Reviews with content warning for Murder - Model Home

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Model Home by Rivers Solomon

22 reviews

biolumi221's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Have you ever sensed that if you and the author were both students in a college creative writing class, the author would spend the entire time arguing with the professor and prevent other students from getting critiques on their work? That was this book for me. A very interesting premise that did not (again, for ME) pay off in the end. Rated 2 stars for some very well-written and evocative turns of phrase.

Content Warnings

siglesias's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was devastating. I cried within the first few pages at how gorgeously it was written. I was so scared throughout the book because I felt like I knew what was going to happen, I just didn’t want to believe it. So I accepted that the house was haunted and that was it. I sat awake reading this book until 2 a.m. The last 50 or so pages destroyed me. I am very sad but not upset that I read this beautifully written (but very tragic) book. It will stay with me, that’s for sure.

I think many reviewers of this book have never experienced the wrath a white person will put upon a person of color over things like land and their “community.” I think this book obviously takes it to an extreme (god, I hope this is an extreme) but it’s by no means unrealistic for a POC to have their life ruined by a white neighbor.

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packrat00's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is strange and fucked up and made me hold my breath throughout. I read it in less than 24 hours and couldn’t put it away and every free minute I caught myself reading another chapter. It’s thrilling and sad and I should not recommend reading it but I absolutely would. It’s not for the faint of heart.

Content Warnings

babayulia's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Model Home by Rivers Solomon is difficult to write about because I am still processing it, but I don’t know that I’ll ever be done processing it, so I’m writing a review now in hopes that my friends read it and we can process it together.

This is a novel about terror and trauma. The Maxwell siblings are mourning their parents, who died in an apparent murder/suicide pact in their childhood home. But questions keep emerging: what happened to them? Were they killed by the house, long rumored to be haunted? And if the house isn’t haunted, then what could explain the frequent and inexplicable horrors they experienced growing up?

The beating heart of the book is the main character, Ezri, a queer & trans Black human navigating identity, parenthood, family, and trauma. Just as important are Ezri’s family, especially their daughter, Elijah, and younger sisters, Eve and Emanuelle. I love these characters. They are complex, messy, sweet people, fully fleshed out in all their glorious imperfections. They are easy to root for.

Solomon’s writing is also a major highlight of the book. The prose is lyrical and challenging, a pleasure to read and dissect. I highlighted multiple passages to return to. This is a book I would like to read again, knowing what I know now, so I can try to pick up on more of Solomon’s nuanced storytelling, including faer expert use of foreshadowing.

I recommend this book to fans of the horror genre, especially haunted houses because of how it turns this one on its head. I also recommend it as a critical text that depicts the horrors of white supremacist violence in ways that are somehow both shocking and predictable. This book is upsetting and unsettling at its core, and that’s exactly why you should read it. Text me if you do.

Please check the content warnings! Some are included below, with details that could be considered spoilers.

Child sexual abuse and symptoms of CPTSD are common themes throughout the book. Though CSA does not occur on the page (to my memory), it is a core component of the novel. Grooming does happen on the page, focusing on interactions between an adult white woman and a queer Black child. There is also a sex scene between a white adult male and a queer & trans Black adult that is consensual but involves humiliation play and transphobic language and is preceded by racist remarks and a threat of gun violence (proposal of murder/suicide).

Content Warnings

sid_kay's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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gahleeraereads's review against another edition

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dark sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Here I am on the other side of reading this book, and no, I am not okay. Matter of fact, I want to fight somebody, anybody really.

Solomon's writing and style embodied Ezri so much so that it felt disjointed at times as I was reading it. I found myself having to backtrack to understand the subtle shifts in Ezri's mind. It made since why... eventually, but it took so long to get to the climax of the story. I guess that built suspense, but I also got frustrated because it started to feel like revealing the truth of the haunted house was being drawn out.

Content Warnings

maddogstone20's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I was hoping for more of the horror surrounding the house, but overall was still a good book. Just ended up being a lot different than I originally thought it was.

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l_h's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

emmylis's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

bibliodyke's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Their prose, characters, plot, nuance, details...all fucking brilliant. I stayed up all night reading this book. I needed it. It destroyed me and I've never been more grateful to be destroyed by a book. Thank you Rivers Solomon.

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