This book's characters and plot hooked me from the start. Harkening to a long history where governments and people in power have manipulated, abused, and controlled various populations, Sorrowland takes a unique twist to deal with the reality of living as a Black American. While the world is predominantly akin to ours, there is a level of sci-fi incorporated into one element of the book - think: science experiment gone awry. I really enjoyed the gender bending and fluidity that were baked in - particularly with the twins - with subtlety that caused me to pause and reflect on all the biases and assumptions that inform our views of others. The writing was beautiful.

First I want to say thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book. It was definitely different. It centers around Vern who escapes from a cult and gives birth to twins in the woods intending to never go back and give her children a different life. Vern quickly learns she can never really escape the cult and what it has done to her body. Very well written and a lot to take in.

3 stars from me means I liked it, but didn't LOVE it. Despite that, I have found that this book has really stayed with me. It's intensely thought provoking and covers a gamut of themes, including racism, sexism, homophobia, human rights and more. Not only that, but what seems to start as a survivalist story of a young girl escaping a cult, then spins into horror and science fiction. Throughout it all the main character deals with self acceptance and both mental and physical healing.
Rivers Solomon definitely offers us a new voice with shades of Margaret Atwood and Stephen King.

Will be coming back to this one as the cover is great, the premise is super intriguing and I'm really excited to give it a read, but I don't have the focus for it right now. Not a DNF, just a not-for-now.

Spoiler free review! This book is simply amazing. I love the world building and the way the author really brings out the characters. I would definitely recommend this book!

I'm struggling to find the words to describe this ambitious, beautiful and haunting novel that twists, turns, and morphs as it continues.

Sorrowland opens with Vern's escape from the cult-like compound, Cainland, into the forest. Vern, fifteen years old, is pregnant and delivers her children in the wilderness, remaining in the woods until the children are four years old. The first section of the book details the family's life in the forest and provides a bit of a backstory into Vern's relationship with others at Cainland, including her best friend, Lucy, who had previously escaped from the compound, and Reverend Sherman, Vern's abusive husband and the leader of the cult. The story then turns from there are Vern tries to understand the formation of Cainland and its purpose.

Sorrowland explores so many themes, it would be impossible to detail each and do them justice in a review. Most poignantly, Sorrowland discusses relationships and how those relationships are formed and impact our lives down the road too. The book also discusses the treatment of Black individuals at the hands of others and the government. I particularly enjoyed the book's handle of gender/sex and sexuality and motherhood.

I loved the representation in the book, especially of those who are typically marginalized, including an albino Black woman, Indigenous women, and lesbians/non-binary individuals. Vern, Lucy, Gogo, and Ollie are all complex characters, with flaws and traumas. Vern's character trajectory is particularly compelling and it is beautiful to see her develop and come into her own. Her children are also so strong and wise beyond their years.

The writing of this book flows and the prose is beautiful. Rivers Solomon's writing is lyrical, and I look forward to picking up another of their books.

The only reason I'm giving this book 4 stars instead of 5 is because sci-fi horror is not my typical speed and it took me a little bit of time to fully understand what was happening in the book.

Sorrowland is a dystopian tale with a strong dose of Annihilation and a smidgen of Alien.

A young woman, Vern, flees from a Black supremacist compound and gives birth to twins. One is albino, like her, and the other is not. She is plagued by strange ‘hauntings’ or hallucinations. She fights for the survival of not only herself but of that for her children as well. It is difficult when one is Albino with poor vision and sensitive skin.

And there is the Fiend to contend with. A nefarious watcher with a strange creature at its bidding.

As the story goes along, we learn more about the compound Vern escaped from, “Cainland”. Its residents are worshippers of the God of Cain, under the guidance of Revered Sherman, who has positioned himself to be young Vern’s husband. But why would he want an Albino as a wife? As I know from tales of Africa, Albinos are hunted for shamanistic rituals and their body parts sold as aphrodisiacs. Could that be the reason he wants Vern?

As Vern leaves her humble home in the woods with her two wild children in tow, she discovers the lies and hypocrisy of Cainland and Reverend Sherman. What appears as a safe haven for those of African origin, might be ruled by people no better than those whom they preach against and hate.

An Albino in a black community feels just as out of place as an Albino in the white world. But not everything is black or white, good or evil. There are in-betweens where misfits can find a place to belong.

This is an amazingly hypnotizing story of a disadvantaged woman who finds truth and love as she works to expose Cainland’s unnatural secrets and save those she loves.

I would highly recommend this book to lovers of Annihilation and anything weird.

Unfortunately, this was DNF for me. I feel like the author used a thesaurus a bit too much in this one.

Vern flees into the woods to escape the cult she grew up in, heavily pregnant. As she and her babies scrape out a living in the forest, they are pursued by a hellish fiend and the hauntings, visions that afflict her and everyone else belonging to the cult. Her body begins to change, becoming something more, something stronger and faster. When she and her children are forced from the safety of the trees, Vern must reckon with her upbringing and return to the place where it all began.

This excellent Gothic horror novel set in the present day United States features well-drawn characters and a mostly LGBTQ+ and BIPOC cast. Solomon deftly explores themes of identity, transformation of self, human intimacy, and grappling with generational trauma. A salient and incisive addition to the horror genre, this book is a deep meditation on the lasting effects of white supremacy and systemic racism.

For fans of Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, The Changeling by Victor Lavalle, Beloved by Toni Morrison, and Kindred by Octavia Butler.

Look for Sorrowland on May 4, 2021.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Some of the characters were unbelievable, but overall, a thrilling adventure. I thoroughly enjoyed this story for its unpredictable story and the unique view of life in America.

I think the title made me think the novel would be more about sorrow and grief, which the book definitely covers, but as the novel progresses, and our main character, 15-year-old Vern, a black albino, discovers she has superhuman strengths, the novel turns much darker. The novel begins with Vern pregnant with twins, escaping the religious compound where she was raised, and tortured physically, sexually, and emotionally, so she hides in a forest where she is hunted by spirits and demons, real or not, that she brutally eliminates, mainly keeping her young twins safe. In the beginning, the pace was slower, and we watched Vern leave behind her twins sleeping soundly while she pursued romance with Ollie, a woman she met out in the woods whose cabin wasn't too far from where Vern was hiding, and as she spends more time with Ollie, she realizes she's one of the evil people hunting her down, and then the pace of the novel picks up dramatically, and at times the prose weakens as Vern's supernatural strengths increase, and I felt a bit more disconnected with the parts I enjoyed more that involved learning about the Lakota women who rescue her, the systematic racism that her religious compound was trying to free them from, and the raising of her two young sons on her own. I get the feeling this novel will not only be read by many, but may be one of those novels that become a film.

I'm regrettably DNFing this one, even though I loved the writing style. I found myself confused more often than not, though Vern is feeling that way as well. I think that my expectations for this book were that it would be more thriller and less horror and so at 50% of the way through, I'm setting it down.

I enjoyed The Deep and was expecting Sorrowland to be similar in its tone and shape. Sorrowland, however, was far darker than I had anticipated it would be. It tackles huge issues, including systemic racism, homophobia, religious cults, domestic violence, rape, and more, and doesn't provide many answers (or at least any satisfactory ones). Ultimately I found it to be well-written and well-structured; but I didn't like it, if that makes sense. Certainly it was worth reading as a follow-up to The Deep. I do plan to pick up Solomon's next work whenever it is available.

I will be very surprised if this isn’t one of the most popular releases this year, I can see this being buzzed about 100%. A true genre mashup that really succeeds in what it is doing.

Rivers Solomon can tell a story and make it feel so real and tangible to the reader. I felt like I was in the woods surviving with these characters, felt like I was running with these characters to an unknown future.

This story is absolutely stunning — with so many threads and themes to be analyzed. I love Vern and her babes so so much, I did not want the book to end and can see myself coming back to this story to spend time with them. This takes its place as my 1st favorite of the year, soooooo good!!

Thank you to the publisher, the author and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review!

Wow - Just Wow!

While it's not fair to compare, I was a bit concerned because while I loved An Unkindness of Ghosts, I really wasn't a fan of The Deep - even though it had a great premise and execution. So I was truly hoping this novel would meet or exceed my expectations because my interest was again piqued by the synopsis and my appreciation of the author's writing style and storytelling ability.

I wasn't disappointed - Solomon's story takes us to a world that eerily mimics our own with an eye for its natural beauty and its human shortcomings. This is a fantastical tale rooted in reality borrowing from humanity's shameful past with non-consensual medical experimentation, segregation, and an examination of the influence and abuse of a socio-political-nationalist-religious cult. There are also subtle challenges to conventional thoughts on gender and sexuality; exploring aspects of Native American cultural beliefs surrounding the topics. A personal favorite touch were the homages to Baldwin, Hughes, Le Guin and other literary greats.

At its core is a young mother who escapes from a guarded compound into the surrounding forest to birth and raise her children. We witness her struggle with past/generational traumas (her own and others) via recurring hallucinations that are breathtakingly real. She also struggles with an unknown debilitating physical transformation amid a fight for survival from a beast who is both hunting and haunting her. The journey and resolution regarding her quest for answers surrounding the cult, its leaders, her friends, and family was truly a page-turning experience.

Vern escaped a cult-like commune, yet sinister circumstances continued to surround her. It took me a while to understand what was happening. Once I did, the story was horrifying in a way that I couldn't stop reading. At times, especially at the end, it was a bit too gory for my liking. Still, the writing was sensorial and enthralling.

Holy goddamn fuck, Rivers Solomon. Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the ARC! Five out of five stars, absolutely.

I have only read faer's The Deep before, so while I thought I was somewhat ready to understand that I would be having a total Experience that I was not ready for. Technically, that was correct, but I had massively underestimate the journey I'd be reading in on.

This was a masterwork of a story. Vern is determined, moving through whatever she can, though she's been faced through such hardship. She starts at fifteen and heavily pregnant, running through the woods away from her husband and Cainland, She's young, young in a way that she seemingly forgets throughout much of the book-- she's fifteen only, sixteen, and so on. While Vern looks past her age to take care of her children, to do what must be done, her age is never forgotten in smaller asides and moments-- it hasn't been that much time since she was married off, since she was young and playing with her friend Lucy, who she seeks out.

Vern gains both allies and enemies, one of which floors me because she was there all along! The reveal was agonizing, and the character is so much set up against another, who made so many different choices. Vern's allies, on the other hand are fantastic as well. Invaluable and spectacular, they're vivid characters who are not to be missed.

Solomon's style of writing is incredible, blunt and descriptive and cutting. It strikes hard, burrowing deep, and catching the mind, forcing it to stay. It truly helps the flow of the story, in different tenses, in time-skips, in emotions and in pain, and even in body horror/squick. Horror is not downplayed, simply there and present, caught in Solomon's fantastic prose. This book will certainly stay in my mind for ages!

3.5 stars. This was unlike anything I've ever read. It's hard to describe, but I'll try my best.

Vern is a pregnant fifteen year old, running away from the religious cult she grew up in. She gives birth to twins and hides in the woods as she navigates motherhood and the trauma from her experiences. As she raises her children in the wild, she starts to notice changes, where she starts to become.... something else.
There's three parts to the story. The first part is gripping, the second part slows down a bit and even loses itself a tad before amping back up the excitement, and then third part is the conclusion that I found to only be just okay. I loved Vern's spirit, her search for identity. But the pacing was a real struggle for me.
However, it does touch upon many important topics, it's imaginative, and the story itself is fascinating, and for that I recommend it.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This isn't a story but an experience! It is hard to describe how everything happening in this story is as realistic as it is magical. You would not expect things to be both old woman's tale and a non-fiction. Yet Rivers Solomon manages to give you a story of a government funded, totally racist, abusive. cult-like looking social and biological experiment within an area X style personal story of a mother.

Vern escaped from her cult like religious community right before she gave a birth. She thought that just like her dear friend she could find a life outside this place where she was an odd one out with her albinism. She wouldn't fit into the normal world because she was black, but she definitely did not fit into this community because her skin. As she spent more and more time in the woods where she learnt to fend for herself and her babies, she started to acknowledge that she should leave the woods and all of the hauntings happening in there to give a better life for her children. While she was making preparations, she started to see some changes on her body that she could not really understand. And boy.... you gotta read about those changes. Eventually she found a way to get her children out and reach Auntie that her best was talking about. This was supposed to be joyous moment for her, but what came next reshaped her whole existence

This has a lot of triggers in it: police rape, brutality, human experimenting, child abuse, racial profiling, abuse under the name of religion. government related conspiracy theories, homophobia, brainwashing and many many more... It's truly amazing that Solomon put all these piece together in a way that we ended up with a dashing story of a single young mother fighting for her babies and her family.

If you liked Annihilation for the sci-fi aspects of it, Sorrowland will appeal to you. And obviously if you like to read books on race, you'll definitely love this

Sorrowland is such a unique book. I have read Rivers Solomons's "The Deep" and loved its eerie fantastical horror that doesn't distract from the message of the story. Sorrowland has the same essence.

Sorrowland is the story of Vern, a young pregnant girl who escapes from a cult living in the 'Blessed acres of Cainland' made up of Black people. She has to learn to survive alone in the wild woods whilst hiding from her abusive husband and cult leader's machinations, mysterious hauntings, as well the trials of motherhood. Besides her rebellious spirit, her stubbornness, and her albinism that set her apart from the rest of the colony, she also discovers that her body is unique as well undergoing a strange metamorphosis and that there's more to Cainland than just the cult.

The book has three parts. The first completely draws you in with its gorgeous and atmospheric writing of Vern struggling yet surviving. The second get muddled sometimes but it reflects Vern's own hunt for truth and identity. The third was pretty straightforward and mostly predictable but presents a strong social and political message.

Without giving away too much of the plot Sorrowland echoes the era when desperate black people were gaslighted and manipulated and how their bodies were abused for the sake of science. The tales of so-called ' Night Doctors', scientists protected by the government that stole black bodies in the dead of night. Sometimes just in plain daylight. It's also scary how well cult indoctrination is shown in the book. People in power using fear, religion, politics, etc to subdue their victims.

The plot, in my opinion, could've been tighter but it is still a thrilling and emotional rollercoaster. There were tiny plot holes that irked me but in the grand scheme of things seemed dismissable. Like months old children living for days alone in the wild. Scientific liberties like characters using a defibrillator to restart hearts that have stopped hours to days ago. There are excuses if you look hard enough though. The prose starts off beautiful and complicated but simplifies towards the end. Solomon's own strong voice and commentary on racism, gender, misogyny, and transphobia bleed through as the story progresses.