyone has continued to place blame on the real victim, creating a monster out of a young girl and using her legacy as a scapegoat to avoid self-reflection.

This quote reminded me of George Floyd’s murder and how people blamed HIM for his own death instead of doing their own self reflection and recognizing the part they played as well when it comes to racism. 

Even though I’m not biracial and couldn’t relate to Maddy’s struggle I was still able to connect to the story especially when it comes to microaggressions Black women face. How we are forced to conduct ourselves a certain way and always labeled as strong and never needing help. Not allowed to break down while others can and get coddled and their hand held.

Quick Take:

New York Times bestselling author Tiffany D. Jackson ramps up the horror and tackles America’s history and legacy of racism in this suspenseful YA novel following a biracial teenager as her Georgia high school hosts its first integrated prom. A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection! 

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.