The novel opens with protagonist Vern giving birth in the woods, alone. A true outsider, she has rejected both the strict, isolationist religious community she escaped from (called Cainland for short) and the broader U.S. society from which they sought to separate. As she reflects on her life there more and more background details get filled in. But it turns out that her realizations about the true nature of the community only begin to scratch the surface.

Something has been happening to her body, which only truly comes into focus when she leaves the woods for civilization with her twins. Based on very little information, she seeks out her old friend Lucy, but instead finds Lucy's Native American protector Bridget and her niece Gogo. The timing is fortunate, because the fungus that has been transforming her body has gone into overdrive. She has begun to grow a kind of exoskeleton, and experiences a high fever and vivid hallucinations that she calls "hauntings."

It turns out the hauntings are real memories, both hers and those of other Cainland residents. They are all united by the fungus, which has an amazing origin story that is not fully revealed until near the end of the book. Finally fully aware of the government conspiracy that has manipulated her and the rest of Cainland, Vern goes on the offensive, culminating in a huge climax in which she faces a massive armed force.

Excuse the dog LOL
Book review
Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Vern's story was compelling, as a 15-year-old they left this sect while pregnant, birthed twins, and continued to provide for themself. r cult in order to remove themselves from the American mainstream and only follow their cult leader. However, as a young person, Vern breaks free and as someone who has been taught survival skills and is able to keep safe despite the fact that there are people looking to collect and return Vern home.
A very satisfying book to read and finish, and a must-have for anyone who enjoys a story that emphasizes the resilience of young people. It is also a wonderful story that explores gender roles and the concept of gender itself in our society through Vern's tale.
There is magic and mystery to this story that presents itself in the tale regarding Vern's "transformation".
A very satisfying book to read and finish, and a must-have for anyone who enjoys a story that emphasizes the resilience of young people.

What a beautiful, poignant novel. Rivers Solomon definitely has a fan in me!
Vern, a 15 year-old heavily pregnant teenager, escapes the cult where she was raised for the shelter of the forest. She gives birth to twins there. She is hunted by the cult, which refuses to let her go and is experiencing "changes" all while fighting for her little family. Her metamorphosis is harrowing and extraordinary. Do not miss this amazing novel.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this special book.*

This astonishing book covers so many issues I don't even know where to begin. Motherhood, mental health issues, queerness, race and identity, intimacy and relationships, and over all of that, the willingness and even eagerness of the US government to experiment on and discard Black bodies. Because while the events in this book are fictional, we all know the US government is no stranger to the utter disrespect and disregard of Black people. This book was heart-wrenching and gutting, but reading it was an incredible journey. An absolutely breath-taking experience.

Rivers Solomon is SUCH a talented writer. This book was so very, very ambitions but they knocked this one out of the park.

This was the first book written by Rivers Solomon that I have read and now I'm wondering if this book is typical of her writing. I enjoyed the creativity and diversity of her characters but it ended up being too weird for me. The first section was really great and I really enjoyed the mystery aspect, but things broke down for me after that. I've liked many novels with strange elements in the past so I don't believe it was purely the other-worldliness aspect that I struggled with. I was also left unsatisfied with the ending, it felt abrupt to me.

I was so happy to receive an arc of this book (especially because I had the publication date wrong and thought it was coming out in March when it isn’t coming out until May). I read The Deep a few months back and after reading Sorrowland, I’ll definitely be reading An Unkindness of Ghosts and anything they put out in the future. This book was so fascinating, with its sharp societal commentary, well-developed characters, and marvelously gross body/environmental horror. Reviewing this book is a challenge because it feels like an experience for me to learn from rather than something for me to critique. That being said, it’s not like there would be much for me to critique anyway, as this book is incredible just as it is. It’s a perfect combination for me of hard hitting topics as they relate to our world, weird paranormal phenomenon, and beautiful relationships. Vern is the type of protagonist I love, strong willed, resilient, and capable, unconcerned with convention. And every aspect of her character feels earned, believable, dimensional. Rivers Solomon truly did a fantastic job with this book, and i can’t wait to see what they do next.
Thank you to Farrar, Straus, and Giroux and Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars.

This is my second Rivers Solomon book and I find myself even further enamored with their work the more I read. I was immediately captivated with the main character of Sorrowland, Vern, a 15 year old girl who escapes a religious cult into the woods to give birth to twins. Vern is an incredibly strong, interesting character to follow. Sorrowland blends horror, fantasy, gothic, and speculative genres into one superb story that also tackles many serious topics such as race, lgbt+ issues, religion, abuse, sexual abuse, pedophilia, etc. In my opinion, Sorrowland tackles all of these themes realistically (even though this story has a lot of fantastical elements) with nuance and care.

However, things took a nosedive for me in the second half of the book. The mushroom thing was just too weird for me, and also, the sex scenes were way overdone - one in particular was actually very disturbing. I really liked the idea of the cult of Cainland and the background behind it. I wish this book dealt more with that then the weird aspects of the story.

DRC provided by Farrar, Straus and Giroux via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Representation: Black queer albino protagonist with nystagmus, Black albino secondary character with nystagmus, Black secondary character, Black tertiary characters, Black queer tertiary characters, queer tertiary character, Oglala tertiary character, winkte lesbian Lakota tertiary character.

Content Warning: child abuse, violence, cultism, homophobia, transphobia, torture, death, mention of forced sterilisation, racism, misogyny, body horror, gore.

Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon is an incredible story about growing, fighting for your family and love in its many forms.

After escaping the commune where she lived her whole life, Vern gives birth to twins in the woods Always on high-alert and ready to run to avoid the clutches of the person sent by her commune to bring her back, she raises the children in the woods and it is there she first realises her body is changing. She has developed regenerative powers and a phenomenal strength. A day, a strange rash starts spreading on her skin, weakening her. Scared about what would happen if she is not there to protect her children, she decides it is time to live the woods. The family then begins the long journey towards the only safe haven Vern knows of.

I loved this book. I honestly was not expecting it to be this way —mostly because I forget the synopsises after some time and I trust my past-self about the books I add to my to-be-read list, so I avoid reading them again— but I was pleasantly surprised though. I loved everything, from the pace to the writing style, the characters and the plot. As first experiences with authors go, this went extremely well and I cannot wait to dive in another work of faers.

I received a digital advance copy of Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon through NetGalley. Sorrowland is scheduled for release on May 4, 2021.

Sorrowland is the story of young Vern, a pregnant teenager fleeing the religious compound where she was raised. Vern ends up a resident of the woods, giving birth alone on the very night a fiend comes to find her. Vern raises her two small children in the wood, fighting both the pull of the community that is unwilling to let her go and the changes that are happening in her body.

Sorrowland has definite speculative and supernatural elements. There is the mysterious, shape-shifting fiend that hunts Vern. There are the hauntings of dead children and others that followed Vern into the wood. There are the strange changes in Vern’s own body. Despite these speculative elements, this story is very much about reality.

Rivers does a great job of weaving together Vern’s very real world and challenges with the amazing things that are occurring around her. This weaving is done in a way that leaves us (and often Vern) questioning what is real and what is not. The line between reality and fantasy becomes very blurred, along with our definitions of concepts we may have been taught have very clear boundaries.

Rivers also weaves historical issues into Sorrowland, showing us that what we consider history continues to impact today. Racism, colorism, the treatment of religious groups, the use of individuals (especially black individuals) are a few of the pieces of the past that follow Vern into the woods, ultimately forcing her back out to deal with what she hoped she had left behind.

While I felt the power of the story Rivers wove in Sorrowland, and loved the characters they created (especially Vern’s two little wildlings), I did struggle a smidge with the use of one of the fantastical elements. Hauntings follow Vern into the woods, and while Rivers explains why they are occurring and explores what they have to offer Vern, the use of these hauntings felt a bit convenient in spots, especially in the last twenty percent or so of the story. What the hauntings revealed here was important, but the way the reveal happened felt a bit out of place for me, and actually pulled me out of the this high-impact part of the story. I wish that Rivers had found another way to get us that needed piece of backstory without breaking the forward momentum of Vern’s story.

Overall, Sorrowland was a really good read. It is a creepy, speculative tale woven through and around history and its ability to follow us into both the present and future.

I was instantly hooked by this novel that tells the story of young, pregnant women escaping from what seems like a cult but there’s so much more to it than that. The sci-fi and horror elements at play were very unique and I applaud how this book let women characters shine.

Rivers Solomon is a fantastic writer. If you have not discovered them, start here! Sorrowland tells an exciting story of Vern, a woman who has escaped a religious compound to live in the woods--if you like survival or adventure stories, you'll like Sorrowland. The book is so, so much more though--it's also an exploration of gender, race, sexuality, religion and motherhood and the ways in which those categories intersect. Destined to be a much-discussed story.

Sorrowland is a unique, haunting combination of gothic fantasy, science fiction and American history. I truly had no idea where this book was going to take me, but what an extraordinary journey it takes you on. There are layers upon layers in the story, from the fantastical transformation of Vern, the experience and trauma of growing up in a cult, to the history of government experimentation on African Americans. The story follows Vern who has escaped Cainland, a strict religious compound while young and pregnant. She hides out in the woods and gives birth to twins who she raises out in the wild. Vern finds herself haunted by visitations that seem incredibly real, as well as being hunted by those who run Cainland and want her back all the while her body is going through physical changes that she doesn't understand. As Vern fights to stay free of her past, her desire to protect her children takes her out into the world where she finds others who will accept all of her as well as a path to finding the answers to what is happening to her and what the truth is behind Cainland. Vern's journey of accepting the changes to her body as well as opening herself up to her own sexuality and the power and freedom that gives her are an integral part of this powerful, thoughtful story full of remarkable imagery. I loved Howling and Feral and Vern's relationship and interactions with them, and their absolute joy in everything nature and the ability to adapt so readily to new situations and experiences. So many of the images, characters and story elements will stay with you long after you have finished this remarkable story.

Teenaged Vern leaves the only life she has ever known when she flees her husband, the leader of a malignant cult that veered from its roots in Black liberation decades ago. She vows to raise her newborn twins Feral and Howling in the woods, far from the social ills and strictures that so wounded her. Her woodcraft can keep her small family safe, but it does not shield her from the dark visions and inexplicable physical side effects of her time in Cainland. Fiercely independent Vern must forge human connections before she can understand the depths of the violence done to her. Powerful and difficult, with an unfortunately rushed ending.

This story is a beautiful tapestry of intersections of identity. Vern was a great protagonist, and I really loved the surreal aspects to the story. Having read two other books by Rivers Solomon, I knew to expect beautiful writing, creative ideas, and poignant themes, and I was not disappointed. A huge thank you to Netgalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Vivid. Powerful. Transgressive. Transcendent. Sorrowland is at once the breathlessness of love and the sharp shock of being winded. I’m utterly floored by my first Rivers Solomon and can’t wait to get my hands on more.
The cast of characters is relatively small, but they’re all engrossing and three-dimensional. Vern’s intense determination to survive and to resist is present from page one, and I loved her more every time she defied expectations. The children were utterly delightful—I don’t want to spoil anything, not even their names. And Gogo... a medic on the front lines in activist circles? A theorist? Deeply connected to her culture? Truly a woman after my own heart.
Vern’s hauntings and her transformation were expertly threaded through the story, and the rotting root of Cainland—and of a structure much bigger and more damaging—was laid bare at the perfect pace. Solomon exposes the horrific history of medical development in the USA subtly and masterfully.
I went into this book knowing it represented many identities across the LGBTQ+ spectrum, but I was delightfully surprised to find that the book itself—its thematic through-lines and philosophies, its imagery, its gaze—are queer as hell. Being immersed in queerness in its most liberating forms is a feeling I will hold close to my heart long after the finer details of this story have faded from my mind. While I can’t speak on this from personal experience, Vern’s disability also seemed to be well written, influencing her character development and requiring accommodation, but never undercutting her power.
Solomon’s writing was rich and careful. The similes in particular were chosen with great precision, always revealing something about the worldview she was weaving around Vern. Solomon balances the line-by-line mastery of language and layering of meaning most common in literary fiction with the powerful imagery and imaginative breadth of science fiction and fantasy. Sorrowland sits between the two genres, straddling them with a firm, wide stance. And genre is far from the only dichotomy it shatters. I hope it finds its perfect audience; it deserves it.

This was a strange and genre bending and I loved it. Vern is a fantastic protagonist and I love her journey. Sorrowland starts with Vern heavily Pregnant running away from the cult in which she was raised. She gives birth in the woods and for four years raises her twin children completely removed from any society. She begins to realize that Cainland may not be done with her. Sorrowland contains elements of scifi, horror, fantasy and biting social commentary,

I received a free digital arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sorrowland is the first book by Rivers Solomon that I've read and has left me looking forward to exploring more of their works in the future. Sorrowland dives into heavier topics (ex: religious extremism, racism, sexism, pedophilia) and how they affect the main character, Vern, in her day-to-day life without making the book's plot feel too weighed down. These topics enhance the story by driving the plot and give readers reasons to sympathize with Vern as she tries to survive on her own outside of Cainland.

I'm sorry to say I would have given it one star, but I liked the premise. I found the writing to be shallow and sporadic, disjointed and inconsistent.
even so, I appreciate the chance to read and review

We’re introduced to Vern, who has just run away from her religious compound, Blessed Acres of Cain, and in the woods near the compound, she also gives birth to her twins, Feral and Howling. Vern is now a runaway from the land that is supposed to be free of the influence of white people (fiends), and according to the preaching on the compound, their toxicity. However, to the outside world, the compound is a place that has socially deviant beliefs, including child abuse.

The book navigates between glimpses into the past and Vern’s “unruliness” on the compound because of her longing to be free to think and make decisions for herself, and periods of time where she lives in the woods navigating motherhood, as well as the society outside of the compound walls. Solomon tries to tackle a lot, gender, race, rebirth, and identity. We are shown these things through a character that initially begins this journey at 15 and as the years pass, she has to emerge from the shelter of the woods to find healing from the “changing” that’s occurring within her, as well as the hauntings of the past.

This story moves slowly for me and I feel that Solomon tried to tackle too many issues in one novel. Race or identity are topics that could have easily encompassed the novel by itself, but tacking on gender, religion, sexuality, resistance, oppression, and even experimentation just made it a big hodgepodge of themes.

had a hard time staying engaged with this book. There are a number of time jumps, that made it hard for me to keep track of when things at times. Large spans of time took place over paragraphs, and then something that happened months or years ago would be mentioned and that would last for about a page, and then with barely a pause, we'd be back in the present with Vern and her children.

I loved The Deep, and plan on reading their other books, but I just struggled with this book.