New York Times bestselling author Tiffany D. Jackson ramps up the horror in this suspenseful YA novel following a biracial teenager as her Georgia high school hosts its first integrated prom.
When Springville residents—at least the ones still alive—are questioned about what happened on prom night, they all have one 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 since she had more pressing problems to manage. Until the morning a surprise rainstorm reveals her most closely kept secret: Maddy is biracial. She had 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: host the first integrated prom as a show of unity. 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 they don’t know that Maddy still has another secret . . . one that will cost them all their lives.
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Gr 9 Up-Inspired by a Georgia school whose first integrated prom was in 2014, Jackson's nod to Stephen King's Carrie incorporates racially charged social justice themes into a narrative featuring her signature twisty suspense. Madison Washington is biracial, but her uber-religious abusive father passes her as white since her mother is dead. He insists that "no one can ever know" about her natural hair that he hot combs weekly. After she's caught in a rainstorm and her secret is exposed, she is bullied and harassed by her classmates for being Black. This viral video incident awakens an energy within her; desks in the classroom levitate but the incident is reported as an "earthquake." White classmate Wendy tries to merge the school's white and Black proms into an integrated prom, so she can attend with her Black football star boyfriend, Kenny. She later encourages Kenny to take Maddy to the prom-but she doesn't count on Kenny developing feelings for Maddy. Meanwhile, the mean girl crowd arranges sinister plans for prom night, and Maddy's telekinetic powers emerge again as the prom erupts in fiery, bloody chaos. Supernatural portions of the book are explosive and riveting, with the racist realistic parts are even more horrifying. A content warning is advised for racism, bullying, colorism, child abuse, gore/violence, police brutality, and racial slurs. The non-linear, fast-paced plot also includes true crime podcast elements, news clips, and witness testimonies. VERDICT Readers will be hooked from page one of Maddy's intense journey that detonates on prom night.-Lisa Krok?(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.