The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson

 The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson-416 pages

This is a modern twist on Carrie by Stephen King. Maddy Washington lives in a small town in Georgia where the black kids and the white kids have separate proms. Maddy's papa is a religious zealot who doesn't want anyone to know his secret, which is that Maddy is mixed race. Her mother was black. Her mother is no longer around, however, so she's raised with an "iron fist" by her papa. One day the kids at her school find out that she's part black and make fun of her hair that has poofed out due to rain. Maddy has another secret, though. One that even her papa seemingly doesn't know about. She is telekinetic. She can move things with her mind. Jules, a senior cheerleader and a racist bully, comes to a rally in blackface to make fun of Maddy. Jules is then suspended for her last week of high school and no longer admitted to her dream college, Texas A&M. Jules blames Maddy and wants to get revenge. She plans a horrific prank for the integrated prom. Kenny, the black football star quarterback, invites Maddy to Prom at the prodding of his white girlfriend, Wendy. Kenny slowly fall in love with Maddy and her with him. Everything goes horribly wrong at the first ever Springville integrated prom after Jules's prank on Maddy succeeds. Death and other horrors abound and few escape alive. Is Maddy Washington one of them who escapes alive? Did she really kill all of those people with her mind? I really liked this modern retelling of Carrie with echoes of current events, especially involving ongoing racism/race relations.