Member Reviews
The way Rivers Solomon explores trauma by combining it with the haunted house trope is fascinating and honestly refreshing.
Model Home is not your traditional horror story, but it really opened a space in my mind for ghost stories that do more that scare me, that allow me to reflect on other themes, such as gender, race, mental health, identity - as Solomon does in this one.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.
“...When we speak of a house that is haunted, all we are speaking of is a house that is violent. And many houses are violent.”
Rivers Solomon is a fascinating writer; I loved their novella The Deep when I read it last year and was excited to dive into Model Home, billed as a new kind of haunted house novel. Maybe because of the time of year, but I was surprised to find the novel more occupied by grief and trauma than hauntings. Despite some confusion over the content, I found Model Home a challenging but ultimately worthy read. I'd recommend looking at triggers before you dive into this one as there is some heavy stuff!!
Model Home is ostensibly a horror novel, but it is much more concerned with the horrors of racism and trauma than a jumpscare. It reminded me a lot of Alison Rumfitt's 2022 novel Tell Me I'm Worthless, though it's significantly less scary than Rumfitt's work. It is about a family of three siblings who grew up in a wealthy white neighbourhood and were always pushed by their parents to do, and be, better. All three are now estranged from their parents and living their own lives. When the siblings' parents are found dead in their home, they must return to 667 Acacia Drive, which may or may not be haunted by ghosts. I don't want to say more, but it's really well-executed, even if you're not quite sure at times where the author is going with their ideas.
Though we hear from all three siblings over the course of the novel, the dominant POV character is Ezri, a queer, non-binary and neurodivergent person who struggles to participate in the world around them. Moving between past and presence, (that's a typo but it's so good i'm keeping it in) Solomon builds a picture of the family's traumatic childhood in a haunted house - pets are killed, children are injured, everyone is terrorised. I spent a l;ot of time wondering about the ghosts but I trusted the authorial vision and I was glad I did because it's such a clever (and horrifying) twist on what I expected.
The author also does a great job of exploring the lingering ill-effects of this trauma and how it manifests differently in each sibling, but also explores the closeness forged under these traumatic conditions. The relationship between the three siblings is the novel's beating heart and it's really well executed.
Upsetting, compelling, uncomfortable.
I have seen Model Home described as a story about a haunted house and haunted people. It is this and so much more. It is a story with many complex themes including trauma, grief, abuse, mental health, and racism. Model Home is a work of speculative and literary fiction with beautifully written prose. I don't usual annotate books, but there were many sentences and passages that deserved to be highlighted.
I read the book while also listening to the audio book. The audio book is narrated by Gabby Beans. She does a great job bringing this story and characters to life.
Thank you to NetGalley, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, and Macmillan Audio for the ARCs.
Model Home didn't initially sound like a book I would pick up but after reading a number of reviews, I requested it and was fortunate enough to receive an advance copy. I am so glad I did because it was truly an original story with a lot to think about and I know it will stay with me for a long time.
The Maxwell family has lived in a fancy Dallas suburb for a number of years. Ezri has returned home after the death of their parents and what plays out is a haunted house story that's true horror is racism. Touching on a lot of relevant topics, readers will find a lot to explore in Model Home.
This book was not what I was expecting, this is not a popcorn thriller to read for fun. This haunted house story faces a lot of dark heavy topics that may not necessarily be fun to read or comfortable but are important to look at. The writing in this book was full of these dreamlike sequences that left you horrified and not sure what was real or not. The characters in this book have suffered things I couldn’t even begin to imagine but this writing put you front and center and made it hard to look away. This is not the first book I have read from this author and it definitely will not be my last. I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for a chance to read this book for an honest review.
Not all haunted houses are haunted by ghosts…
This literary horror follows Ezri who grows up in a house where disturbing things keep happening to them and their family after moving into the model house in an upper class white neighborhood.
Ezri clearly has gone through some sort of trauma which is apparent in both their relationships with their sisters/daughter and inability to stop reflecting on the past and Nightmare Mother.
Without giving away too much, this book was a brilliant story on class, race, abuse, and real life horrors that haunt minority families on a daily basis. The beginning grips you, the middle gives you the backstory of the family, and the end stabs you right in the heart.
Rivers Solomon does it again! Highly recommend if you enjoy literary horror, enrapturing writing, and a family coming together to defeat and heal from their past.
Thank you FSG, Macmillan & Netgalley for the opportunity to read this early!!
This book didn't quite work for me that way I was hoping. It didn't hit as a horror, but more like a family drama with some possible supernatural elements. I appreciated the themes and exploration of those themes, and the writing - as usual by Solomon - is wonderful. But the story itself fell a bit flat for me.
While this novel is definitely well written I just can't say that I enjoyed it at all. Something is here for someone else but not for me.
Others may have a different experience, but for me, the sinister truths around the mystery of the horrors experienced by these siblings in their childhood home were pretty clearly telegraphed from the start of Model Home. This didn't stop the book from being engrossing, engaging, and absolutely chilling. A really traumatic haunted house story.
Rivers Solomon continues to wow me. After finishing this book, I immediately read Ursula K. Le Guin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas: A Story," which is referenced by Ezri, the main character, four times, the first time in a therapy session. To me, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” feels a little like a source text for Model Home, much in the same way that “The Deep” by clipping. undergirds The Deep (Solomon’s 2020 novella) and Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin undergirds Sorrowland (their 2021 novel). One of my favorite parts of Model Home was the peppering of pop, movie, and literary culture references throughout the book. The Le Guin short story was just the tip of the iceberg of references.
Ok so this was like being placed into someone’s head that has severe trauma and mental illness. This was a ride. I will say i wanted to slap the mom for naming them all with the same letter i was confused a bit by the characters. I did read this with the audiobook which was fantastic.
This was a very heavy read but also a read that needed to be done. Triggering stuff in here but I’m glad it shows that the *spoiler* men aren’t always the predators.
Can Rivers Solomon do wrong? I truly do not believe so.
I am here for the unique haunted house stories this halloween season.
Arc via netgalley.
This novel is an extraordinary and haunting masterpiece that captivated me from the very first page. The dual timeline is expertly woven, alternating between Ezri’s chilling childhood memories and their present-day struggles. After the death of their parents, Ezri returns to their childhood home in a gated Dallas community, where at the time they were the only Black family in the neighborhood, thus igniting a journey through grief and trauma.
Prepare to confront deep themes of family dynamics as Ezri and their siblings, Eve and Emanuelle, face their shared past—one that is both intricate and heartbreaking. Is the house truly haunted, or is something more sinister at play? Expect a twist that will leave you reeling.
Ezri's perspective is raw and unfiltered, and Solomon masterfully creates an atmosphere of dread that lingers in every chapter. The author doesn't shy away from dark themes, addressing the harsh realities of racism, abuse, and transphobia with unflinching honesty. The horror unfolds in unexpected ways, challenging readers to confront uncomfortable truths that reveal far more terrifying realities than any supernatural element.
This book is a must-read for anyone seeking an intense, thought-provoking experience. Solomon has crafted a stunning, heart-pounding narrative that will resonate long after you turn the last page. Don't miss out on this unforgettable journey.
Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the eARC.
I have no idea what I anticipated when I started Model Home by Rivers Solomon, but this book was so beyond any expectation I could have ever had.
The relationships, the chaos, the spookiness, the sadness. I don't even have appropriate words to summarize this story. These sisters, their parents, their home... It was wild.
Author Rivers Solomon writes thought provoking, challenging narratives, and this one is no different. The author gives us the Maxwell siblings, who reunite, after years apart, in their parents' home in a white, upscale, gated neighbourhood in Texas. Their parents have died in a shocking manner, leaving the siblings rocked by a mix of unresolved emotions.
Our viewpoint character is Ezri (they/them), who has been living in England for years. They have a failed relationship, the best part of which is their bright, curious, musical daughter, Elijah, who comes with them to the US, and to meet her aunts Eve and Emmanuelle.
Ezri suffers from depression, and is not always sure what is real, and what isn't. They are haunted by ghosts of their childhood, and as we learn, their mother's perception of them.
Eve is a high achiever and is raising twins on her own, while Emmanuelle is making a name for herself on social media.
When children, there were a number of unexplained, terrible incidents that left all the siblings emotionally, and in one case, physically scarred. The siblings grew up thinking there was a ghostly woman without a face who lived amongst them, but their parents disbelieved them, only compounding the frustrations and difficulties of their thoughts and perceptions being dismissed by their white, affluent and bigoted neighbours and schoolmates.
Now that they're all back together under one roof, they cannot avoid dealing with their memories, even while they wonder what actually happened with their parents (the police believe it is a murder suicide, much to the family's anger).
Ezri suffers much being back home, and feels guilt and confusion about their past-- did they actually harm their siblings multiple times, or was something else at work? Is their mind to be trusted, ever? Was this why their parents are dead, or why Ezri has trouble bonding with their daughter?
Rivers Solomon pulls no punches, giving us a deeply emotional, and often brutal, story of the ways family can support and tear one down, but also the ways in which bigotry is incredibly damaging for those on the receiving end.
The narrative deals with dysfunction in the family, and the insidious, false friendliness of the white neighbours, constantly looking for ways to undercut the Maxwell family and drive them away.
At the same time, Solomon shows how support, honesty and compassion for oneself and for others leads to a long overdue rapprochement amongst the siblings, but also the reveal of the shocking cause of so much pain and mistrust in the family.
I read and listened to this story, and Gabby Beans delivers a nuanced, sensitive interpretation of Ezri and their siblings, and all of the horrors surrounding them in the audiobook.
It's difficult and intense reading, and listening, but there is also hope at the end. I liked this story, and appreciated its darkness and terrific prose.
Thank you to Netgalley and to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and to MacMillan Audio for this ARC in exchange for my review.
I loved this story. It was terrifying in a way I didn't really expect, and I felt a palpable fear for the characters in the second half of the book. The queer representation was handled so, so well and offered a unique perspective that can be hard to find in the horror genre. The themes of isolation, grief, racism, mental illness, complicated family trauma, etc. made me care for the characters in such a visceral way.
I recommend this for spooky season but also for literally any season because I think it's such a worthwhile experience.
Thank you to NetGalley and FSG for providing this arc in exchange for my feedback.
This book packs a punch and does what I think the author set out to do:: highlight family trauma, struggles around racism, and violence and abuse. Rivers Solomon does a great job at putting the reader into the shoes of our narrator, Ezri by giving us blunt bits of information of their experiences. I was creeped out, uncomfortable, and really unsure of where Solomon was going to take me in this story. I was worried for Ezri and their decision making, I was concerned for poor Elijah who seems to be following suit to her parent, and I was hopeful that maybe all three children could turn this story around in their favour. The house was a character in and of itself which I truly loved. It felt eerie, unpredictable, and also very powerful which I think added a huge layer to the feeling of suspense.
I did find all of the names starting with "E" to be very confusing and it took me out of the story for a little while in the first 30% until I had them figured out. I know why the author may have done this, but perhaps Elijah could have had a different name, since she represents a newer generation of the family?
I'd recommend this to lovers of haunted house stories, readers who enjoy LGBTQ+ rep, and commentary on racism.
Go in knowing that this is a very heavy book. While I liked it, I did not love it. I had both the audio and the ARC and first want to say that I enjoyed the narrator. The prose is lyrical, and it is a literary horror. I just did not connect and I feel that it jumped around a bit.
Thank you to Netgalley / Farrar, Straus and Giroux / Macmillan Audio for the audio and ARC
3 Stars
thank you so much to Netgalley and Farrar, Straus, and Giroux for this ARC!
HAPPY RELEASE DAY TO MODEL HOME !!!
this book is intense, and i’m still not completely sure how to feel about it. this is one of those horror novels that is very much “the real horror was the childhood trauma along the way”.
it’s about three siblings: Ezri (our main character), Eve, and Emmanuelle, who all grew up in a rich texas neighborhood (this neighborhood is also extremely white). they all have been trying to escape the trauma of their childhoods and what this house has (possibly?) done to them.
i love this spin on the haunted house story, i know that the real horror being the childhood trauma is a tad cliche anymore but i thought this take on it was done very well. i also love the subtle shifts when switching from the present day to when Ezri was a child, as in the latter sections all quotation marks in dialogue disappear. i thought that was a super interesting way to feel more like we’re in their head.
i do have a couple of nitpicks, my main one being how little Elijah (Ezri’s daughter) was used. she was such an interesting character in her own right and i really feel like she could have been more present and active in the story. she technically does have a subplot, but it mainly features in the final ~5 percent and only seems to really affect Ezri.
another nitpick is one i feel less strongly about, i just feel like the climax could have been better done. it felt like it was building up to end with a bang and then just sort of fizzled out :/
again thank you to Netgalley for this ARC and HAPPY RELEASE DAY🎉
I loved this book. I had such a good time reading this. When it published I bought the audiobook. Its so good.