What did I just read?
Should I burn the book? Probably not because my version is an ebook and we don't burn books in this day and age (at least I don't).

Wowzah, I chose this book from Netgalley because I saw a review from someone I follow on Goodreads and I thought, "I want that kind of baffled, scared sort of feeling myself."
I don't get scared reading books, (or watching movies), but this one I did need to read in small increments, perhaps not because of the scared factor, but there was a major ick thing going on.

Ada and her father don't waste words, and so they talk in shorter sentences, which is actually a bit lyrical. This isn't a conventional book, it isn't an easy read because Samson is just *insert awful adjective here*, but it is a very vivid read. Ada's "birth story" so to speak, it's very telling, the lore involved in this is well-researched. Someone else wrote that this was an "unsettling novel" and I readily agree with that. I think this is going to be a hit or miss book for others, but I've loved reading all of the reviews.

DNF @ 29%

This is one of those books that’s going to be amazing for a certain kind of reader. I am not that certain kind of reader. This was magical realism with a dash of weirdness but the more you keep reading you realize that the lid must’ve come off and the whole bottle of weirdness ended up in there. The utter strangeness of this reminded me a lot of The Library at Mount Char, so if you were a fan of that, definitely pick this one up. (That one also didn’t work for me. lol) Here’s a quick summary of the weirdness: this girl and her father were both “born from the dirt” or something, her father transforms into a beast at night and eats the local wildlife, they take out the yucky stuff from people that causes them pain/sickness, etc. The writing is lyrical and the only reason I got to 29% but the story is extremely weird. Take this scene for instance:

“First time I tried to lie down with a boy, I didn’t know what I was doing. I lay down and he lay down over me and I held on tight. He went to put it in and there was nowhere for it to go and he got scared and bit me. […] By the time I took Samson inside, I’d grown myself an opening that I’d a dozen names for.”

“For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return”—so says the Book of Genesis. But in Follow Me to Ground, by Sue Rainsford, people have a habit of returning from the dust after they’ve been to see a pair of mysterious healers. Ada and her father have been around so long that they’ve entered local folklore for their miraculous cures and the strange things that happen around them. In this imaginative and sometimes disturbing novel, we learn that even these beings that can heal just about any ailment, don’t know everything.

Ada is well along on her apprenticeship to the creature she calls father when we meet her at the beginning of Follow Me to Ground. As such, she is more than confident about curing injuries to pregnant women, cancers, and more. In fact, she’s dangerously confident when it comes to her ability to cure things that her father says are impossible. The only things they cannot cure are diseases of the mind; they can’t excise depression…or the kind of unacceptable desires that are only obliquely referenced in this novel.

Ada is not entirely arrogant when we meet her, however. She is curious about the world around her and the sensations that lead her to begin a sexual relationship with a local young man who isn’t put off by her strangeness. Not is she put off by the rumors about Samson, that he might be attracted to her because she doesn’t look like a full-grown woman. Ada, no matter whether or not she is human, behaves a lot like a teenaged human girl: she is firmly convinced that she is in love and that love is more important than any warnings her father delivered.

Follow Me to Ground is a brief novel. Readers who want more world-building may be disappointed by how little attention is paid to the Ground, the healing dirt that Ada and her father use, or what they are and where their powers come from. Still, this novel contains plenty of drama, mystery, and tension to keep readers entertained, even if readers will be left with questions unanswered.

A lyrical and masterfully emotional novel, Follow Me to Ground follows the lives of Ada and her father, touched by the power to heal illness, as well as the people in the small village who depend on them. When the time comes to make decisions that will not only affect her own life but also the lives of those she loves, Ada is torn between what is and what could be. With vivid world building and sympathetic characters, this book will make you want to devour it in one reading!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I received this from Netgalley.com for a review.

"Ada and her father, touched by the power to heal illness, live on the edge of a village where they help sick locals—or “Cures”—by cracking open their damaged bodies or temporarily burying them in the reviving, dangerous Ground nearby. "

Fantastical, off-beat, just plain weird. Be ready to extend your concept of reality.

This is crazy! This is disturbing! This is really scary! I want to put in the freezer! I want to hide myself in the closet and count to 5 million to get rid of the damage the book gave me. I’m going to chuck because I’m chicken and deserved to be fried and served at fancy Soul Food places (I’m coward but still five stared fancy coward!)

I’m giving four stars and praying loudly (already I organized my own congregation circling me because of my usage of so many holly words) the spirits of Ada and her father won’t follow and curse me as a punishment of cutting one of their stars.

This creepy as hell book will give you nightmares, will make you forget your own name so you gotta read “Call me by your name” to recover, okay it was so bad but I’m really shaking in terror and losing my ability to write something simple and funny.

BEWARE YOUR CHILDREN from this book by positioning it at the top of your bookshelves (Don’t put in the freezer like me! This will be their first place to check.) Stop screaming, stop crying, be a mature human and deal with your feelings responsibly and please don’t read them at the public places not to be shunned because of your uncontrollable reactions. Didn’t I say: stop crying! Oh, that’s me. Okay I should stop it and resume writing my review.

So: Ada and her father are healers who help their local people with very un-Grey’s Anatomy’s doctors’ methods which are literally cracking open the damaged bodies like random damaged goods, temporarily burying them in some kind of eerie, mega spooky and dangerous ground. Oh stop screaming! ( That’s not me, this time. My husband read my words on the computer and gave this childish reaction! What a momma’s boy!)

But one day, Ada heals one of the village people named Samson (Ada and her father called them “cure” which is also my 80’s favorite band and it is not relevant so I’m zipping my mouth right now!)and they start a romantic affair. As you may see the father of the probable bride is not happy about this progress. You may sense that after Ada’s romantic involvement, all the hell breaks loose and nothing will be the same forever. I’m not gonna say anything because I’m still trembling and afraid of moving for at least five hours. I wish somebody could carry me to my bed and I hide myself under my duvet!

This is unconventional, stunning, shocking, different, original work. I’m so happy to read this rarely talented author’s works and I’m so excited to read her upcoming books.

So much thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for sharing this innovative masterpiece with me in exchange my honest review. And I’d like to congratulate Sue Rainsford for her original work.

This was such a strange little book, however, it is one that I think I want to read at least one more time, as I think there is a lot to unpack here.

This novel centers around Ada and Father. They are very different, in fact, Ada calls themselves “The Cures”. People come to them to heal them, but they use very unconventional methods, including burying them in the ground on the property.

Where the story starts to take a turn is when Ada meets Samson, who comes for a cure. After that Ada and Samson start an affair. Ada begins to question whether to leave with him or stay and continue to help people. But, nothing is what it seems. There are whispers of Samson, from a sister and people around town.

The journey the author takes you on is twisty and at the end you will definitely be thinking, “What?”. The only book that I could possible compare this to is The Need by Helen Phillips. Extremely strange but yet so intriguing that you cannot put it down.

If you are looking for something different, then give this very slim book a chance. I think you will talking and thinking about this for a while.

Thank you NetGalley and Scribner for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Another reader called this debut novel "gorgeously strange"--which is the perfect description for this ornately written (sometimes overly ornately) novel which audaciously and intriguingly bridges categories.

3.5 stars

This was a very strange and unique book that was a bit fantasy, a bit romance, and a bit suspense all rolled into one.

I found the book to be, at times, both enthralling and confusing. The style of writing immediately drew me, and I enjoyed that story went back and forth from Ada’s POV and that of the “Cures”, a name given to the sick locals.

But there were scenes that I felt weren’t given enough details. I think in some instances it was intended for the reader to infer what was happening or that the author was alluding to certain things transpiring, which is fine and I actually prefer when authors do this to build suspense and not give away the entire story. But there were some parts that even by the end of the book were still left very much unclear, and it sort of took away from the overall enjoyment of it.

I would still recommend this book and I‘m interested in reading more from Sue Rainsford.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3070701911

This was a gorgeously strange book, about beings that live on the edges of a small town, tending their eerie garden called "The Ground," helping those who come to them with ailments - normal people called "Cures." The writing is poetic and eerie, and the story winds along slowly and purposefully like a crawling vine. I loved the strangeness and the poetry of the story and writing so much, that the plot itself is almost an unnecessary element, though of course still similarly pleasantly strange. I'm not sure what I just read, but I loved it.

'There is something Cures don’t know about their curing. The sickness isn’t gone. It just goes elsewhere.'

Ada and her father are some sort of creature that is both human and not. Of course, her father is wilder than her, hunting in the night on all fours, but not Ada. She has her own desires. Their purpose is to heal the “Cures”, the local humans who come to them for help for all their maladies. Sometimes its requires rooting around through the body, a singing and for others it’s to the ground they go, never remembering quite any of it but always feeling refreshed, cured! This mysterious ground where both Ada and her father come from, a hungry ground, opening and closing as it will, where it will is all they know of their origins, they are not meant to be a part of the people so it serves them well that the locals remain weary of them. Beyond the healing, no one gets close to them, which is a lonely existence but doesn’t much bother Ada, until Samson.

Ada is tired of the healing, of her father’s control and adherence to the ‘tradition’ they have been born for. Ada has yearnings of her own, like any ‘human’ child does and through Samson she feels she can be different, life can go another way, she can be more human than creature. She has heard a lifetime of warnings about the ground from her father, it is an entity of it’s own, it has a dangerous power, but must she always heed his warnings? Does father really know what’s best? They’ve been chasing away the sickness inside of people’s bodies, but some sickness can’t be seen, understood, healed. The healing can feel so good, too good maybe for some Cures. Love can be trouble, but Samson becomes so much a part of her days, a pattern, the poetry of her heart. What troubles him most is his sister, the widow Olivia. Samson’s sister Olivia is a schemer, but his loyalty is always with her, as orphans they have only had each other. Samson and Ada have many secrets between them, but as Ada abandons the ways of her father everything begins to sour. Just what will she do, to protect her love? She can’t hide what’s between she and Samson, and she cannot, will not give him up. Desperation darkens the mind. Regret has no place here, what’s done is done, then comes the crush of years, the waiting.

What happens has far reaching consequences, that lead to more creepy secrets. This tale feels like a love story but how it bends and exposes horror, both human and creature. It is about sickness, disturbances in humans and ‘monsters’ alike. It is a fascinating blend of magical realism, family dysfunction, love and horror. Need is greedy, and a starving heart can attend to all sorts of horror, in the name of desire. Yes, read this! A nod to the beautiful cover too.

Publication Date: January 21, 2020

Scribner

This was another title that I grabbed because of this amazing cover. The story was haunting and enchanting. I think it could have felt a little more real for the magical realism but for the most part this book was fabulous. The characters were all there and the blend of writing styles worked well.


Go Into This One Knowing: Biblical Imagery, Blended Writing Styles

I was captivated by the beautiful writing in Follow Me To Ground, which offers a glimpse into the mind of a childlike woman who was birthed from the ground and heals the humans around her. We also get to hear what the townspeople think of this mysterious father-daughter duo that is unbothered by human concerns. I wish there was less attempt at a plot, because I didn't care for the whole Samson plot or the ending, which I don't think had quite the impact that the author intended.
I still really enjoyed it and the writing style.

So different and strange, loved it

The story was very disorienting at first but once the words and concept sank in I plowed through. The characters don’t exactly fit into a cookie cutter supernatural cast but it did seem like werewolf (Father) and witch/fairy (Ada) were where my mind kept going. Burying people and having them rise and be reborn - vampires/zombies.

That’s me, the Twilight generation, sorry.

That’s probably taking away from all the deep philosophical and biblical references I’m seeing scattered in these reviews and I do get some of that but I don’t feel like overthinking it. But also realize I mean no offense.

It was beautifully written. The mood was so surreal. I understood what the transgression was that took place and how Ada dealt with it. The ending was a bit open ended for me and then it was over. Perhaps for the best in this strange fairy tale.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Scribner for a copy in exchange for a review.

Follow Me To Ground is a haunting strange wild ride of areas.A fantasy so well written hard to put down.Perfect for those who like twisted unusual books, The cover is amazing creative beautiful eye catching.#netgalley#scribner

I was lucky enough to win an advance copy of FOLLOW ME TO GROUND through a Shelf Awareness giveaway. I can't wait to devour it!

Haunting & nightmarish, and reminiscent of Brother’s Grimm. Other writers have attempted a similar Stephen King Pet Sematary theme — usually quite poorly. Follow Me To Ground is a wonderful exception.

3.5/5 stars rounded up to 4

What a unique novel. I've got such complicated feelings about it, which has led to my indecisiveness over how to rate it. On one hand, the novel's originality and its gorgeous language make it stand out from the other books I've read this past year, both on NetGalley and on my own. On the other hand, there are so many questions I have that I didn't find the answers to throughout the novel. That might be my own problem, which I fully accept, but I did peep a number of other Goodreads reviews and found people saying similar things. Maybe it's all our fault for not getting parts that remain murky in clarity, but I would have liked to see more of a solid ending. I also would have liked to see some more world building of this completely unorthodox universe where people can be born from trees (I think?), buried in the Earth to be healed, and have their aches sung away. There was very little explanation behind the rules of this universe, so I personally would have liked to see more of that.

Overall, it's a great read. Horror novel while not being a horror novel? I don't know. I'd certainly recommend it, especially for those who like a more poetic, lyrical writing style!

Follow Me to Ground caught my eye when it was longlisted for the Republic of Consciousness prize. Although I rarely enjoy magical realism, the premise was intriguing enough for me to give this a try.

It's a very strong and well-written debut. Rainsford has careful control over the atmosphere that she creates, maintaining an undercurrent of tension and dread throughout, and the magical realism elements never feel silly or forced. Despite the strange origins and powers of Ada and her father, their tale is, at its core, a very human one, examining who deserves the love of whom and the dangers of trying to fix others.

I'd gladly read more from the author. Thank you to the publisher for the chance to read this.

I love weird novels but this one seems to have out-weirded me. I was confused and slightly disturbed so gave up on it.