Thank you MCD for the copy! This is such an impeccable piece of work that immediately brought Rivers Solomon to the top of my list of favorite authors. Never has a book's opening lines stunned me so greatly that I had to stop and stare at a wall for a moment. Solomon writes, "Maybe my mother is God, and that's why nothing I do pleases her. Maybe my mother is God, and that's why even though she's never once saved me, I keep praying that this time, she will."

Model Home follows Ezri, who is brought back to their childhood McMansion in suburban Dallas only to find their parents dead. Murder isn't out of the question, but the real investigation is determining exactly what, rather than who, did this to them. What ensues is a simultaneous fever dream, love letter, and horror story — all aspects of which are brilliantly executed.

Solomon, with their gorgeous prose and well-paced narration, does not miss a beat. They manage to subvert the classic trope of the haunted house, and in turn, reinvent the wheelhouse of what a continuous exorcism looks like. This concept of suffering being deeply entrenched in our identities, of trying to extricate our most dreadful aspects, only to reconcile these horrors with the environment that caused them... Solomon reminds us that our worst imaginings are always in some way rooted in reality, and isn't that the most terrifying part?

Perfect doesn't even begin to describe Model Home. I can't wait to read more from Solomon.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for access to an eARC in exchange for my honest review!!

what's it about? ⬇️

A classic tale of death bringing you back home to the place of your childhood traumas, Model Home is the story of Ezri, their sisters Eve and Emanuelle, and the three siblings' childrens' journey as their parents' shocking, sudden deaths draw them back to the place of their nightmares.

As children, the Maxwell children and their parents moved to their new home with all the hopes of this being the next step toward something great for all of them, though it quickly became obvious that they were the only black family in the area. Despite their neighbors' apparent friendliness on the surface, a host of odd and terrifying things began happening soon after the family's arrival--children going missing inside the house, class pets dying gruesome deaths, etc.--and much of the blame was placed on Ezri as the 'odd' one of the family.

Coming back to the place where so much bad happened to you is already hard enough, but as the mysteries of their childhood unravel around them and they are all forced to face the different ways they remember their younger years and have processed their trauma and memories since, how will the Maxwell siblings and their families deal with the horrific revelation of what truly happened back then?

my thoughts? ⬇️

I have to start by saying that this book was beautiful. The prose was delicate and poetic without leaving the grounds of realism and I have *so many* quotes highlighted throughout on my kindle that I'm sure I'll look back on from time to time. I have always been a sucker for a haunted house story that's used as an allegory for trauma or grief, and *boy howdy* was there some grief and trauma to contend with in this one, from breaking generational cycles to struggles with identity to racism and thinly veiled segregation-forward behaviors to things that are *so much worse* that I'll be listing below in my trigger warnings with a spicy little spoiler warning attached.

But while this book was beautiful and told multiple incredibly heavy, important stories, it was definitely one that hit a little too hard for me, personally. I nearly DNF'd multiple times just based on the content alone and had to take breaks because I was determined to finish without pushing myself too hard. (I even listened to the last bit of it on audiobook at a higher speed because I couldn't bring myself to read it with my eyeballs, but that's my trauma and not at all reflective of the quality of the book.)

Model Home gets a 3 ⭐ from me for being a book I know I won't personally be picking up to read in full again despite knowing it would be an amazing, important read for so many other people as long as they can handle the trigger warnings. So read with care, please, take care of yourselves, and keep in mind again that my trigger list below will contain spoilers.

trigger warnings ⬇️

racism, hate crimes, racial slurs, classism, sexism, child abuse, emotional abuse, domestic abuse, gaslighting, animal death, animal cruelty, murder, gun violence, violence, death of a parent, grief, vomit, mental illness, panic attacks, suicidal thoughts, suicide, homophobia, transphobia, fatphobia, body shaming, chronic illness, eating disorder, drug use, relationship between an adult and minor, *pedophilia*, sexual assault, sexual assault of a *child*, predatory behavior, manipulation, grooming, sexual violence, rape.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.

I love the concept of the novel but the execution was not done very well and the main character did not help their teenage daughter as much as they should have when a serious situation with a predator arose. That alone made me drop my rating from three to two stars, I wish I liked this book more but I really just couldn't.

3 stars

This review is a bit up-and-down, because I think a big part of why this book didn’t land for me had to do with my expectations not matching the experience. This book was sold to me as a race-conscious haunted house horror novel, which I was really excited for, but after reading it I think it would be better described as a literary-leaning social thriller. It’s a pretty interesting social thriller, but that’s not what I signed up for.

The good parts of the novel have to do with the prose, which is lyrical and voicey and very well written, and with the depiction of a protagonist with some kind of dysphoric disorder. While Ezri has received various potential diagnoses from professionals in their life, and Solomon doesn’t pin them to a single psychiatric category, their experience rings true to that of a family member of mine who has been diagnosed with DID. DID and other dissociative disorders are often misrepresented in fiction, especially in thriller and horror fiction, and so I really appreciated the honest portrayal shown here.

Unfortunately, I have to admit that the experience of reading this novel, especially after the first quarter (which charmed me with the lovely prose), was what I would best describe as ‘unpleasant.’ It’s not fun to be in Ezri’s head, and it’s not fun to experience the messy family dynamics of the Maxwell family, and it’s not fun to watch various characters become vulnerable to malicious actors. The fact that it’s grounded in realism rather than the more fantastic lean I had been hoping for only made it more depressing. The book doesn’t owe me fun, but I wish I didn’t dislike the experience of reading it so much.

So, I think this is a well-written book, but its marketing gave me expectations of a book I would have enjoyed a lot more. Perhaps I would have preferred this book if I’d known going into it that it was a social thriller about an appearance-focused, communication-avoidant family rather than a haunted house horror novel, but I still think I’d have come away with the same feeling of ‘I’m glad I read it, but I will never reread this.’

I’d recommend this book to people interested in literary depictions of trauma, dissociative disorders, racism’s relation to housing security, sexual abuse, and complicated family bonds. I would warn readers to stay away if they feel sensitive about any of these issues.

3.5

The haunting of hill house + trauma

Crazy interesting writing
Very modern and has some really good representation
A little hard to follow
Audiobook is amazing


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher

While the premise was nice, the writing was... not what I expected. I wanted more from the characters because I felt that what was on the front cover and the front flap was not what we were given.

Model Home is a beautifully written, genre-defying work that lingers - I can't wait to read more from Solomon.

unfortunately, despite having read a lot of Rivers Solomon's work, I don't think their writing is for me. Something about it fails to pull me in and allow me to connect with the characters. This is despite the fact that most of the plot concepts are really rather fascinating. Oh well...can't like everything

In Model Home, Rivers Solomon reimagines the haunted house narrative, setting it within a contemporary Texan gated community. The story follows Ezri Maxwell, a Black nonbinary individual who, along with their sisters, returns to their family home after the mysterious deaths of their parents. As they confront their past and the eerie occurrences within the house, themes of race, family trauma, and societal exclusion emerge.

Initially, I found the narrative's structure—alternating between past and present—somewhat challenging to navigate. The shifts in time and perspective required careful attention to fully grasp the unfolding events. However, as the story progressed, this approach enriched the depth of the characters and the plot, providing a comprehensive understanding of the family's history and the house's haunting.

Solomon's evocative prose skillfully blends horror elements with social commentary, creating a narrative that is both unsettling and thought-provoking. The portrayal of the Maxwell family's experiences in a predominantly white neighborhood highlights the insidious nature of systemic racism and its lingering effects.

Despite the initial adjustment period, Model Home proved to be a compelling read. Solomon's ability to intertwine personal and societal horrors results in a story that resonates on multiple levels. This novel is recommended for readers who appreciate horror that delves into profound social issues, offering both a chilling and enlightening experience.

I truly wanted to love this book. It sounded incredible and the reviews were glowing. Yet I had to consistently force myself to continue reading. The flashbacks to their childhood and the spooky events that happened then showed much promise and as I was finally getting into a groove with the book, it pulled everything away with a reveal that came off as both a clumsy heavy-handed metaphor and utterly ridiculous at the same time.

This is a brilliant and poignant novel that feels more relevant than ever.

The brilliant part of this horror novel is how Rivers Solomon brings classic horror tropes together with real life horrors. When the adult Maxwell children have to return to their lily-white neighborhood after the death of their parents, they quickly discover that there may have not been anything natural about their parents' deaths.

Rivers Solomon's writing is superb, keeping the reader engaged with the story as the characters wade through the plot of heavy themes and twisty turns. The book turns dark, taking the reader through horrors as promised. There are moments that left me in shock, having to continue to read as quickly as possible.

This was such a well crafted novel, and I struggle to think of another book I have read feeling this tense. I loved how the horrifying, scary elements of this thriller were so grounded in the psychological, in the unknown, in the POSSIBLE. The characters were so incredibly developed and flawed, and the main characters felt very distinct from one another. Even with all of their names starting with "E" it didn't take me long to get oriented in who was who, as their personalities shone through any kind of possible name confusion. The only reason this book isn't five stars for me is just the pacing. There were parts of this book I flew through even though slower paced, and I actually didn't mind when things took their time. What felt jarring was how fast the ending wrapped up, and it felt too tied up with a bow for my liking. I would have liked more time to be spent on the realizations of the endng, as it could have really hammered in how much horror was happening with the reveals going on. Also, as much as I selfishly enjoyed the epilogue for giving me perfect answers, I felt that it was unnecessary and gratuitous. For such an unsettling and messy book, I would have liked the writing of the ending to feel less clean and polished.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishing company for this Advanced Readers Copy of Model Home by Rivers Solomon!

The classic haunted house trope is whats presented, yet beneath the surface it’s a book about a family and the secrets that they each keep from one another.
Darkness pervades the atmosphere throughout, with the narrator taking the reader along with them and the pain they carry. Beautifully written, as can always be expected by Solomon and their work.
I enjoyed getting to see the world of the house that raised Ezri and their siblings, and highly recommend this book to anyone who’s not afraid of the dark.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced Arc.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

I’ve read the Deep and just finished listening to Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon and really liked both of those.

The way this one was written was a little more difficult for me to get into and the first 40% was a bit slow, with us just mainly in Ezri’s thoughts, which were rather depressing, but it all makes sense by the end of it.

Definitely make sure to check trigger warnings. This is a very heavy book with very heavy themes. This is more real world horror than supernatural horror, which adds to the heaviness of it all.

Rivers Solomon and I have a super rocky relationship. While I really enjoy their writing, sometimes there just ~something~ about their stories that don't work for me. I always try to go into their books with low expectations, and it actually really worked out for me this time! While I still feel like the weird stuff is a bit of a jumpscare (it always comes out of nowhere then things move along) the weird stuff in this actually worked? I love a haunted house story and this was set up to be right up my alley. The big reveal at the end did fall a little flat for me, but I enjoyed the character work and the family dynamics we explore in this! Like in all of Solomon's works, this book is full of Queer characters and social commentary, which is why I keep going back to their works! The way this author weaves these things into the story always feels so effortless and like they're things that just exsist and not a huge deal (which is how it should be!) and this book is no different. This was my favorite book by Rivers Solomon and it gave me hope that one day they'll write something that is meant for me!

Though I thought the writing was engaging and beautiful, I had to put this book aside due to the dark content within. I loved the art of Solomon’s words. I wish I could have stuck it out longer!

Disturbing, original, well plotted.
A good novel that kept me on the edge and not relaxing at all
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

So much to unpack here. It's been months since I read this novel and still think about it often.

Three Black siblings return to their childhood home in a wealthy white neighborhood after the deaths of their parents, and must deal with ghosts from their past, including the fact that they always believed the house to be haunted.

This moody, dark thriller is bound to trigger some readers. Themes are shocking, heart-wrenching and complex — but if you enjoy peeling back layers of onions in your books, you will appreciate this read.

This is unlike any haunted house story I have ever read, and it is absolutely incredible!

Synopsis:
Ezri and their sisters, Eve and Emanuelle reluctantly return to their childhood home when they are unable to reach their parents and are devastated to find them dead. Growing up, they were traumatized by the house which is haunted by the woman without a face. As the siblings investigate their parents’ deaths, they begin to question their memories, the unexplained occurrence in the house, and what really happened to them.

My Thoughts:
I was expecting a haunted house story, but this is so much more. It is dark, full of trauma, abuse and violence. The story also tackles topics such as racism, homophobia, and suicide. Rivers Solomon’s writing is gorgeous which I think makes the heart wrenching story hit even harder. High recommendations for this book and I cannot want to read more from them.