Synopsis:

The year is 2033, and in this near-future America where undocumented people are forced into labor camps, life is bleak. Especially so for seventeen-year-old Rania, a Lebanese teenager from Chicago. When she and her mother were rounded up by the Deportation Force, they were given the brutal job of digging in the labor camp’s mine searching for the destructive and toxic, but potentially world-changing chemical, aqualinium. With this chemical the corrupt and xenophobic government of the New American Republic could actually control the weather—ending devastating droughts sweeping the planet due to climate change. If the government succeeds, other countries would be at their mercy.

Thoughts:
Wow…that was a lot to take in. The way this book pulls from the current day and climate is a little scary to be honest. But it was a good book. I just don’t think it should’ve been YA.

It is 2033, and the government of the New American Republic has begun hunting down immigrants and forcing them into labour at camps against their will. A rebellion group, based out of California is attempting to fight against the New American Republic to free the people in the camps.

I did not read Sanctuary, so maybe that is why I wasn't super into this book as I didn't have any background information on the story or these characters... I was not a fan of the ending, and just felt as if nothing was really resolved and I was left feeling very unsatisfied.

After giving Sanctuary 4 stars, I really thought that I was going to enjoy this one just as much. But I instantly felt disconnected and bored throughout.

This book felt uncomfortably timely, considering what’s been in the news lately. I was supposed to see this author speak at an event a few months ago, and sadly she had to cancel, I would have loved to hear her talk about this.

The novel is heartbreaking and gruesome, told from multiple points of view. There is so much loss and pain. Though the ending, while a bit rushed and scattered, wraps up with a bit of hope.

I didn’t realize this was a sequel when I read it, so I’ll need to backtrack to Sanctuary which I’ve heard is the stronger of the two novels.

Thank you Penguin Group and Netgalley for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I didn’t realize Solis was the second book in the series until I was halfway through. That said, it works well as a standalone.
Reading Solis was challenging because it felt so realistic.

Tyhis was an incredibly intense and horrific dystopian novel, yet it feels disturbingly plausible when you consider the atrocities throughout history. It’s emotionally heavy and, at times, tough to read, especially since there’s very little hope for much of the story. The brutal treatment of humanity in this book left me feeling distraught, angry, and disgusted.

I really appreciated the inclusion of Jess’s point of view, which shows how an ordinary person can be manipulated by those in power to participate in something horrific. It’s a crucial reminder of how easily people can be coerced into complicity, and the risk we all face of being manipulated in such situations ways.

This was a companion to sanctuary, which actually was pretty breathtaking. Although you didn’t have to read that one, I’m glad i did. The novel picks up right where the last one finished. I thoroughly enjoyed the point of view of Jess. Some of the things that happened to her was quite satisfying (sorry). I honestly just feel i didn’t care for this one bc it was way too many character POV’s and some just didn’t stand out to me enough to help me determine who they were while reading.

I know some people felt this was way too much for a ya dystopian book, but honestly isn’t that what makes it dystopian? Sadly this is reality

I really enjoyed this book. It is an extremely horrific dystopian novel and yet not outside the realm of possibility given the events that have occurred throughout history. It was definitely very emotional and tough to read at times, especially since there isn’t much hope for a large part of the novel. The horrible treatment of humans in this book made me feel distraught, angry and disgusted.

I liked how they added the point of view of Jess to show how an average person can be manipulated by people in a position of authority to contribute to something awful. I felt it was important to show people that they are at risk of also being manipulated in this way.

I also loved the resilience shown in Rania, Lilliana and Vali. It is rare to read a book where I love all of many POVs, but all of these characters were intriguing and I felt like the main plot was advancing continuously regardless of whose POV it was, so it didn’t feel disjointed.

My only critique of this book is that the ending seemed a bit rushed. I wish they had given us a bit more hope after being crushed emotionally by the rest of the novel. The whole book I was looking forward to the resolution and when it happened, it didn’t feel nearly as triumphant as I had hoped. But maybe they are setting us up for a sequel or another companion novel that will pick up where this one left off.

Overall if you are looking for a disturbing, gripping and emotional YA dystopian novel that will leave you thinking, this book definitely delivers.

Sanctuary and Solis are near future dystopians about a torn America with a tyrannical president who fights to deport every immigrant. In Sanctuary, we find out that California has seceded from the other 49 states and becomes a sanctuary "state" for any and all people trying to find safety. Solis picks up with the world in a climate crisis and the new United States Republic creating (concentration) labor camps in order to find a solution.
The scariest part of reading this book was seeing the direct correlation to the times we're in today. Sadly, the people who really need to read this series and learn the message it tells, are most likely not going to.

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for a free eARC of Solis in exchange for my honest review. I have not read the book Sanctuary, which is a prequel to Solis even though they both are said to be standalone novels. But I requested a copy of Solis because I am interested in hard-hitting YA novels.

Unfortunately I agree with other reviewers who critique the unnecessary amount of horrific scenes without tactful reflection of the US’s racism and xenophobia. All four POVs in Solis read as first person letters or diary entries. While this format is effective in conveying characters’ feelings and experiences, the writing style felt very immature. Even when considering that 3/4 characters are teenagers, I wanted more depth from the narration, which mostly consists of just a recount of events- like “We did this and then we did this. I couldn’t bear to watch when the soldiers did this. Then we went back to our cage and did this.”

While I am usually interested in dystopian fiction, I can’t say I would recommend Solis.

4/5 ⭐️ This wasn’t a bad audiobook! I thought I was gonna be bothered because I’m not a dystopian fan! But this really surprised me! And I never read the first book! Didn’t need to to understand this book! I will read the first book though to see how character development plays into it! Overall, the racism and xenophobia is crazy in this book! It’s to show that this can happen and 2033 is not that far away!

Sequel to Sanctuary, Solis continues the story of Vali after finding sanctuary in the newly freed California (now known as the Commonwealth of California), as well as her mother who was captured by the deportation forces and sent to a concentration; I mean labor camp. We are also given the POV's of Rania, a young Lebanese girl, and Jess, a former deportation force officer.

It's now 2033: Vali has joined California's resistance group, SOLIS, who has made it their mission to find and free the people enslaved by the New American Republic's DF forces. Vali makes it onto the secret Special Ops team known as Condor, whose primary focus is to infiltrate the labor camp and stop the mining of aqualinium. Vali's mom, Liliana, is a laborer in this camp, along with Rania, Vali's school friend from Chicago. Somehow they must all come together to stop the New American Republic's mining & refining of Aqualinium, and free the slaves of the camp.

Although Solis isn't marketed as a direct sequel to Sanctuary, there are a lot of callbacks to Sanctuary that I really liked. The introduction to 3 new POV's: Vali's mom, Rania, & Jess. However - all 3 characters were in Sanctuary, and we are now expanding upon them. If you read Sanctuary, you obviously remember Vali's mom, Liliana. She is the one that takes the kids on the start of their journey, and is taken by the DF at a bus stop that went horribly wrong. Later on in Vali & Ernie's journey for California, Vali believes she sees her mother being ushered into a labor camp in the desert. At the time, I thought it was just her exhaustion playing tricks on her. That she saw a woman similar-ish to her mother, and was consumed by both grief and exhaustion to the point that she saw her mother instead. However, after reading Solis, I think it was actually her mother! We know now she is alive and trying to survive the labor camp. We are also introduced to Rania, who turns out to be Vali's friend from school that went missing before they fled! I didn't make the connection at first until Liliana and Rania had their reunion, but it was crazy for them to find each other after being abducted by the DF at totally separate times. We also have Jess's POV, who is a former DF agent that is stripped of her title and thrust into the labor camps after she is found to help some fugitives fleeing to California. Who are the fugitives? Vali & Ernie as they're riding the motorcycle through the desert towards the river! I thought this was a crazy callback, but also a testament to how much a regime does not care about its citizens if they do anything out of line. I loved the callbacks to these characters from Sanctuary, and how interconnected their stories are in Solis.

Just like Sanctuary, Solis is a dystopian fantasy that has very real potential with our political climate in the US. I read this only about a month before the election, and writing this review just days before the election. It's crazy to read this story, and see people who are the physical embodiments of those in charge of the New American Republic literally running for office IRL. Solis is a prophecy for what could come if we're not careful, and that takes my empathy for the characters up a notch as it's not far off from what is currently happening at the camps currently at our borders. Solis is a gut wrenching read.

Thank you to Paola Mendoza & Abby Sher, Penguin Group, & NetGalley for the eARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Young Readers for the eARC.

I enjoyed Solis and the dystopian world it depicted. I found myself eager to know the ending to the story. I do wish I had read the companion novel first, but I did not know about it until it was finished. Still a great read.

Solis by Paola Mendoza & Abby Sher
Rating: 3.5 stars

This dystopian novel caught my interest with its unique near-future setting and themes of immigration, resistance, and survival. The story is set in 2033 and follows Rania, a Lebanese teenager forced into a labor camp, as she fights against a corrupt government exploiting undocumented immigrants. Told from multiple perspectives, the book gives a broad view of the rebellion and its impact.

While the world-building was interesting, the pacing felt a bit slow at times. This book is a companion to Sanctuary, and though it can be read on its own, I think those familiar with the first book will get more out of it. Overall, it’s a compelling read with strong political themes and messages of courage and perseverance.

Tropes

🚨 Dystopian world
💪 Resistance/rebellion
✊ Underdog vs. corrupt government
🌍 Climate change
💥 Multiple POVs

Review by my thirteen year old daughter:

This book was really interesting. I enjoyed that the plot took from current events and I enjoyed seeing one viewpoint of what could happen in the near future. I did feel like the book had a slow start, and it took me a little while to get into it. Additionally I found it hard to keep the characters straight, until about the 50% mark. The 50% was definitely where the book picked up. I enjoyed the twists and turns. I mainly enjoyed the ending, although I think it could've used a short epilogue at the end to show where the characters end up. Overall it was a good book, but there were a few aspects the book could've benefitted from.

As someone who didn't read Sanctuary, I felt like this book could definitely be read as a stand alone, and I didn't feel like I needed to read Sanctuary to understand this.

4.25/5 stars

Sanctuary was one of my favorite books I read this year, and even though it was open ended, I was ok with it being that way.

When I heard that Solis was being released, I was interested in continuing Vali’s story and dive into the other POVs of new characters. All this to say, Mendoza and Sher did an amazing job on expanding the world of Sanctuary.

First, I personally feel like this is more a sequel than a companion novel. Though Solis does touch on events that happened on Sanctuary, you will definitely get more by reading Sanctuary and build stronger connections with some characters.

Next, this was a phenomenal use of multi-POV. Every character is complex and the new POVs are distinct from each other. This effectively painted a vivid, multifaceted story. I actually enjoyed seeing the fight for freedom from the eyes of an ex-DF officer, an adult and teen in the camps, and someone in the rebellion.

I know a common critique of this novel was that it could be unnecessarily brutal. However, I don’t think Mendoza and Sher used the violence for shock value, but rather to further show the everyday horrors people did/do/could go through for their freedom.

I only had two problems with this book: some of the writing choices and the pacing. Because this is marketed as a companion novel, there is a lot of telling instead of showing in the beginning to catch the reader up on events. Additionally, this book could have also slowed down and expanded in certain aspects, particularly the Aqualinium. I am also less satisfied with the way Solis ended than Sanctuary.

Mendoza and Sher did an amazing job with Solis and if they were to release a final novel to wrap up a few loose ends, I’d read it in a heartbeat.

Solis picks up one year after the events of its companion novel, Sanctuary. I found that having read Sanctuary first, I had the clearest context for all of the character relationships and crossovers that continued into this title. Nevertheless, the authors do a great job at bringing readers up to speed about the overarching world events and connections we learned about from book one, and you end up in the same place regardless. I enjoyed the new element of the four main characters now telling the story from start to finish in their own chapters. I was a bit skeptical at first because following that many storylines can be challenging, but each character’s voice is resoundingly clear and their personalities are distinct.

Though brief, this book is dark and heavy. Mendoza and Sher unapologetically explore the depravity that occurs when corruption and bigotry fester in politics and climate change poses an ever-increasing threat to life. How an authoritarian political system takes hold as a result, and humans who present as “different” (read: anyone who is not a white U.S. citizen), are alienated and reduced to slaves. It is especially upsetting to be reviewing such work in present-day 2024, where we are on the cusp of yet another deeply consequential presidential election here in the United States, and we just passed the first anniversary of the world’s most digitally documented genocide taking place in Gaza.

Like Sanctuary, the message of Solis is loud and clear: the gross crimes against humanity depicted in this novel are not an impossibility. One critique of this title that I’ve pondered before writing this review is that the violence depicted is so extreme that it reads more like shock value and therefore dampens the impact. I’ve contended with this argument because I think there is some merit to it. For instance, in Sanctuary, the on-page corruption mirrored the anti-immigration political rhetoric that was circulating here in the States so closely that the corruption and violence felt domestically possible. However, the corruption and now extended depravity depicted in Solis feels so much like an extreme escalation that it no longer feels domestically possible. So if you’re an American reader reading this book and thinking, “That would never happen here,” I could see you sharing this criticism. However, a beautiful perspective I’ve gained from reading Mendoza and Sher’s work is that the violence they write about extends far beyond the United States. And so I want to be very careful with falling into that mindset, because even if it feels like this could never happen on U.S. soil, it can—and very much is—happen elsewhere in the world where it is endorsed by the U.S.

There are a lot of themes I could pick out and dissect in Solis, and I think that is why I am so drawn to Mendoza and Sher’s work. I did find myself feeling like I wanted more resolution by the end of the novel, though, because it ends rather abruptly. I wanted to learn what Jess’ plans were moving forward to continue dismantling the system she was part of. I wanted more opportunity to bask in the relief I felt when Vali and her mom Liliana were finally reconnected.

In all, Solis is an allegorical book that serves as a warning of what could happen when corruption and climate change go unchecked. If you’re looking for a thought-provoking, young adult political “dystopia” that will make you question the way the real world is heading, this is the book for you.

This was...a LOT. I really loved Sanctuary and Solis is a sequel- a near future dystopia where climate change is a bigger crisis and populist politics in the United States have led to the expelling of anyone who is not a natural born citizen.

Solis takes place after the events of book 1 and it's incredibly bleak and horrific. Some of the scenes of torture and death are so gruesome and over the top they would feel more at home in an adult horror novel than a YA dystopia. And while I'm not opposed to realistically depicting some horrific things in literature for teens, I'm just not sure there's a good reason for some of the more extreme things beyond shock value. If the idea is to realistically reflect the treatment of migrants at border crossings, there is enough horror in those stories already without manufacturing things that feel more akin to Nazi concentration camps and then some. It feels like horror for horror's sake in a way that the first book didn't. That felt like a timely warning of the direction things have been heading, whereas this goes way beyond that.

On top of which, the ending is very abrupt and not hopeful enough to balance out everything else. I don't know, there were elements of this I liked but it was a bit of a shock after Sanctuary and not in a good way. Read with care. I received a copy of this book for review via Goodreads, all opinions are my own.

One word- sad. In this dystopian future, the slur term of undocumented immigrants as they are called in the story, anyone not born of this country, are rounded up and thrown into internment camps. With references to a wall being built between Mexico and US, the reader can sense where some inspiration came from.

With multiple points of view, you get a look into the hardships each individual faces. To the point the graphic harm they endure can’t really be put into words. I enjoyed this on its own but think I should have read the first one first, to get a better grasp on the characters.

As someone who is not a young adult, I always think “would this be something I would have read in high school?” Sometimes the style of writing feels younger for a more mature subject matter. I think this would have made a very interesting school read, to discuss with peers at that age. With such a big story to tell, it didn’t feel long enough. I wanted to know all the characters more, so highly recommend reading Sanctuary first.

Solis by Paola Mendoza; Abby Sher is a haunting near-future tale about undocumented immigrants subjected to deadly experiments in a government labor camp and the four courageous rebels who set into place a daring plan to liberate them.
A multi-POV story with captivating characters who really set the tone here.
This was an incredible dystopian tale.
I was engaged from beginning to end. The world-building was amazing and the writing is so well done.
It was beautifully written and I hope we can get more novels like this one in the future.

Thank You NetGalley and Nancy Paulsen Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Solis by Paola Mendoza and Abby Sher is a gripping and thought-provoking narrative set in a near-future America grappling with climate change and societal collapse. The story follows a young protagonist as she navigates a world filled with danger and uncertainty, exploring themes of resilience, family, and hope. Mendoza and Sher’s evocative writing creates a vivid atmosphere, immersing readers in a landscape of both despair and possibility. This compelling novel encourages reflection on the choices we make today and their impact on tomorrow, making it a must-read for fans of dystopian fiction.