Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon

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Hey all! This week is the #TransRightsReadathon and I’m rounding up some of my favorite books by, or featuring, trans people. If you’d like more information about the origins and goals of this movement, you can find it here.

Content Warnings for harm to children, partner abuse, and body horror.

Look at this gorgeous cover!

If you are able to, avoid all descriptions of this book before diving in. I mean it; just go in blindly. All I knew when I requested this book was that it was by Rivers Solomon and it was about a woman who is going through a metamorphosis and needs to escape a religious compound. I didn't really need any more information than Rivers Solomon being the author to get excited and I am so glad that I didn't read further. This made every twist and turn that much more exciting and I was completely caught off guard multiple times. Now if you really need to know more, then by all means keep reading this post before putting this book on hold at the Library. But trust me, this book is amazing.

Reader Friends, this book is an intense ride and I was completely enthralled from start to finish. Vern gave birth to her children alone while hiding in the woods from her abusive husband and the repressive religious compound she grew up in. Only more surprising than her not knowing she was pregnant with twins is Vern´s age. At only 14, Vern is now tasked with not only her own survival against a dark and evil force, but that of her children as well. Deep in the woods, Vern and her small family spend their days gathering, foraging, and hunting their food while spending their nights drying and preserving their surplus. As the days pass on, her children grow into inquisitive toddlers as Vern discovers her own body changing and developing as well. When the forest fiend gets too close to her children, Vern knows she must finally ask for help. Packing up her children and their meager supplies, Vern and her children set off across the country to find an old friend from Vern´s childhood. As the days pass, Vern continues to change and hallucinations from her childhood return with greater force. With no one to trust but herself, Vern must learn more about her past in order to secure a future for herself and her children. 

Sorrowland is one of those magical books that crosses so many genres that it becomes something new altogether. It is part historical fiction, part science-fiction, and a whole lot of gothic horror. Solomon´s writing is intense and compelling with richly drawn characters caught up in an intricate and complicated plot. Much of the book's impact comes from it's too-close-to-reality storyline of racism, misogyny, and distrust in authority. Spoiler, everyone has every reason to distrust all authority in this book. It's also incredibly fast paced and I was so engrossed in the story that I finished it in one sitting. I loved this book and can't wait to hear what you all think of it. 

If you would like to add this book to your collection, you can find ordering information here:

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book. All opinions and mistakes are my own. This post also contains affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases.