{"id":19696,"date":"2025-03-31T07:00:55","date_gmt":"2025-03-31T11:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/?p=19696"},"modified":"2025-03-30T21:35:17","modified_gmt":"2025-03-31T01:35:17","slug":"review-model-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-model-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Model Home by Rivers Solomon"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"19697\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-model-home\/model-home\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/model-home.jpg?fit=986%2C1500&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"986,1500\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"model-home\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/model-home.jpg?fit=673%2C1024&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-19697\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/model-home.jpg?resize=230%2C350&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"cover of Model Home\" width=\"230\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/model-home.jpg?resize=230%2C350&amp;ssl=1 230w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/model-home.jpg?resize=673%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 673w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/model-home.jpg?resize=768%2C1168&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/model-home.jpg?w=986&amp;ssl=1 986w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 230px) 85vw, 230px\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Model-Home-Novel-Rivers-Solomon\/dp\/0374607133\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em><b>Model Home<\/b><\/em><\/a><b>\u00a0by Rivers Solomon<br \/>\n<\/b><strong>MCD (October 2024)<\/strong><br \/>\n<b><strong>Reviewed by Chandra Claypool (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.instagram.com\/wherethereadergrows\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Instagram<\/a>) (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/wherethereadergrows\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TikTok<\/a>)<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I don\u2019t even know where to start with this one!\u00a0I decided to go with audio on this one and I\u2019m glad I did as the narrator, Gabby Beans, was FANTASTIC.\u00a0As the first sentence of the synopsis states: \u201cWelcome to Rivers Solomon\u2019s dark and wondrous <em>Model Home<\/em>, a new kind of haunted-house novel.\u201d And that, it surely is!<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cRivers 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,\u00a0<em>Model Home\u00a0<\/em>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.\u201d<!--more--><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I mean, I really can\u2019t say much more than what the above says.\u00a0It is all of that.. and more.\u00a0You really should just go into this knowing as little as possible.\u00a0I do feel this is a love it or don\u2019t kind of read. And to be quite honest, I\u2019m not sure where I stand. It\u2019s bleak and harrowing and touches on a variety of important topics. Gender fluidity\/transness, racism, generational trauma, complex family dynamics, classism. I felt like I was locked into a fever dream and at some points, was fighting to wake up. I say that in the best way possible.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If I was a person to write down quotes, there are so many from this read I would have jotted down. Solomon writes so beautifully.\u00a0At times it seems very poetic and other times more of a straight narrative. This was *<strong>slightly<\/strong>* off-putting at times as lyrical prose can cause my eye to twitch at times, and yet I\u2019m drawn in by the beauty it flourishes inside of my head. I\u2019m a reader who prefers the straight narrative without the fluff. But like with books, my reading style is also evolving and it mostly worked for me with <em>Model Home<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I felt so much for our main character, Ezrl. Her family is the only black family in an affluent, white neighborhood and not once do they ever feel like they are on the inside. As kids, Ezrl and their siblings felt the house was haunted but alas, no one will believe them. Are there sinister forces presents? Are they possessing the children? Could there possibly be something more disturbing than the humans within? When we do finally get some answers, it felt like a punch in the gut. Abrupt and unexpected, it felt sharper than the somewhat smooth buildup we were given.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A very thought-provoking read that won\u2019t be for everyone, but will make a strong impact regardless of how you end up feeling about the book overall. This isn\u2019t only about a haunted house, but about haunted people. If you love literary horror with a non-linear narrative that tackles strong themes, snag this one immediately.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Model Home\u00a0by Rivers Solomon MCD (October 2024) Reviewed by Chandra Claypool (Instagram) (TikTok) I don\u2019t even know where to start with this one!\u00a0I decided to go with audio on this one and I\u2019m glad I did as the narrator, Gabby Beans, was FANTASTIC.\u00a0As the first sentence of the synopsis states: \u201cWelcome to Rivers Solomon\u2019s dark &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-model-home\/\" class=\"more-link button bg-gold white\">Continue Reading!<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Review: Model Home by Rivers Solomon&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[80],"tags":[3081,3380,79,3381],"class_list":["post-19696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-chandra-claypool","tag-model-home","tag-reviews","tag-rivers-solomon"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - 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