DNF this one as it did not hold my interest. Would come back to it from time to time but eventually decided to stop.

This was...weird, in a way that settles under your skin and gives you goosebumps. I'm not quite sure what to make of this book, which clearly longs to be dissected for metaphor and allusion, but ultimately doesn't seem to be quite certain what point, precisely, it is trying to make. I enjoyed the creepy undertones, the hints at disturbing relationship dynamics, and the elements of body horror, and the book is a quick, enjoyable read, but I just don't know that I really...got it? I didn't dislike it, but I feel like it needed to be a bit more concrete in its conclusions. On the plus side, the writing is fantastic; I mean, it is absolutely visceral, and it grips you and pulls you into the story in a way that the plot and characters never manage.

Oddly, this reminded me a lot of The Library at Mount Char, only with more of an experimental, literary bent.

This is definitely a me problem rather than this book problem. I might give it a re-read one day and change this review/rating but for right now this is it. This book is written as magical realism which is either hit or miss with me. It's a weird little book, with some shocking moments, but for the most part I found myself uninterested, often putting it down to read something else. Perhaps I just wasn't in the right mood for a book written in this particular style. The cover was stunning, and I will definitely give the author a second try later on.

Ugh. I have tried so many times to get through this book, but I just can't do it. I always put it down and never come back. I really wanted to like it, but unfortunately I don't and won't be recommending it to my readers. =/

Ada and her father have the power to heal illness. They live in isolation on the edge of a village where they help sick locals—or “Cures”—by opening their damaged bodies or temporarily burying them in the reviving, dangerous Ground nearby. Ada is mostly uninterested in the Cures, until she meets a man named Samson, with whom she strikes up an affair, much to the displeasure of her father and Samson’s widowed, pregnant sister. Divided between her old way of life and new possibilities with her lover, Ava eventually comes to a decision that will change Samson, the town, and the Ground itself forever.
This book is very good, but it's not one of the greatest on my list. That being said, it's far from lackluster and readers that enjoy fiction with just the right dash of fantasy, will probably like this one.

I have tried to read this one on several occasions now, and each time, I am just dumbfounded. What in the actual world is going on this book?! This is a DNF for me. It may be a short read, but I just can't wrap my head around the craziness that is taking place.

This book is weird, dark, and evocative. It gives the impression of being a long-forgotten Grimm's fairy tale, but modernized for our new sensibilities. The writing style is lyrical, and every word has been carefully chosen to produce an image in the reader's mind. At times it's unsettling, but it is also compelling. Whenever I had the chance to pick it up, I didn't want to put it back down. It was definitely more literary than I was expecting, but it wasn't overly weighty. It's a fairly short read, and well worth every second.

When I finished this book I wasn’t sure if it was weirdly intriguing or intriguingly weird. But either way I so enjoyed this feminist tale using a myth-like scenario to explore the female body, sexuality, and desire.

I will be recommending this book to others and I look forward to reading more by Sue Rainsford in the future.

What if you are a teenager, but not really a teenager. You have been alive for centuries and you and your father are healers. I’d almost classify them as witchdoctors. As a reader it was a struggle for me to read about characters with so little depth, but in this fantasy, Ada and her father are removed from many of the features of human personality. Ada is in love, but how does she deal with being in love with a human. I am too much of a realist to fully appreciate this book that to me almost seemed a horror story. But like all good books, it gave me a lot to think about as to choices we must all make in our lives.

Review of Follow Me To Ground

The story focuses on a girl named Ada and her father who are healers. They heal in an usually way, by opening up their patients, called Cures, taking out their ill organs, draining the sickness out and the sickness goes elsewhere. During the healing process, the Cures are put into Ground, which is also where Ada and her father come from. At some point, Ada falls for a regular human and she discusses the ways he makes her feel as a girl becoming more in touch with her womanhood, physically and emotionally. Events occur that have her faced with a decision to choose her lover or continue her path as a healer. It was slow for me to get into reading but as I kept reading, I wanted to know more of what was going to become of Ada. I received a copy as an e-galley/ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so incredibly bizarre but I couldn't put it down. Well done, I'm really glad I gave it a try.

Follow Me to Ground is quite possibly the most bizarre book I have ever read! Its weird and disturbing yet I was totally intrigued by it. I'm honestly not sure what I just read! Ada and her Father are healers in a remote village - people come to them to be cured. They put them to sleep- temporarily enter their body and they may pull out your organs and sing your ailment away. They might even bury you in the ground for a few days before you are healed. It is certainly a unique, original storyline and I liked the writing style and the cover is so amazingly beautiful. I started reading and it just absolutely sucked me in and I couldn't quit reading.

This book was all kinds of weird and disturbing but in a way that was super intriguing. Ada and her father are healers, not quite human but that have taken on human forms. In order to heal, they have the ability to literally open people up or reach into them to remove the sickness (lots of people have described this as super gross, but I found the descriptions tame). The story is told from Ada's point of view, alternating with very short interludes of people from the town describing experiences with Ada and her father. Throughout the book, Ada is striving to be human and in the process falls in love or lust for a human man, Samson. She has to decide whether to abandon Samson or try to heal him, and either choice will change the course of her life forever. Regardless of the path she chooses, this is not a traditional love story...

There is not strictly a plot, but instead a series of stories that move chronologically. Rainsford's prose is lyrical and and sparse, leaving much to the imagination. By the end of the book, some questions are answered but others are purposefully left vague and open to the reader's interpretation. I loved the world that Rainsford created, twisting a fairytale-like premise with something darker. I would not describe the story as pure fantasy but rather a form of magical realism. It worked well as a novella but I also didn't want to leave the weird world that she has created. I read this in one day because I couldn't put it down. I look forward to reading more of Rainsford's writing.

I really wanted to love this one. I read the synopsis and thought this one is right up my alley but I ended up getting lost in all the details. I will say that the book cover is absolutely gorgeous.

This certainly is a strange little book... I am not even sure where to begin with reviewing it, to be honest! I think that this would be a great book to discuss with a book club or other discussion group. It's certainly fascinating and different from anything that I have read before! The main character, Ada, and her father live in the outskirts of a town near a special sort of Ground where they use its powers on the mortal folk of the town to the heal their ills. But Ada and her father are not mere mortal folk...

This book has a sort of a fairy tale-like feel to it, but it's very, very different with a lot to unpack, especially in the ending. It's very well-written and I love the imagery that Rainsford uses. I could see this being a book to re-visit over the years, as I think with each reading, a reader may gain different insight. And I definitely think that there is a lot for readers to discuss here, from the odd relationships, the magical natures of Ada and her father and of course, that ending!

There was a time when I was really into magical realism like this woven into literary fiction, so this made me feel a bit nostalgic. I read this in just about one-sitting and can't wait to talk about it with fellow readers!

3 1/2 stars.

So...my first reaction at completing this book was "WTF did I just read?". I had to go back and reread the last 10 or so pages because my mind was at such a loss. The reread didn't help all that much...I'm still so terribly conflicted and confused.

I have never read anything quite like Follow Me to Ground. This book is creepy, dark, and weird. Seriously weird. But I was REALLY liking it for a good majority of the narrative (partially because of the creepy oddball factor). The layout was equally strange and unique with writing that was both very atmospheric and at the same time limited in scope, making it feel like I had blinders on as a reader. Still...the narrative is flowing and beautiful in it's own dark way.

Follow Me to Ground is a case where the ending unwound quite a bit of enjoyment for me. The book was on track for at least a 4 star rating, if not a 4.5 until the last little bit. I enjoyed the darkness, felt substantially disturbed by the actions in the plot, and liked the writing, but the ending just left me so confused and feeling like I ended on something of a cliffhanger. Regardless...I will admit that it is sticking with me hard and I am looking forward to seeing what Rainsford has in store for her next novel, due out later this year.

Follow Me To Ground is the story of Ada and her father who live outside a village they serve by curing what ails them. They sometimes have to bury them in “The Ground” for a few days for the cure to work, but most of them they can open them up with their hands and remove the illness, sometimes singing it away. They keep to themselves, other than when the Cures, their word for the townspeople, come for a treatment.

That changes when a vital young man comes for a cure and Ada falls for him. The two begin seeing each other secretly though his pregnant sister is suspicious and tries to warn Ada off. So does Ada’s father who keeps telling her there is a sickness in him. This leads to a crisis and Ada takes decisive and shocking action.



I think if Follow Me To Ground were as long as a conventional novel it would have dragged, but it is the perfect length for its story which is fairly simple despite the weighty ideas. This is very much a show-not-tell sort of book and Ada jumps right in describing Cures as she performs them so we quickly learn we are in some fantastical story.

I confess when Samson turned out to have a truck, I was disconcerted for a moment. It felt like a story out of time and yet, just like that, I realized it was happening more or less in the present. This made it feel strange and less probable. It also made the penny not dropping for Ada less likely. Yet, the penny never dropped.

I am unsure whether I can really say I liked the book, but I won’t forget it. It made me uncomfortable and has provoked a lot of thinking while doing other things. I finished it Saturday morning and have thought about it over and over again since then. It is a memorable book that was hard to put down, but likable. Not even close.

I received an e-galley of Follow Me To Ground from the publisher through NetGalley.

Follow Me To Ground at Scribner | Simon & Schuster

Sue Rainsford

3.5 stars

I'm not even sure what happened in this book, much less how I feel about it. Such a strange story.

Ada and her father are not quite human, yet they heal people (whom they call "cures") at their home. Ada starts a relationship with a cure, and the story progresses from there.

This was a quick read, and fast-paced enough to keep me interested, but I found myself confused by some of the wording. I had to re-read certain passages to make sure I understood what happened. There are also no quotation marks, only dashes, so you really have to parse out for yourself who is speaking at the moment.

Overall I'd recommend it, just so I can commiserate with someone else to ask "wtf just happened?".

Follow Me To Ground is the debut novel of Sue Rainsford, and it is getting quite a bit of ink thanks to the dark and disturbing elements it carries. If this first novel is anything to go by, Rainsford is already an author worth keeping an eye on.
This is a haunting and chilling read – perfect for those that love the subtleties that can come with otherworldly horror.
Ada is not human, has never been human. She and her father are something else. They’re tolerated by the townspeople thanks to their ability to heal – even if their methods are somewhat alarming.
You see, they put people in the ground to heal them. It’s counter-intuitive to us humans but is truly second nature for beings such as Ada and her father. Or so it seems. Unfortunately, this is a lonely life, and Ada craves something more. But what would the cost be, should Ada dare to reach out?

“There is something Cures don't know about their curing.
Their sickness isn't gone.
It just goes elsewhere.”

Warnings: Follow Me To Ground is as beautifully descriptive as it is unique. But that means that sometimes the details can be overwhelming and alarming. Be aware that there are graphic descriptions of bodies and injuries in this novel.

Follow Me To Ground has to be one of the most delightfully rich and hauntingly written novels I’ve read in quite some time. There’s something so beautiful in Sun Rainsford’s writing, it’s impossible to look away.
Ada’s tale is both innately human and yet fiercely other at the same time. I love that dichotomy, even as I watched her walk down a path that no human could follow. It was a fascinating read, through and through.
Part of me can’t quite get over all of the details and implications in this novel. There were so many details and layers to this book that I’m not even certain that one read-through would be enough to spot them. I do know that I was enchanted, and was sad to see it end.
The unique storytelling methods used in this novel is what really brought it to a whole new level. Having so many people get a say in what and who Ada was…that was an interesting choice. It increased the intrigue, of that there is no doubt.
The healing shown in this novel was so different and creative. I would have happily read another hundred pages on that alone, given half the chance. There’s something organic yet distressing about the method. It was the perfect foundation for Ada’s plight.
I’m honestly a little bit blown away by Rainsford here. I’m absolutely going to have to keep an eye out for any and all novels that come from this author!

Follow me to ground was not what I had envisioned. I feel like it was all over the place and I couldn't keep up with the characters. I will admit, this is not my typical genre of books so I am not going to say it was horrible to read. Just that it wasn't something I enjoyed or would recommend.