I am still thinking about this book even after I read it. It has a little of everything in terms of book genres. The beginning was a bit hard to grasp, but I managed to navigate it once I got the hang of the writing, the context and the whole story in itself. It’s definitely a different type of book that is hard to describe but that speaks about the hardships women face, specially women of color, and the aftermath of racism, sexism, being in a cult , among other hardships. There is also lgbtq+ representation. A different book, but a must have. Will buy a physical copy.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this copy.

This is a roller coaster ride of a horror novel that takes on everything from cults to colonialism to secret scientific experimentation.

There is much to admire and love about this book and its inquiry into racism, sexism, misogyny, religious fanaticism, and motherhood. It is genre-bending, with tones of literary fiction, sci-fi, horror, and fantasy. I would recommend it to anyone who loves a good literary read and doesn't mind the true sci-fi/horror elements.

Great read! I wasn’t sure where this was going and could never have anticipated the ending. I will purchase this title for the library.

This started out incredibly dark and disturbing (right up my alley of interest). The writing style is intentionally aged; I’d say an acquired taste. It was too distressing to put down. This book is not for the weak of heart, but I also feel that it’s going to be one of 2021’s essential reads. The plot is something truly exceptional and deeply moving.

Sorrowland tackles so many urgent themes and discussions: domestic violence and its lasting damage, motherhood and postpartum depression, racism, sexism, lgbtq+, mental illness and the journey to healing, religion/cults, etc. this felt difficult to categorize because, at times, it’s all over the place lyrically.

If you can keep up with all of the context and subtext, this is an important read. I do recommend it, but would say it’s worth checking for TW of difficult things that may be challenging to face reading.

I went into this book blind. I hadn't read the synopsis or more than a few excellent reviews before starting it.  I think it would've saved some initial confusion if I had.

Fleeing a cult and an unwanted marriage, 15 year old Vern barely escapes with her life. She is almost blind and pregnant, giving birth to twins on the run. Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon definitely isn't what I expected. What unusual characters. Frankly I'm not sure what to think of this book. It's a weird one. I can appreciate the writing. The condition of Vern's back literally made mine itch at one point. Still, I confess to having lost interest in the storyline a few different times and ended up finishing some other books in the midst of reading this one. Overall, this is a bizarre story of mysterious fungal infection, government experimentation, maternal strength, love and survival.

"The Blessed Acres of Cain was a psyop...'We’re an experiment or something, Test subjects,' said Vern, shaking."

LGBTQ friendly

Sorrowland releases May 4th 2021. Thank you Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books (@fsgbooks) for gifting me an advance copy for review.

Vern, a heavily pregnant teen, flees her Black separatist compound. But in the woods around them lurk fiends who hunt and taunt her. As she raises her twins, her own body seems to turn against her, hiding perhaps monstrous secrets of her own. Vern doesn’t know how, much less who, to trust, and she doesn’t know how to ask for the help she needs, though she finds people who extend it to her anyway. This is a worthy sequel to Solomon’s first novel, a story of rage and injustice that doesn’t feel hopeless despite how little faith it has in America (especially its white people).

4 stars--I really liked it.

This book defies genre. Horror? Sci-fi? Allegory? It's all of these, plus a thriller and a love story (it's not for the squeamish, though). I enjoyed Vern for both her strengths and her weaknesses. Her quest for the truth (about herself, her family, and her past) kept me up late reading.

Recommended for lovers of weird fiction--or anyone willing to push boundaries.

I received this review copy from the publisher on NetGalley. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review; I appreciate it!

What a marvelous book. Sure to get people talking. You're thrown in to a story about race, motherhood and acceptance. The way the author reveals information is a thing of beauty. More to come.

Another unique and thought-provoking story from Rivers Solomon

In this book, Vern, a black teenager, runs away from her home, which is a pro-Black community's compound excluded from the outer society. Out of the (Cain)land and into the woods, she has to bear and raise her children on her own and eventually face the truth about herself and the place she once habited in

I'll admit that I haven't been able to wrap the whole story around my head yet. There were so many crazy things going on in this book I literally forgot that this is actually a fantasy book while there were near-to-zero mentions of any supernatural factors in the first half. However, the writing made everything seem slow and calm and normal as hell. Basically, it managed to be both so unhinged yet so elegant. The racial and LGBT+ representation in this book was top-notch, beyond boundaries maybe.

Yet, I'm afraid that much as Rivers tried to introduce so many subplots into the story, they left many seemingly important details normalized to the point of forgettable. Maybe it had to do with the main character's POV, but unfortunately, I was not entirely invested, despite its great plot materials.

All in all, I definitely had some fun reading this book. But I can't say I enjoyed it thoroughly.

This book was a phenomenal ride, dense with exploration of seeking freedom in the wake of racist and patriarchal barriers. Rivers does a solid job incorporating intersectionality, witnessing misogynoir, analyzing the Black patriarchal, and using science fiction to observe white supremacists structures that violate Black bodies, indoctrinate Black people for a violent purpose, maintain slavery and manipulation. "Sorrowland" actually reminded me very much of Toni Morrison's "Paradise" (which is mentioned in the latter half of the book)--pointing out the flaws of Black patriarchy, the misogynoir therein, the homophobic lens that punishes the sexual liberty and being of lgbt and divergent Black people. A call out to say, Black patriarchy that mimics white colonization and logic does not benefit everyone and is not a route to liberation. Focused on an albino Black person navigating her gender, her sexuality and her sense of self as she struggles to escape and mentally and physically deviates from the Black sexist, patriarchal commune she is manipulated into. And so the story then centers Vern and her children as they grow and develop outside of that space. But to complicate the escape, Vern is also mutating as she explores her rather young motherhood in the woods, her self-hood, her deprogramming beyond the compound. So the narration sprawls through time--it spans four years with dips into flashbacks. The environment goes from isolation in the compound with a set of rules, to the woods and the boundlessness of that space and limited surveillance, to "civilization", and then for a time isolated in a place of healing, then back to compound--I mention these areas because they draw out Vern's development both mentally, spiritually and physically as she engages with her surroundings and the people. So ultimately there is a lot going on. And that I feel like is where I have some conflict with the book because while I enjoyed the very loving introspective growth of Vern and the people she has come to gather in her newly formed circle of trust and love--it took away from the complicated build. Like Vern herself became the deus ex machina to a very loaded plot riddled with police brutality, military abuse, Black bodies being experimented on and such. I just felt the last few chapters winded me and I'm grateful for the narrative that does not rely on the genocide of Black people--i just wished that the story was maybe even broken up into different books to resolve the ending. The story was broken up into parts but resolved itself abruptly and in a way that was nice to see but also didn't feel satisfying. But overall love the lore built on history and love the tender LGBT love and conversations that felt necessary. The creature feature aspect of it was interesting--wished there was more but it was def a speculative fiction that leaned towards the self-hood and being-ness of a Black gender-variant person.

I received this ARC from @netgalley and I went in knowing nothing of this book. I requested it based on the author's name... I've read The Deep by @rivers.solomon and loved every word. This book sucked me in from the very first page. I had to force myself to set it down so I could sleep this morning! I haven't even finished it and I can already rank it as a 5 star read! I'm amazed!!

"Rivers Solomon’s Sorrowland is a genre-bending work of Gothic fiction. Here, monsters aren’t just individuals, but entire nations. It is a searing, seminal book that marks the arrival of a bold, unignorable voice in American fiction." - Netgalley

It's set for publication 4th May 2021
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#RiversSolomon #Sorrowland #Sff #Fantasy #Fiction #ARC #NetGalley #ReadSoulLit #BlackGirlReads #BrownGirlReads #BookstagramSVG #Goodreads #Boonkstagram

As a new mom, I found this book incredibly difficult to read at times, but also kind of earth shattering. It moved me profoundly and I was impressed that Solomon does things with the fantasy genre that even this prolific reader has never seen before. I'll read anything this author writes!

Solomon always writes a captivating and inventive speculative narrative about race, gender, and other issues, and this one is no exception. The end got away from them a tad with too many expository asides about historical injustices— important info, but not necessarily needed in this book and clumsily added. ARC from NetGalley; the book is out May 4 & well worth a read.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for gifting me a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review. This did not in any way influence my rating or overall review.

Well damn... I'm not sure how to review this.

5/5 stars, highly recommend it. I'm fascinated to see how readers will react this book. It has a pretty intense message that goes above and beyond the typical/commercial conversations of racism and generational trauma. It's a bold move, and will likely be seen as "radical" even though it's accurate when you look back at American history (and take stock of how the country operates today).

This book starts off as a cult book, but opens up into SO MUCH MORE. I can't say much else without spoiling it, but if you're on the fence when you first start reading it, please keep going. I read the entire book in one sitting/one afternoon and it's not necessarily a fast read....so that tells you how compelling it is.

This book will make you feel a lot...mostly rage, and likely shame.

TW: childbirth, killing of animals (mostly for food, but there are more upsetting scenes with animal death), body horror (think Wilder Girls but more intense), murder, suicide, rape of minor (off page), gun violence, knife violence, generational trauma, cult indoctrination, trauma from US government, and one big one that I really can't say without spoiling the entire book. Please tread carefully when reading this book and take breaks if needed. It's by no means a light read, and it will be upsetting to many readers

I’m a little lost for words. This was truly unlike anything I have read before and definitely once of the most interesting books I have come across. It took me a bit to get into but the second and third parts were excellent.

Being in the mind of Vern was so intriguing because you could feel her confusion and hurt and anguish through the pages. She was’t necessarily a good person but she was able to put herself and those she loves first and you can’t really fault her for anything she does in this book.

There were some things about this that made me uncomfortable such as Vern being a minor but having a relationship with two adults (one consensual and one non consensual) in the first part, and also that scene in the motel with the two gay hauntings was a bit weird to read.

But everything else was enjoyable and this was such a wonderful, unique book.

Thank you Netgalley for this book!

Holy smokes this book. I have already read An Unkindness of Ghosts and The Deep, so I am familiar with Rivers Solomon’s genre-bending style. I discovered them in last year’s PopSugar challenge for the “author who is trans or non-binary” prompt, so I’m using Solomon’s preferred pronouns of they/their. I am so thankful I stumbled upon their work because all their books have been outstanding. And seriously, thank you to Netgalley for letting me have this one. I was so excited to read it.

From Goodreads: Vern – seven months pregnant and desperate to escape the strict religious compound where she was raised – flees for the shelter of the woods. There, she gives birth to twins, and plans to raise them far from the influence of the outside world.

But even in the forest, Vern is a hunted woman. Forced to fight back against the community that refuses to let her go, she unleashes incredible brutality far beyond what a person should be capable of, her body wracked by inexplicable and uncanny changes.

To understand her metamorphosis and to protect her small family, Vern has to face the past, and more troublingly, the future – outside the woods. Finding the truth will mean uncovering the secrets of the compound she fled but also the violent history in America that produced it.

So, this book isn’t at all what I thought it would be. I should have known not to expect “traditional” when it comes to a book written by Solomon. I was thinking it would be a story about a woman escaping a cult and struggling with the outside world. It is that, of course, but so SO much more. Vern begins to notice that her body is stronger than it should be. She doesn’t tire as quickly and can heal herself. By the time she realizes this, she knows she has to figure out why.

Vern’s journey takes her to people who are kind and helpful, and she finds a home, of sorts. Her children are protected, while Vern can search for answers. And those answers, whew, they are pretty crazy. And so terrible. I had no idea where this book was going once Vern left the woods, but the story just becomes richer and richer as the story unfolds. What a fantastic, important adventure.

I have been meaning to read Rivers Solomon for a while now but committee works, waiting lists, and ARCs always seemed to be in the way...oh, and that pandemic thing. When I saw I could get quick e-access to this one, I leapt at the chance. I'm so glad I did because this book was half-fever dream, half-child of Octavia Butler: a book rooted in Blackness and self and connection, but also deeply and lushly rooted to Earth and nature that all the gardening in Xenogenesis and the Parable books never could never touch. This book is at times eerie and confusing and truly scary, and at others funny and romantic and real.

Different and I enjoyed it! The story and characters were enjoyable. Thank you for the advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I don't think I've read a book like this before. The story follows Vern, who escapes Cainland, a cultish compound that purports to be a black utopia. I enjoyed the historical references in the book. Sorrowland uses fantastical elements of the story to explore America's exploitation of black people. Although the fantasy elements don't feel real, as a reader, it is easy to believe that Vern's story is a logical extension of this sordid history. I will admit that it took me a long time to get invested in this book. I was about halfway done before I felt gripped by the story. At that point, the pieces started to come together for me and I was able to appreciate it. Overall, Sorrowland is masterfully written and thought-provoking, and although it is not my usual sort of of book, it was well worth the read.