Review Detail

This story is a dark homage to Stephen King’s Carrie, with Jackson’s unique voice and spin on it. It pulls the reader into the story immediately, flashing between the events of 2014 and a podcast attempting to analyze the events critically. It is intriguing to get to know Maddy, both as she’s portrayed as a villain, and seeing her as a girl who was abused and bullied and learns to stand up for herself and fight back, and Jackson paints such vivid and realistic characters. The story is impossible to put down, and it isn’t overly scary.

There’s a tiny hint of ableism when she develops her powers initially, and is miraculously cured of her need for glasses, which is a frustrating trope. Also, it would have been nice to get into Maddie’s head a bit more, and understand more about what she was thinking. Her character is so intriguing, and we see less of what’s going on inside of her head towards the end of the story, at a time when I would have wanted to know more about what she was thinking.

Overall, this is an incredible and powerful story, centered around bullying and the consequences, as well as racism on both a personal and institutional level. It’s appropriate for ages 13 and up, and explores not only these darker themes, but the hopeful message about the power that a single person can have on another individual. It’s nearly impossible to view Maddy as the hero of her own story, rather than the villain that others try to portray her to be. This is the kind of reworked classic that shouldn’t be missed.