Review: The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson

Maddie did it. That’s the name of the fictional podcast used to frame The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson. That title makes it sound like Maddie is solely responsible for the events of The Weight of Blood, but nothing could be further from the truth.

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Summary

A Carrie retelling

Jackson’s novel is a YA retelling of Stephen King’s Carrie that deals with race in small-town Georgia. 

I should preface my discussion by saying that I’ve never read Carrie, nor do I have any recollection of seeing either movie. I know that’s hard to believe, considering how much King’s work is in the cultural zeitgeist, but it’s true. But anyway – I’m aware that Carrie involves a religious mother, a daughter with telekinesis, and a prom that involved blood, but I couldn’t tell you much more about it.

I’ve seen some reviews on sites like Goodreads that suggest that Jackson took Carrie, made some minor tweaks to incorporate race, and called it a day. But like I said, I don’t know about Carrie to be able to say whether I agree with those reviewers.

Ok, now that that’s out of the way, let’s move on. 

Moving on…

The Weight of Blood is the story of Maddie, a biracial teenager living in small-town Georgia. Maddison “Maddie” Washington is living with her racist White father and generally passes for White. The only thing that gives her away is her hair, which she diligently straightens regularly. So everyone believes that Maddie is White until one day when it unexpectedly rains and ruins her attempts to keep her hair straight. 

What happens is Maddie is relentlessly bullied by some students, with other students trying to prove that the high school and town aren’t racist (spoiler: they are). 

This all culminates with a prom that goes very, very wrong. 

Thoughts

What does it mean to “pass”?

One of the things that Jackson explores in The Weight of Blood is what does it mean to “pass”? Maddie, of course, feels pressure to “pass” for White, but her journey is not the only one we get to follow. There’s also Kenny, a Black athlete from a middle-class family. Willow Talks Books discussed how there are prevailing ideas about what it means to be masculine in small-town America. While everyone can guess Kenny’s race by looking at him, he feels immense pressure to mimic the behavior of his White peers. Kenny is pressured by his parents to be the star athlete because they believe that is how to fit in and succeed in the community. 

This experience is what draws Kenny to Maddie: both characters are being pressured to hide a part of themselves to be accepted. The problem is that hiding your true self never works out long term. 

Then there is the character of Wendy. Yes, Wendy does some objectively horrible things over the course of Jackson’s novel, and yes, a lot of what she does is self-serving. But also – when you peel back some of the layers, you learn that Wendy feels pressured to “pass” as a certain socio-economic class to fit in. Of course, this doesn’t excuse her behavior, but it helps explain her motives. 

Segregated proms

As I previously mentioned, another important element in The Weight of Blood is the element of race. For some context, I’m a White millennial who grew up in an urban area of the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. As a White person, it’s easy to turn a blind eye to racism. With that said, one of the things that surprised me about The Weight of Blood was how the town had its first integrated prom in 2014. I thought that surely racially segregated proms weren’t something that happened in the United States in my lifetime. 

Oh, how wrong I was. 

I discovered that a Mississippi high school held its first interracial prom in 2008.

More recently, a Georgia high school held its first interracial prom in 2014.

Both of these events went off without a hitch, but it wouldn’t surprise me if these events inspired the setting of Jackson’s novel.

I really enjoyed the time I spent with The Weight of Blood. It was hands down one of my favorite books from 2024. I highly recommend Jackson’s book.

A Protip

The Weight of Blood is amazing in audiobook format. There are several narrators, all of whom do a great job. Not only do the multiple narrators do a fantastic job of showing the shifting perspectives, but since there is the podcast element of The Weight of Blood, experiencing the work in an audiobook feels very apt. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that listening to The Weight of Blood in audiobook form enhances the experience. 

You Might Like The Weight of Blood If…

You like YA

You’re looking for a take on Carrie that comments on race.

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This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure for more information.

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Updated: Feb 21, 2025 @ 9:31 pm