Model Home
A Novel
by Rivers Solomon
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Pub Date Oct 01 2024 | Archive Date Nov 01 2024
Description
Welcome to Rivers Solomon's dark and wondrous Model Home, a new kind of haunted-house novel.
The three Maxwell siblings keep their distance from the lily-white gated enclave outside Dallas where they grew up. When their family moved there, they were the only Black family in the neighborhood. The neighbors acted nice enough, but right away bad things, scary things—the strange and the unexplainable—began to happen in their house. Maybe it was some cosmic trial, a demonic rite of passage into the upper-middle class. Whatever it was, the Maxwells, steered by their formidable mother, stayed put, unwilling to abandon their home, terrors and trauma be damned.
As adults, the siblings could finally get away from the horrors of home, leaving their parents all alone in the house. But when news of their parents' death arrives, Ezri is forced to return to Texas with their sisters, Eve and Emanuelle, to reckon with their family’s past and present, and to find out what happened while they were away. It was not a “natural” death for their parents . . . but was it supernatural?
Rivers Solomon turns the haunted-house story on its head, unearthing the dark legacies of segregation and racism in the suburban American South. Unbridled, raw, and daring, Model Home is the story of secret histories uncovered, and of a queer family battling for their right to live, grieve, and heal amid the terrors of contemporary American life.
A Note From the Publisher
Advance Praise
★ “[A] startling reimagination of the haunted-house genre . . . In evocative prose, Solomon harnesses and recasts classic horror tropes to tell an original story of race and class, family, trauma, and grief. Each character . . . is finely rendered, with the dynamic among the siblings illustrating the ways loyalties shift and change, in constant renegotiation, and dramatizing the ruptures activated by traumatic events. The novel’s construction is elliptical, with past and present alternating from chapter to chapter [and Solomon’s] twists and turns are carefully drawn, with the tension mounting toward a shocking end . . . With this exhilarating and unforgettable work, Solomon proves to be a formidable writer.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Intense, original, and wonderfully unpredictable, those adjectives describe Rivers Solomon as much as this novel. Model Home is a story of a haunted house and haunted people; profound family secrets lie at the heart of this book as well as, surprisingly, blessedly, meaningful touches of love and hope. Rivers Solomon is an astonishingly talented writer." —Victor LaValle, author of Lone Women
"A profoundly haunting work of true horror from one of the greatest writers working today." —Sarah Gailey, BFA-award winning author of Just Like Home
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9780374607135 |
| PRICE | $28.00 (USD) |
| PAGES | 304 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Susie D, Media/Journalist
Twisty, turny, unsettling haunted house novel by the inimitable Rivers Solomon? You know I'm in! This book is deeply queer and deeply frightening, and the way the story unfurls is captivating. I'm a Rivers Solomon fan for life!
Reviewer 967625
This book was haunting and brilliant. It left me guessing at every turn, I had no idea what was happening, an unreliable narrator? A haunted house? Could it be poison or an abusive parent? I had no idea.
This book explores grief and childhood trauma, racism, sexual assault, and mental illness. It is done so well, Rivers Solomon is so incredibly talented, I have read every single book of theirs, and this, by far, is their best work. I don't want to give any spoilers here, dive right in, and take this journey yourself. The horror unfolds in a way that will throw you for so many loops.
I look forward to having a physical copy in my hands to read again and annotate my every thought on every page. This book just wow...
Thank you NetGalley and FSG for the ARC of this fantastic book.
Reviewer 835557
Rivers Solomon can do no wrong!!! They remind me so much of Silvia Moreno Garcia in the sense that they can write in literally any genre and they always kill it.
I was especially excited for Model Home because it is my fave genre (horror!) and it did not disappoint. It is a short little book but left a lasting impact.
Model Home is about Ezri, part of a wealthy Black family that grew up in predominantly white area... in a haunted house. When their parents stop answering their texts, Ezri and their sisters (and Ezri's daughter) return home to check on their parents.
Like all of Rivers Solomons books, this tackled serious issues (gender identity, CSA, grooming, racism) in a gentle but incredibly piercing manner.
At NO POINT did I know what was coming next. This kept me on my toes and then broke my heart, in that order.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Readers who liked this book also liked:
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