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.

I got this as an ARC and has no idea it was a continuation of Sanctuary. So it’s safe to say I went in blindly.

Overall, it’s a book that you have to really ingest and think about. It’s a dystopian novel but the elements and plot allude to what is happening now not only in the US but also in other countries.

I feel like there should’ve been some sort of Trigger warning.

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Nancy Paulsen Books and NetGalley for an electronic advanced readers copy of this novel.

In 2033, the America as we know it is gone. California has seceded due to a tyrannical dictator of a president who won't leave office and the attack of any illegal or legal immigrant who comes to the country. The non-white people are rounded up and taken to labor camps to mine an element that can supposedly control the rain, which would change the global landscape as water is a precious commodity.

Solis but Paola Mendoza and Abby Sher is told from different viewpoints, both inside the camp and by a member of Solis, the group from California who are trying to free the workers. It looks like this is an offshoot of Sanctuary, which I have not read. I still understood most of it so I don't think reading Sanctuary is completely necessary but probably fills in and deepens a lot of the characterization.

It was a fast read, somewhat depressing but hopeful.

Solis is definitely a dystopian book. It entertains the idea of California splitting from the remaining 49 states, with undocumented immigrants working in a labor camp. The book ultimately is about sacrifice and freedom, and the story is told through 4 narrators. I think that the different narrators was a large benefit to the book. It helped me keep track of what was going on in each of the relevant areas, so I had a useful timeline for both. I think the book covered a lot of ideas and concepts in a limited amount of time, but not in a bad way where I was concerned about keeping track of all of it. Maybe another 20 pages or so would have been beneficial (maybe more background with some of the characters?), but overall I am very content with how the story concluded.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an. e-ARC of this book!

I read Sanctuary this past summer and really enjoyed it, so I was excited to read the follow-up novel, Solis. I do think Solis will make much more sense to readers if they have read Sanctuary first, so that is something to keep in mind. This is a grim, yet ultimately hopeful novel about a dystopian near-future America where undocumented immigrants are enslaved and forced to mine a new mineral. The camp conditions were of course horrific and this is not a book without violence and loss. I think this story is powerful and important, so I have no issues there. My only real qualm with this book was the writing, especially the first half. It was a lot of telling versus showing and while that may be due to trying to catch up readers who didn't read Sanctuary, it made for a less than enjoyable reading experience for me. That said, I would not hesitate to recommend this to my students who enjoy dystopian novels!

Solis is described as a companion book to Sanctuary, which I have not previously read. With that in mind, my perspective will solely be based on Solis and may be skewed from that of readers who have read Sanctuary.

Solis does a really good job of establishing a dystopian setting and had phenomenal world building. I believe anyone who reads this book will agree with that observation. Another noticeable element is its direct focus and description or complex political elements and atrocious human rights violations. This book faces these head on in a way that most contemporary writing does it. It achieves this through the use of multiple POVs to tell the story. While there will be readers who may feel overwhelmed by the portrays in the story, I do believe there will also be readers who resonate with the concerns presented.

I received a copy of this through a publishers event at the library for young adults. This book covered some tough topics that we need to see more of in the library. I loved every page of this book and believe it will make a great addition to our collection.

I loved this book. I had been waiting a long time to read it and it was worth the wait. I would highly recommend reading this book if you haven’t.
10/10

5 stars! I absolutely loved this. It was captivating and the characters will stay with me. I don't usually love multiple narrators as it can be difficult to follow, but I didn't mind this. One of my favorite reads of the year. Devastating, but still a quick and easy read.

THOUGHTS

This book just didn't quite strike the right balance between social critique and dystopian elements for me. I appreciated the authorial intent here, but some of the over-the-top elements made it feel... less real, I think, than it should have.

PROS
Really Distinct POVs: It can be very difficult to pull off distinct voices when you've got a multi-POV book, but this book absolutely nails it. Each of these character voices is unique. I could have flipped to any random chapter and known after only a sentence or two who was speaking, even without the chapter heading to let me know. And that is very impressive--and very engaging!

Hope in Despair: This book is very dark in a lot of ways, and so I appreciated so much the little glimpses of hope sprinkled in. Specifically these kids growing up in detainment cages at a labor camp who are nonetheless striving to learn, making community, and maintaining hope for a future the adults (and the teens) around them have given up on. This was a necessary light in the dark atmosphere of this book.

Precedent: A good dystopian book will always draw from contemporary political concerns, and this book certainly does. Especially in an election year, immigration is on everybody's mind, and there's just nothing like being at the mercy of a government who could decide to take your legal residence away on a whim. Visa rules shift and change all the time, and so this book, while certainly dystopian, also feels very... precedented. The brutality here is really just pulling from political rhetoric and the annals of history--a domestic history that does, in fact, involve labor camps already.


CONS
Not a Companion: This book has been advertised as a companion novel to Paola Mendoza & Abby Sher's earlier book Sanctuary, but it really isn't. Don't get me wrong. I do believe someone could pick up this book would having read the first book and comprehend it well enough. But with repeat characters and continuing storylines, being labeled a "companion" is really quite misleading. Readers won't get as much out of this book if they read it like a standalone. It is, really, just a sequel.


Aqualinium?: The world is out of water, and there's some miracle mineral that just might solve the problem. That's what the labor camps are for. But... this makes no sense. Not the world running out of water part. Not the miracle mineral part. But the part where nobody actually knows how to use the mineral to make potable water. Like, every experiment with it ends excruciatingly. So, then, what has made them think this mineral will make safe water? Why are they experimenting with it? Why do they think they can control the weather with some random rock, when they have no proof that this rock can do that? I guess I just don't understand expending resources (even if the major resource here is slave labor) for something that doesn't make logical sense until it actually works. It feels like weird alchemy for most of the book. Why would you experiment to find out if aqualinium can make clean rain? Why would you even think a rock might be able to do this?


Too On-the-Nose; The best dystopian novels contain clear critiques of current social and political dilemmas, and they let the readers wrestles with those implications. They do not just outright state the message they intend to supply It feels like these authors didn't trust their message to be clear enough, because they had characters outright state the moral of the story a few times. And that just feels a little on-the-nose. Trust readers (even and especially young readers) to work through the implications and come out with a sharper understanding of the world on the other side. Hand-holding really isn't appreciated, especially in YA.


Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
7/10
Fans of Paola Mendoza & Abby Sher's Sanctuary will love stepping back into this world to find out what happens next. Those who found the experimentation of Jessica Khoury's Origin particularly unsettling will appreciate reckoning with experimenting on a new, vulnerable community.

I loved the first book in the series, so I was very excited when I received an ARC of this one! And I enjoyed this book just as much!

I loved the different POVs in this story and thought each character was so interesting, complex, and relatable in many different ways. I’m very glad the authors decided to craft the story in this way because I really feel it added to the book so much!

The world building was fantastic. It is almost scary how real and possible it all feels.

The only thing that bothered me a little bit was in Vali’s POV there was a lot of talking about events that happened in the first book, which felt very repetitive.

I would definitely recommend this book and the first in the series to anyone and everyone!

I received a a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and statements are my own.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

This book. This book has my whole heart. I absolutely adored this! From the incredible characters, to the plot, to falling in love with everything so quickly- I couldn’t put this down. I highly recommend this! It really just sucks you in and makes you never want to leave. In my opinion, those are the best books and I couldn't get enough.