Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon

110 reviews

bookishmillennial's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial

This was such a fantastic book, and I am always impressed every time I read from Rivers Solomon. They are an excellent writer, and I don’t know if they’ve written anything else besides The Deep (which I’ve read), but I will be seeking out their backlist.

This book follows Vern, a 15-year-old intersex kid (I say “kid” because she was a minor when this story began, and it was so upsetting what she went through) who has run away from her community (Blessed Acres of Cain also called “Cainland”), and gives birth to twins whom she names Feral and Howling. Feral and Vern are both albino, which was an interesting part of their own arcs in how they navigated feelings about their bodies, their skin, and the ways in which they were treated by society.

The compound that Vern left was originally thought of as Black power movement-inspired, but has morphed into a religious cult. Vern was married to the leader, and when the choice was brought to her, it was framed as if it was “doing her a favor”. Barf.

Vern figures out more about the compound, as well as herself in regards to her own powers. I don’t want to spoil it, but the way that the fungi comes into play, as well as the government ties, was a mind-fuck. I was not expecting that, and Solomon really surprised me. 

Ultimately, I appreciated the commentary that Solomon provides on the government, cults, racism, religion, colonization, gender, and sexuality. I honored Vern’s anger, exhaustion, and unrelenting stubbornness, and was fully immersed in this gruesome story about generational trauma and the horrors of America’s history of violence against Black and indigenous folks. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Body horror, and Racism

Moderate: Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Toxic friendship, and Animal death

shauna_grenead's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Persevere on this one. I took a bit to get going, but now that I’ve finished I appreciate the work the author put in and how it challenges the reader to reflect on their own thoughts and ideas about being human, our society, history, sexuality, racism, and identity. I love the tie to nature and appreciate the different ways to explore Vern’s metamorphosis.

Having said all this, it is not one for the faint of heart. The writing is beautifully raw and grotesque. I don’t believe I fit the target audience for Sorrowland. I’m glad I read it anyway. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Colonisation, and Animal death

Minor: Suicide

turtlebrainlibrarian's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, and Homophobia

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Self harm, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, and Child death

cleot's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Alcoholism, Gore, Murder, Chronic illness, Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, Body horror, Medical trauma, Stalking, Homophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Racism, Child abuse, Child death, Pregnancy, Transphobia, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Torture, Animal death, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Rape, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Sexism, and Suicide

human experimentation and parasitism are central themes

calamitydane's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book was fascinating start to finish. The themes, the voice, the settings, the characters were all engrossing and captivating. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Child abuse, Body horror, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Homophobia, Alcoholism, Racism, Violence, Medical content, Lesbophobia, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Child death, Murder, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Emotional abuse

transgender

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intersex

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lesbian

whimsylee's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

An incredible and nuanced look at institutional racism, white supremacy, difference/othering,  and being a queer black mother in the USA. Rivers Solomon is an amazing writer. The sci-fi elements of this story perfectly complement the themes and the author’s overall message. I fell in love with so many of these deeply human characters and my heart was ripped out over and over again. I highly recommend this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Violence, Cannibalism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Gore, Hate crime, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Grief, Self harm, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Slavery, Stalking, Medical trauma, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Physical abuse, Racism, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, and Abandonment

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Sexism, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Colonisation, and Terminal illness

irenetrexqueen's review against another edition

Just too heavy for me right now. May try to return done the road. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Blood, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, and Misogyny

buhdumbitch's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Physical abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Colonisation, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

zombiezami's review against another edition

5.0

This was mesmerizing. The characters and the narrative were so amazing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Murder, Animal death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, Body horror, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Death, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Stalking, Suicide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Gun violence, Homophobia, Torture, Self harm, Sexism, and Sexual content

Moderate: Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual harassment

Minor: Colonisation, Racial slurs, and Slavery

Intersexism

twistmalchik's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Self harm, Pregnancy, Forced institutionalization, Adult/minor relationship, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Confinement, Chronic illness, Rape, Body horror, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail