The Weight of Blood Review

*SPOILERS BEWARE*

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.

I quite enjoyed Maddy’s character. I think the way she chose to deal with everything that has happened to her so far has been quite realistic. There is definitely that sense of not belonging to any one particular group at school and also the horrific treatment from her father has really stunted her maturity and also her confidence which leads to her inevitable psychotic break.

I wasn’t all that invested in any of the other characters to be honest. I think they were all meant to be unlikeable as we know that none of them survive prom night. Kenny’s character got on my nerves a little bit. I know it would be quite hard to not stick to the status quo when your in high school but he should of stuck up for Maddy and called out the quite obvious racists acts that his friends were pulling. His sister was one of my favourite characters and I loved how she wouldn’t stand for it and made a fuss! Wendy was totally selfish and even though her intentions might of been to help smooth everything over she was doing it all for herself and her image.

I haven’t read the original Carrie or watched the movie before so I honestly had no preconceived notions on how this should be written or how close or far from the original it is or should be. I thought it was well written and the format with the added podcast element was fun and made it easier to get through. The pacing was quite fast and I was highly entertained throughout. The prom night scene did feel a little rushed though so I wish we could of had more time to really get a grasp of what was happening and how horrible it would of been to witness.

⭐️4/5 stars seeing these characters get what they deserve was fun!