Reviews tagging 'Trafficking'

Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon

9 reviews

casdelvo's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Gore, Murder, Blood, and Body horror

Moderate: Racism, Animal death, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Lesbophobia, Self harm, Kidnapping, and Sexism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Trafficking, and Addiction

penofpossibilities's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense

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

4.75

GOD i did NOT heed the trigger warnings and I honestly don't even have an excuse like I knew this was a horror novel and still picked it up. don't make my mistake and please be safe. Anyway this BOOK!!!! /pos
absolute fucking masterpiece

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Cursing, Child abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Lesbophobia, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Homophobia, Sexual content, Slavery, Mass/school shootings, Pregnancy, Self harm, Stalking, and Torture

Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Cultural appropriation, Vomit, Trafficking, Rape, Excrement, and Medical content

Minor: Suicide, Racial slurs, Transphobia, Infertility, Terminal illness, and Cancer

graphic: cult

pvid's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Sexual content

Moderate: Suicide and Racism

lolajh's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

5.0

Creepy and interesting and heartbreaking and wonderful. The main character Vern is a Black, albino intersex lesbian who has twins at a young age and survives and raises them in the forest. She’s escaped from a cult her family were sucked into whilst being stalked and experiencing hallucinations and numerous body changes. She eventually leaves with her kids to find her childhood friend who had also escaped from the cult before she had. While searching for her friend Vern meets Gojo, a black trans fem non binary lesbian (I never see non binary trans fem rep so loved to see this!) who she does romance on the side whilst dealing with her body changes and the sickness it brings with it. The worldbuilding and character building in this is beautiful, and criticises real-world issues through fantasy and science fiction themes. I love this book and definitely recommend it :)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Racism, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Child death, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Transphobia, Murder, Trafficking, Violence, War, Stalking, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Misogyny

booklove33's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Pregnancy, Violence, Homophobia, Trafficking, Adult/minor relationship, and Religious bigotry

Cult mentality

runwithkander's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

The dust jacket does not give away the story. It continues to unfold and become so diverse in characters. Some POV changes, for no reason this why it’s not a 5. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Child abuse, Transphobia, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, Mass/school shootings, Domestic abuse, and Adult/minor relationship

storieswithbee's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

Genre: adult fiction, paranormal, horror, LGBT, Sci-Fi, Gothic, Speculative fiction, dark fiction

Age range: 18+

Overall: 2.5/5

Characters: 4/5 

Plot: 2/5

Writing and Setting: 4/5

Content warning: *sex scenes, adult language, racism, violence, gore, sexual abuse, religious cults, forced institutionalisation, self-harm, plus many many more.

The gist of my review:  

This book... my god. I don’t know how we went from a girl fighting the cult and government that imprisoned her to becoming a super human due to a fungus that had morphed with her body, but it happened. And if I’m being honest, I’m disappointed that it did happen. 

This book has a very extensive list of trigger warning so please be cautious when considering reading this book. 

In my opinion, this book would have been perfect if it stayed on the same path it initially started on. We have a cast of strong and diverse characters from different cultures and sexual orientations, the representation is phenomenal, but the Science Fiction element totally encompassed the initial storyline and swept it off into a very strange and often confronting direction. 

I think there is definitely an audience for this book, however, I can understand why people stop reading it at the 20% mark. This is clearly displayed by the polarising ratings and reviews. 

All together, the writing is very challenging, the characters individually are astounding,  but there wasn’t any content warning provided at the start of the book so readers are entering into some very pressing and troubling scenes blind. In addition, as I mentioned, the book took on a very strange direction when I don’t believe it needed to. My review will be very polarising considering I have given the book a rather low rating, but I think the best way I can describe it is that the book is quite literally unforgettable, but for both good and bad reasons. 

Characters: 4/5

There are a few distinct characters in this book but I’m only going to talk about the ones that are most prominent. When I mention race, it’s because it very important to the plot of the book, I apologise in advance if I offended anyone.

Vern:

Vern is a very unique main character. To begin with, she is a albino black young women who has grown up in a very oppressive black person’s cult. She rebels against just about every rule and social construct, not only while in the cult, but also after she escapes. 

Throughout the story we discover that she is bisexual and she is open to exploring her sexuality and seeking out her own pleasure. She has offhanded sex with a fair few people (and... beings), and develops a deep relationship with two women. 

In addition, Vern is a teen mother to twins, however her parenting isn’t socially conventional considering she raises her children in the wilderness when leaving the cult. Her children, Howling and Feral, are products of her free spirited nature, and their behaviours are often reflections of the previous traits and actions we’ve seen from Vern throughout the book.

The way that Vern was written was phenomenal. In short, the only way I can accurately describe her is that she reminds me of a fierce Lioness. She is an incredibly diverse women who is a marvel both due to what happens to her throughout the book, but also just plainly as a character. I haven’t come across a character written in this way in all my years of reading and I found her totally fascinating. I think it will be a long time before I forget Vern.

Gogo:

Gogo is a character we’re introduced to after that 20% mark in the book and I’m thankful that I read further to be introduced to her. 

Gogo is a strong, opinionated and incredibly intelligent lesbian black women. She knows what she wants and she battles tooth and nail to achieve her goals. Gogo has a medical degree and is the person the local community look towards when they can’t go seek conventional medical treatments due to stigma and costs. 

Gogo is one of the two intimate relationships that Vern experiences throughout the book. In comparison to all of Vern other sexual partners, the partnership with Gogo comes across as one that shares a very deep understanding and passion for one another. Gogo provides Vern with a sense of solace, especially when Vern’s body and mind take on a supernatural turn. The two are very compatible and they reflect on each other incredibly well. 

Plot: 2/5

I’ve mentioned it a few times now, but I really detested the supernatural/ paranormal / science fiction element to Vern’s story. I think the book could have been a very fascinating read if it had gone down the path of fighting the cult and the government as a ‘human’. Obviously this would have changed a large proportion of the story but (not trying to give away spoilers so I’m being purposefully vague), but an exoskeleton...? Spurs...? Mind control...? Really...? *rolls eyes* It was just too much. 

Writing and Setting: 4/5

The writing is in 3rd person, which normally I don’t enjoy as much as first person, but with Solomon’s writing style, it was a really fascinating way to digest this story. The writing itself was incredibly complex and it requires the reader to be very engaged at all times. 

The settings throughout the book are very unique in a multitude of different ways. In each different location, which was beautifully written, we see different levels and new developments in Vern, her ‘condition’, and her family.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Medical content, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, and Violence

Moderate: Abandonment, Acephobia/Arophobia, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Blood, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Lesbophobia, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual assault, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, and Police brutality

leekaufman's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

There was so much that I loved about this book. It defies genre, shape-shifting from magic realism to sci-fi, from fantasy to speculative fiction. The tone is dark and haunting, and there is some really stunning writing. Vern is an interesting and difficult protagonist, and the supporting characters felt real too. 

I was frustrated by the pacing; the end was dizzyingly fast and felt too plot-heavy when compared to the slow, atmospheric, tension-filled beginning. There was also a few moments where the narrative shifted to other points of view that were jarring, and didn't feel cohesive in the midst of a beautifully executed close third. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Racism, Religious bigotry, Trafficking, and Violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Gore, Gun violence, and Homophobia

ceilidhwilliams's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Racism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, and Violence