Described as a new kind of haunted house story, this book promised a spooky tale but delivered something different.

I don't read a lot of horror, with the exception of Stephen King, because I don't really like it! I like a spooky, creepy story but I also want a good plot and strong characters, which can be hard to find in genre fiction. In Model Home I found the opposite, the story (disappointingly, for me) skewed to family dynamics rather than having a real focus on the haunted house. I think the balance was intended but not fully achieved - I keep thinking: but let's get to the house! Tell me scary stuff!

This book is hyper-representative and inclusive to a point where I thought I knew a lot about the characters, without actually knowing the characters. I became convinced that diabetes would become significant to the plot somehow.

If you're looking for strong representation of Black families and identities, this book is for you. However, it's not the horror story I expected to read.

Thanks, NetGalley and FSG for the chance to read this.

***Caution Spoilers Follow***

"A family hurts. It does. We are born in its noose."

"Many unalive things move the world. Fire. Sickness. Is that how you see the inside of yourself? As fire? As sickness? In a way. Like, the ghosts, they’re these wild, harmful things that can’t be controlled."

4.5 stars: This is one that will stick with me. The only reason I'm not giving this 5 stars is because I can't see myself ever wanting to reread it. Family dramas aren't my thing but I do enjoy books that make me feel. The writing is exceptional, including characters with depth and an original perspective on mental illness (maybe). Solomon brings you right into the head of their main characters. Their pain, inner turmoil and attempted healing are on full display. The prose is unusual, intelligent and poetic. It reminds me of Sylvia Plath's Lady Lazarus, with its darkly depressing push/pull or Tremblay's A Head Full of Ghosts with the ambiguity. I love the way in which Solomon weaves a story that feels so personal and identifiable. Ezri's voice as a gender fluid, person of color is so strong and tragic. I felt every word of this book, magnificent masterpiece that it is. What a powerful ending.

TWs: pet deaths, child abuse, there is a racist debasing, though consensual, on page sex scene that may be disturbing to some. The reader can easily skip that part and still get the idea of what was happening.

"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. Mold-besmirched. Leaded water. Holes in the floor. Windows that let in cold. Heating that doesn’t work. Shitty cladding. In its end, Grenfell Tower was a haunted house. Every house in Flint, in so many cities, is a haunted house. So, 677 [Acacia Drive] was a shelter, a space , and everything so awful about it was not so different than many other houses."

An ambitious and innovative take on the haunted house tale that will have you asking yourself the question, "are these ghosts white supremacists or just assholes?" As breezy as that sentence was, this novel is not that. Horror fans could read it at a surface level and be engaged, but malevolence in a living space is small aside the capital T traumas that Ezri, a sympathetic but self-admittedly unreliable narrator, has had no choice but to endure. Not a light book, not an easy book to read, but a worthwhile one.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This was a really quite bizarre story. I found myself enjoying the writing style whilst also hating parts of it, and it was an uncomfortable and confusing presentation, but in the House of Leaves kind of way and not in the ‘I hate this’ kind of way.

I think more than anything this book is the horror of trauma. The things that we don’t see, or refuse to see, or refuse to admit to ourselves are the things that creep up on us in the middle of the night when things are quiet and thoughts are loud. This book encapsulates that exact feeling, and it’s so uncomfortable, which I took as the sign of a good horror book.

I think the question and the mystery of this one too could have been more overt, but I also acknowledge that it is meant to be cloudy. Hearing from the other two siblings that weren’t Ezri would have been great, but with that said, I appreciate the book is from that flawed perspective for a reason.

Without giving too much away, I feel this book is a brilliant piece of work with a lot to say- and deep unease touted over direct scares.

3.5 Stars

I really liked this book, it was very intelligently written and I so appreciate the LGBTQ representation as I am an ally. The writing was lovely but not wordy and it was a very unique take on the Haunted House trope. This one is not for the faint of heart as there are a lot of triggers here but I’m not going to go into them so I don’t go into spoilers territory. There are so many social issues in this story abuse, racism and classism to name but a few. The bond of the siblings, especially towards the end, really made this book about family and ultimately that’s what the book is about. Mental illness and suicide issues were written realistically and respectfully, I liked how the author did that.

I loved the ending, it was haunting but not in the way you might think. I admit that the book isn’t for everyone but I loved the writing style, characters and ending very much. What or who is the real monster in this house? It’s literary fiction at its finest, I will be thinking about this one for a long time.

Rivers Solomon does it again!
Model Home is a deeply unsettling and twisted tale about generational trauma, violence, racism, gentrification, and the way it shapes an individual.

Ezri's mother Eudora has dreams of building the perfect home with the perfect family and will stop at nothing to get it. Finally, it seems she has reached the top when their family moves into 677, a large model home in a gated white community in Dallas. Soon after, strange things begin to happen.

Years later, now grown, Ezri is called back to 677 when tragedy strikes again. They, along with their sisters, are finally forced to confront the traumas they've endured, and the secrets that lie within the walls of their family home.

Rivers is a master at crafting gory, horrific, tales with one of a kind characters that are as interesting as they are flawed. I deeply love the characters Rivers creates and the representation they take on. This author does not shy away from the uncomfortable realities that is the human experience.

Model Home is creepy, dark, and unforgiving , with passages that will turn your stomach and leave you wondering what you've just read. The ending was one I did not see coming and truly left me haunted.

If there is one thing I can say with absolute certainty, it’s that Rivers Solomon can WRITE. They drop some absolutely stunning passages and insights. But they don’t write light novels, and that holds true here.

The symbolism and metaphor of the house, the reveal of what is actually going on, gender, race, the pain of relationships (family, parenthood) in the face of childhood trauma, were all handled head on and without flinching. I found this very compelling, especially in the 2nd half. This is very much literary horror and not typical genre fiction. If you’ve never read from this author I don’t think this would be where I recommend starting, but for fans this should be a win.

I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

I fangirl so hard when it comes to Rivers Solomon, and their work is on the no-brainer, will-read-immediately list for me at all times. Prospective readers who are also familiar with Solomon's work and style - and who know what they are getting into - are likely to love this. Others may find this shockingly dark (even for the genre).

Three siblings need to know why their parents aren't answering their calls, and this sends them all back to their childhood home for answers. There is so much sinister activity and uncertainty throughout, and the state of not being clear on what is or MAY be happening is extraordinarily unsettling here. What's worse than the unknown? The horrible known sicknesses embedded within society. Solomon shines a crisp light on many of these and will not let their characters or readers have a moment's peace from any of them. And why should they? This relentlessness is certainly a part of reality, especially for some of us.

There are many motifs, scenes, and references that sensitive readers may find to be too much, and the profusion of trauma will leave some readers accessing their own instead of living vicariously. Those looking for an immersive horror experience will find it here, and readers who can manage the content will find another creative, unflinching, and biting effort from Solomon.

A new spin on the classic haunted house story. Dark and magical with elements of horror, both real life and fantasy-themed. Amazing

Like all River Solomon books, this isn’t your typical spooky story, there's more to it. This was definitely full of creepy moments and feelings, but was not in any way a standard haunted house. The twist was unexpected but not in a rug pull type of way. Worth a read and will make you think about a lot of deeper themes, racism, trauma, and gender dysphoria included. I loved the writing style and there’s just so many deep quotable moments sprinkled throughout. I would say it’s a little more literary fiction leaning that true horror, but it was a very unsettling read overall.

I love a self-aware unreliable narrator! This book is so creepy, and you spend most of it in Ezri's head, seeing all their broken parts, the trauma from their childhood clashing against their intelligence and neurodivergence. But there are also moments of Elijah, Ezri's daughter, fourteen and struggling.

What is evil? Is it controlling parenting, a haunted house, a mind one can't control or escape? Is it Ezri's self-destructive choices, is it Eve's need for control, is it their mother's defiance? Is it self-isolation, is it refusal to communicate? Or are all of these things just very human? Flawed like we are all flawed?

What if evil is something else entirely?

These are only *some* of the questions you'll have reading this book. It's a thoughtful horror, with creeping dread and heartbreaking reveals.

A haunted house, a haunted childhood. Heavy with discomfort and dissociation, this remarkably written book by Solomon leaves readers speculating about the exact nature of Ezri's terrifying memories of home. It's gripping and dark enough for horror readers and a good fit for anyone with a literary bent who enjoys poetic writing, questions of identity, and compelling and richly drawn themes about generational trauma and racism. There's also a strong thread of hope in the family bonds between the siblings through everything. Solomon also writes about race, gender, and disability in complicated but empowering ways, woven through the narrative with an everyday sense, at once normal and deliberately noted by the characters. Between their vision and their voice, Solomon is someone whose work is always worth watching.

This book is my Intermezzo—my most highly anticipated release of the year from one of my all-time favorite authors! It might actually be my new favorite book of Rivers Solomon, too, which is a bar higher than the new world record pole vault and Y’ALL!!! Haunted houses! Mommy issues! Wealth as malice!! Shared sibling trauma! It was creepy and smart and perfect for #summerween and I’m seriously debating reading it again already.

Thank you SO SO MUCH to FSG for the opportunity to read and review!!

This book is less horror and more literary fiction, in my opinion. There are horror elements but its very minor in terms of how "scary" it is. Do check your trigger warnings.

Filled with generational trauma, grief, racism, mental health issues and gender idenitiy, this book packs a punch in to just 300 pages. I really enjoyed this book for the character and family study that it is. The writing is a stream of consciousness told from Ezri (with some minor POVs with Elijah, their daughter). It was so unique and a different experience to be in Ezri's head as someone who doesn't deal with the type of mental health issues she has, it was very jarring but it felt so real at the same time.

The whole time you are questioning what is true and what is made up by the characters minds and I love that. There was one thing mentioned in this book specifically that I really related to which is awful because its not a good thing, but I felt seen.

Thank you to Net Galley and Farrah, Straus, and Giroux for the eARC

I’m biased, because I love everything Rivers Solomon writes, but this book was so moving. I wasn’t completely onboard until about 80% in, and then I was 150% onboard. The narrative style of tangential stories and musings on various (very important) topics such as race, gender identity, the very notion of family and how we identify as individual people, threw me off, but I truly feel that was a “me” problem. Everything came together in the end in a way that felt natural and so very poignant. Please take care of yourself and check the TWs for this one. I trust Solomon with the toughest of topics and will continue to do so.

Are haunted houses actually filled with ghosts/evil spirits or just the lingering aftereffects of the harmful acts and tortuous events that occurred there and overwhelms the visitor that ventures into it. This novel grapples with what truly haunts us…and quite possibly, it is not the house.

Being a fan of River Solomon, I was very excited to receive an ARC of their latest offering, Model Home. The book blurb hinted at a horror novel with a sprinkling of social topics and complex characters. I found the latter to be true, but light on the horror. There was persistent suspense that propels the reader to read for closure. Within the pages, the author covers the gamut with themes steeped in drama and trauma relating to gender identity and fluidity,racism,classism, assimilation, mental illness, familial dysfunction (parent-child and sibling dynamics) and the everlasting emotional and psychological damage it can cause.

Admittedly, I thought the novel started strong, but the narrator/protagonist lost me shortly thereafter with the disjointed and unreliable flashbacks. The third act answered questions, but I found it and the conclusion unsatisfying and a bit disappointing.

Thanks to the publisher, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, and NetGalley for an opportunity to review.

For those in search of an autumnal book with supernatural elements and social commentary...

After the deaths of their parents (ruled murder-suicide, or is something more supernatural the cause?), Ezri and her siblings return to their childhood home, only to find it haunted by the dark secrets of the past...

Literary horror told through lyrical prose, this one is dark and heavy, with themes including generational trauma, queerness, racism, and mental illness.

Overall, it's a pretty unique take on family dynamics and the haunted house.

2.5

A beautifully written novel! This book draws you right in and keeps you guessing and wondering about what all really went on within 677, but it quickly looses steam. The writing is descriptive and captivating. Rivers Solomon writes in a way where the character feels very relatable, giving great true-to-life comparisons.

As a black person, I do feel tired of horror stories where the only horror is the experience of racism. There are other unfortunate themes here, but racism seems to be the foundation of it all. Either way, it feels trite, played out, and hella predictable. I feel like I’ve read and watched enough horror stories that use this trope. Where is the creativity? I’ve read plenty of books and watched plenty of movies with this trope, and it’s becoming boring … especially since I’m reading a book to kind of step away from common lived experiences I face daily.

The last 40% felt confusing and all over the place. Very rushed. The addition of Lily really didn’t add to the story. That part also felt confusing. The ending was very predictable.

This one had me sighing, rolling my eyes, and wishing I had picked up a different book instead. 😭

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for the ARC.
This is a voluntary review.

I was really scared and deeply uncomfortable reading this book about a Black family living in a wealthy White gated community.
The book tells the story of a terror campaign against the family over the course of many years. The children of the family make sense of it by believing that the house itself is causing all the horrors that befall them. The truth is even worse than their imaginings.
You need a strong stomach to read this book.

Interesting premise - and I love the cover design. Good pacing, well-written, and solid characters. I really enjoyed this novel!