An absolute stunner. Hooked me from the start and did not let go. I had high hopes going in because Sorrowland is one of only a few other 5-star reads, and Rivers Solomon did not disappoint. Excruciating at times to read (see the content warnings) but so well-written and handled with great care.

Incredibly f*cked up, felt like a perfect domino spiral in the end, I am horrified and incredulous.

Rivers Solomon became a must-read author for me.

I’m not into slasher horror. I’m more of a mind fuck horror type of reader. And I am deeply DEEPLY disturbed by this book in the best way.

A black family moves into white suburbia. Into a haunted house.

Now, the children are adults and discover their parents the victims of what looks to the police like a murder-suicide. But the siblings know different. They know it was the house that killed their parents. And it’s not letting go of them either.

I knew throughout the book that everything wasn’t as it seemed. It was never supposed to be. The air of mystery and the Easter eggs left throughout the plot were obviously leading somewhere. But definitely not where I expected. It’s so hard to surprise me with a plot twist, my pattern recognition picks it up every time, but I was FLABBERGASTED. 

I’m a big Rivers Solomon fan already, but this one is their best yet!!! The way that they discuss systemic racism and queerness in such an insightful way that fits perfectly into the plot is  unmatched. If you’re a horror fan, be warned that this book has so many triggers, but it is an absolute must read!

‘Model Home’ by Rivers Solomon is a novel we didn’t know we needed. There was an obvious gap in the market, and they have filled that gap with this grappling story that makes you question everything from the beginning. Solomon offers a hauntingly ideology of what contemporary American life could be like for Black people; it comes across as somewhat far-fetched, but at the moment how far-fetched could it be?

The exploration of three siblings and what happened in their past when they lived as a somewhat happy family at number 677. Growing up in Dalton, Texas with two sisters – Eve and Emmanual – Ezri weaves a narrative of someone who struggles with gender identity, racism and deeper problems that relate a lot closely to the ending of the story, allowing the reader to go through the story at the same time as Ezri is – as if real-life events are being written as we are reading the book. 

When their parents are found dead in the house, Ezri, Eve and Emmanuel must face their questionable past of trauma, denial and terror they witnessed and the haunting by the woman with no face. 

Solomons’ words will make you feel consumed in the words, and although it’s a slow-release book, you will get through the pages so fast due to the feelings you endure with the characters. The idea of being suffocated and almost possessed with emotions and information in regards to Ezri and their family. Intergenerational trauma is prominent with themes of racism, white supremacy and throughout there are darker themes of sexual assault and grooming. 

Looking back at the story now I have finished reading it, it becomes so obvious how the story ended and how it all unravelled, but part of you did want the supernatural occurrences to be more involved with the outcome. Solomon challenges the stereotypical haunted house aspect, where it turns out, that the scariest things people can be confronted with are more realistic issues such as the complex trauma that Ezri had to endure as a child. 

The whole storyline is to face the ghosts of your past and deal with the trauma you were dealt with otherwise it will escalate and it will haunt you. Healing in the book is shown as the hardest thing the siblings have to deal with, their existence somewhat relying on them focusing on themselves and coming together as a family rather than pushing away and falling into the darkness. Ezri shows this a lot throughout the book, spiralling into the depths of an embrace of Nightmare Mother. 
I would have given this novel five stars, but the only issue I had with it was that the ending felt somewhat rushed after everything that happened. I feel that Laurie needed the punishment she deserved and the family needed that closure of justice. But I suppose letting a white person go after tormenting a black family to the point of suicide is more realistic in today’s society, unfortunately.

I loved River Solomons ‘An Unkindness of Ghosts’ due to the way it was written, and again they have managed that flow of lyrical literacy in a way that not many other writers can. The narrative is always raw, and truthful and pushes the boundaries of modern fiction to the point it doesn’t feel like fiction anymore. The energy of the narrative and the resilience of the characters balance each other out to give us this powerful novel that will be read for years to come.