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.
I love Stephen King, and Carrie was the first one of his I read, at probably-too-young-for-this. When I read the blurb for this, and saw that it was obviously a retelling, I was very excited to read it. I stayed away from all the reviews so that I could read it fresh, without knowing what anyone else thought.
Ultimately, I think it's good, I enjoyed reading it, but it could have been better.
The updating has been well done. Using a podcast to replace the letters and interviews of the original was smart. The slightly altered prank was also very clever and fit the new issues well. And there was something slightly Village of the Damned (95) about the ending! However, adding the racial issue to Carrie's other issues - she is still homeschooled and brainwashed, but this time by her father instead of her mother - I felt muddied the issues a bit, bringing in too much to deal with. I also didn't like that the Tommy analogue, Kenny, was attracted to Maddie so quickly; by cheating on his girlfriend he made himself less innocent, while in the original Tommy liked Carrie platonically and treated her well because of that.
(I did also note that Maddie tells us she can't sew, then later mourns the time she spent sewing her dress...)
I don't know a lot about racial politics in the US and especially in the South, but it seems odd to me that in the era of smart phones and social media, people would be ok with segegrated proms, and that a business would refuse to allow an integrated prom on its premises. But maybe that really is how it works and I'm out of touch. It just seemed odd to me.
I did very much enjoy this and I'll be keeping it to reread - perhaps in tandem with Carrie, or while I watch a movie version! I recommend it.
The Weight of Blood is available now. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.
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