The Weight of Blood - Tiffany D. Jackson

Free Choice Title

    The more I reflect on this book, the more that I find that I really enjoyed it. It might just be because horror movies are some of my favorites, and I love to make comparisons between different versions of the same property. I keep thinking about the differences between this novel and the original Carrie (both the novel and film), and I'm finding that I enjoy this one more. I think the changes to the story add a deeper layer that I feel are expanded on personal experiences and feelings by the author; I always felt that there was a disconnect between the character of Carrie White and Stephen King. I think that changing the core issue of the book from puberty to racial tension adds a more compelling and contemporary issue into the novel. I also think that changing the location from Maine to Georgia, while necessary, was a change that I felt made the book more relatable. While I've never lived in Georgia, my fiancé is from a small town in South Carolina, I could vividly feel the setting. I think the more "horrific" parts of the novel were more tame than a lot of the other novels that I have read that fall into similar genres. But, I think the parts of this novel that are truly scare are the real-world aspects of modern racism and how long standing traditions and ideas are often rooted in hate. A book like this grounds the idea of issues that many people only see in movies, are still very real. Overall, I think this book was a bit of a sleeper based on my own obsessions with comparisons in media, but would recommend it to anyone that was looking for compelling teen drama with a darker side. 
★★★★☆

    I think this book would appeal to different sets of teens. One group would before those who love teen dramas and ones that enjoy following complex characters that have conflicting motivations. The other group is the teens that are "horror-nuts" and have already seen or read Carrie. And while I think that others would argue that teenagers aren't interested in old movies, I've taught enough weird students that love horror movies to know that many of them have seen older movies like Carrie to "earn their stripes." I can even think of specific students that I have taught in the past that would love to read a book that is a retelling of a classic horror movie that has a modern twist. While they may have their own opinions that would differ from mine, movie nerds love to make comparisons (and then probably rank them with other horror movie re-makes). 

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