Sodom Road Exit

by Amber Dawn

It's the summer of 1990 and Crystal Beach has lost its beloved, long-running amusement park, leaving the lakeside village a virtual ghost town. It is back to this fallen community that Starla Mia Martin must return to live with her overbearing mother after dropping out of university and racking up significant debt. But an economic downturn, mother-daughter drama, and Generation X disillusionment soon prove to be to be the least of Starla's troubles. A mysterious and salacious force begins to dog her; inexplicable sounds in the night and indescribable sights spotted in the periphery. Soon enough, Starla must confront the unresolved traumas that haunt Crystal Beach. Sodom Road Exit might read like a conventional paranormal thriller, except that Starla is far from a conventional protagonist. Where others might feel fear, Starla feels lust and queer desire. When others might run, Starla draws the horror nearer. And in turn, she draws a host of capricious characters toward her--all of them challenged to seek answers beyond their own temporal realities. Sodom Road Exit, the second novel by Lambda Literary Award winner Amber Dawn, is a book that's alive with both desire and dread.

Genres: Horror, Queer, Fiction, LGBT, Canada, Fantasy, Paranormal

404 pages, Paperback

First published April 3, 2018

About the author

Amber Dawn is a writer, filmmaker and performance artist based in Vancouver. She is the author of the novel Sub Rosa (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2010), editor of the Lambda Award-nominated Fist of the Spider Woman (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2008) and co-editor of With a Rough Tongue: Femmes Write Porn (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2005). Her award-winning, genderfuck docu-porn, "Girl on Girl," has been screened in eight countries and added to the gender studies curriculum at Concordia University. She has toured three times with the infamous Sex Workers' Art Show in the US. She was voted Xtra! West's Hero of the Year in 2008. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia. Currently, she is the director of programming for the Vancouver Queer Film Festival.

Reviews

[CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cool blend of family drama, queer person returning to small hometown, and a good old fashioned haunting, all while making interesting changes to your usual expectations of those stories. Full review on my blog here!

[Audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much like Sub Rosa was written for sex workers, this novel was written for survivors. The story and characters are going to stay with me forever.

[Benjamin Appleby-Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Messy, moving and irreverant, Sodom Road Exit chronicles the life of Starla, a college dropout and abuse survivor, in 1990s Ontario as she returns to her beachside home town to encounter an awkward reunion with her mother, a graveyard-shift job overseeing a campsite community of alcholics and thrill-seekers, and the restless spirit of a young woman from the ruins of the famous Crystal Beach amusement park.

What follows is equal parts ghost story and personal exorcism, where Starla's self-destructive habits dovetail with the mounting effects of her possession/affair with the unabashed Etta, who grants her the insight to build a new family of fellow outcasts even as she reduces Starla to a shell of her former self.

Despite the supernatural subject matter, this book feels incredibly grounded and in-the-moment, crafting a survival narrative that's so personal and compelling it almost feels painful to read. It brings its turn-of-the-decade setting to life without nostalgia or sentiment, conjuring a vivid picture of backtown Canada, and all this while being unapologetically, furiously queer.

[Morgan M. Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's the early 90s and you're a professional fuck up who fled her hometown to go max out credit cards in Toronto until your debts finally force you back to Crystal Beach - but Crystal Beach isn't the same as you left it: the amusement park that kept the town afloat has been torched after an arduous decline, the popular girl from high school is working in a strip club, and a strange force begins possessing your body. This is the world of Amber Dawn's Sodom Road Exit - a novel about trauma, families, being down but not out, the aftermath of small town ruination, and lesbian ghosts. This queer portrait of Gen X pulls no punches - the lesbian ghost story equivalent of a Gregg Araki flick.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trippy, smart, queer, beach-town(ies)-soaked; a fab summer read

[Sarah Cavar · Rating 2 out of 5]

I....really did not like this book. I understand it’s intention was to communicate messiness and hesitance, queer &traumatized new-adulthood, and the trauma-born time travel that, for survivors, is far from fantasy: it’s a lived reality. With all that being said...the writing, the numerous, ever-building new plot branches that were never fully fleshed, the genuine cringiness of Etta’s sections (and the increasing cringiness of the rest of the book as the haunting moves forward), and the fact that by the end, I hated every character and “just wanted to get it over with” and finish..... yes, this was not for me. I wanted to like it, but so far it’s one of the year’s biggest disappointments.

[Sassafras Patterdale · Rating 4 out of 5]

admittedly i hate stories about mothers and daughters loving each other even in complicated hurt ways, so in that regard this book wasn't my cup of tea BUT this novel is wonderful, and smart and haunting in the best ways. after all who doesn't love the romance of old amusement parks and add to that a lesbian ghost story?! yes please!

[Call Me [Brackets]]

I could not put Sodom Road Exit down: I took it to my kitchen, read it in the bath, and stayed up way past my usual bedtime in order to learn what would happen next. I was drawn in by both the horror narrative, as well as the personal, real struggles of the characters in the novel. Amber Dawn crafts a riveting tale of the supernatural that handles complex issues in a poignant and truthful manner. Discussing themes like sexual assault, culture, race, alcoholism, and queerness, Dawn finds a way to make a horror novel thoughtful. Growing up an Italian Catholic queer, Sodom Road Exit is the book my high school self needed and that my current self will cherish forever.

What do you do when you run out of money and have to move back to the tiny town you grew up in? What do you do when your mother buys you part of a defunct carnival ride? Well, if you’re Starla Martin, you suck it up, hang that carnival ride stunt on your wall and end up waking a ghost named Etta. Etta, self described as needing “bebop keys and a warm body,” immediately takes a liking to Starla. Haunted (but not entirely upset about it), Starla goes on a journey of self-discovery, encountering destruction with her less than helpful undead copilot.

You can read the rest of our review on our website here: https://callmebrackets.net/sodom-road...

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an intense read, but I really liked it. In other words, the subject matter in this book will inevitably be difficult for some readers, especially those I assume are the target audience. There's a lot of domestic drama, including such heady topics as parental neglect, sexual abuse, and forgiveness alongside a lesbian ghost story. I found myself getting whiplash at a few moments (and even so triggered I had to put it down for a few days), but it was a satisfying read. I don't want to be coddled by my fiction so this one worked for me. I highly recommend it for lovers of speculative fiction (a "haunting") who crave a Canadian take on early 1990s nostalgia.

[Taz S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gay girls. Ghosts. Small-town. 90s. Sexy. Trauma. Community building. The best media representation of someone like my mother I've ever read. I could not put it down! I'm glad it was not a short book so I could keep reading! <3

Many content/trigger warnings just to be aware of.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

i maybe can’t name all the reasons this novel was wow but here are a few:

1. lesbian ghost possessing a lesbian
2. in fact sorta a fucked up all lesbian polyam vee situation
3. survivor-centred real-ass inclusion of adult relationships & dating after csa
4. meet-cute doing a private duo in a strip club
5. sex worker lesbian who is shown to readers through the eyes of someone who thinks she’s badass & gorgeous & incredible, who doesn’t have to have a whole SWERF-y Drama about her potential/gf being a stripper
6. portrayal of magic & culture of white family that is ethnically specific (italian) & entirely women-centred
7. constant beautiful exploration of creating family (chosen & blood) which as u all know is my fave queer jam

not to mention amber dawn’s very particular queer femme idiom & metaphor. this is a thickkkk book & i felt fuckin spoiled to get to spend this long in the world & with the characters she created.

bonus shoutout to laughing sal’s lil cameo appearance; i grew up visiting her every summer at the musée mécanique near the ruins of my ancient great-grandpa’s baths in sam francisco.

[Timbo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A queer love story with ghostly possession, campground weirdness, a defunct amusement park, a visionary child, and lots of pop culture references.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hesitate to call any book a "tour de force" because I feel like it's overused, but Dawn's writing reached inside and gripped me by the backbone in the same way Starla is gripped by the apparitions. The excruciating balance of wanting to tear through a book because you need to know what happens next, and forcing yourself to pace yourself through the words. Since starting to get back to reading fiction in the past year, I've recognized how rarely I feel like I'm reading something that resonates on multiple levels for me - like how I want to stand up and yell "yeah! YeAH! YEAH!!!" Sodom Road Exit does that for me - gays, ghosts, and grappling with sexual trauma in rural Ontario of the 90s.
Would recommend for people who enjoyed Bow Grip, Monkey Beach or My Dangerous Desires (Hollibaugh)

[Jill Dooley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really did not like this book. I was so excited to read about a lesbian paranormal love story but was completely let down. The writing style was not encapsulating in any way and I found myself having a hard time picking it up because the plot was so boring. Towards the end, I just wanted the book to be over and found no real reason as to why Etta was even haunting Starla in the first place. I was so disappointed in the constant grammatical and spelling errors that should've been caught in editing. This book had so much potential. Pissed at how long it took me to finish and only to be let down.

[Lauren Hopkins · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would fuck every ghost including Slimer from Ghostbusters.

[Lancakes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know how to explain my love for Amber Dawn's writing, saying "it's a good fit" is nowhere close to sufficient, but it's true and it's a start.

[Grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Some claim to see her right away, others denounce her as a trick of light and shadow’

Canadian author Amber Dawn is a filmmaker, and performance artist, and of course poet and author – her novel SUB ROSA was winner of the Lambda Award and the memoir HOW POETRY SAVED MY LIFE won the Vancouver Book Award. She is editor of ‘Fist of the Spider Woman: Tales of Fear and Queer Desire’, and co-editor of ‘With a Rough Tongue: Femmes Write Porn.’ Amber earned her MFA in Creative Writing (UBC), and she was the 2012 winner of the Writers' Trust of Canada Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBT writers. Amber teaches creative writing at Douglas College and the University of British Columbia, is the co-director of the Vancouver Queer Film Festival and finds time to serve as a volunteer mentor at several community-driven art and healing spaces.

Amber Dawn is a present age Rumplestiltskin – making gold out of straw – though for her the straw is ‘words’ and the product is one of the most engrossing LGBT stories yet spun. Enmeshing paranormal concepts in the text of coming of age may seem strange to many – but then think back to those strange years when we were all trying to make sense of a world that was nebulous at best and ever-changing at worst.

Amber’s synopsis best describes the beauty of this adventure into the known unknown – ‘It's the summer of 1990 and Crystal Beach has lost its beloved, long-running amusement park, leaving the lakeside village a virtual ghost town. It is back to this fallen community Starla Mia Martin must return to live with her overbearing mother after dropping out of university and racking up significant debt. But an economic downturn, mother-daughter drama, and Generation X disillusionment soon prove to be to be the least of Starla's troubles. A mysterious and salacious force begins to dog Starla; inexplicable sounds in the night and unimaginable sites spotted in the periphery. Soon enough, Starla must confront the unresolved traumas that haunt Crystal Beach.
Starla is far from a conventional protagonist. Where others might feel fear, Starla feels lust and queer desire. When others might run, Starla draws the horror nearer. And in turn, she draws a host of capricious characters toward her—all of them challenged to seek answers beyond their own temporal realities.’

Yes, the story is creative but Amber’s sensitivity and eloquent prose buffers a sheen on this fine novel that assures it will become yet another award winner. Highly recommended.

[Jacob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the concept for her second novel may not have been as original as the first, Amber Dawn's take on the ghost story was definitely innovative, and her skill as a writer has grown.

There was lots to appreciate here: complex, likeable characters, the haunted Ontario settings: (a trailer park and a creepy abandoned amusement park), a sex worker lesbian ghost, and a sweet queer romance between two small town girls. In Dawn's story, many of society's outcasts are redeemed as the best this world has to offer. Plus, there's some sexy/scary ghost times.

The down side for me was that the story was drawn out. It didn't have the plot holes problem of Sub Rosa (Dawn's last novel), but could have used some condensing. I started to kind of tire of the ghost shenanigans about 2/3 of the way through and was ready for it to wrap up.

Still, this story had good bones, and a lot of soul.

[Ai Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has so much--I just finished it and I feel sort of drained and drawn out, in a good way. The love in it is really palpable, and the horror aspects are just gut-wrenching and beautiful and hard to sit with--not in a graphic way, just in a 'gets into your bones' way. This is one of those books where I wish I had more to say that was convincing, but I loved it. It took me a second to get into it (it kind of throws you in the middle at the beginning and then reels back, and that is hard for me) but by the end it's just so much and so tender. Every character in it is just so complex and I love all of them, and the questions Starla asks about that love, as she's trying to heal and is also being hurt, are so, so... much and so important to me right now.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Sodom Road Exit' looks at queer survivordom in all its specificity. I often felt it compared to 'Boy Parts' (with a much more likable protagonist) due to its honest assessment that survivors often go on to harm others, either directly through hurtful defence mechanisms or indirectly through their own self-destruction. The writing is simple yet never talks down to the reader by over explaining subtext. The characterisation of various marginalised people benefits, too, from this treatment; not exploiting their representation for either shock value or performativity. To put it short- it's nice to read a book where there are sex worker characters without them being used as a moral example. I enjoyed the run down 80's beach town as a horror setting and if I have any critique it's that the horror elements could have been pushed further. To end my review I wanted to quote the last line of Sharon Old's poem 'After 37 Years my Mother Apologizes for my Childhood' referenced in this novel, "I hardly knew what I/ said or who I would be now that I had forgiven you.". 'Sodom Road Exit' leaves the characters to find this out for themselves, as many survivors will spend a lifetime doing.

[Eaton Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amber Dawn is a helluva stylist. Sentence by sentence the novel is entrancing. Agh ... the author writes so beautifully. But something was lacking for me in the sum total of this novel, though, without me being sure what--perhaps that the story took so long to get going? Also I was totally thrown when the ghost began to speak in their own voice. Still, still, it's a big, beautiful, gutsy queer read and I'll always love it for that.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yeah, this was extremely great. All the people should read this.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! Best described as "lesbian supernatural thriller," which is probably all the info you need. But here's my blurb: "A fun park ghost story that tilts from horror to desire and back again, Sodom Road Exit is both the roller coaster and the scream -- a long, death-defying scream that roars through pain and betrayal, forgiveness and new life. Amber Dawn’s Star will break your heart, if apparitional Etta doesn’t beat her to it; and the impact of their shivery, sensual touch across time will ripple fresh into the future. With ferocious compassion and an unforgettable cast of characters, Amber Dawn has written an extraordinary novel of queer love and survival. Consent to be possessed by it."

[Maddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can also find this review on Hedgehog Book Reviews!

Starla is disappointed that she has to move back in with her mom after dropping out of college. Originally from the small town of Crystal Beach, she’s been living in the city of Toronto while slowly falling more and more into debt. Upon coming back home, she begins working as the night shift manager of a campground and RV park, The Point. One would imagine that this job might entail some pickup around the grounds and a little downtime, but Starla’s experience is much more extraordinary. From the very first day, strange things start happening at The Point. The ghost of a girl who died in Crystal Beach takes special interest in Starla and begins communicating with her inside her head. As Starla becomes closer to the residents of the campground, the ghost’s pull on her gets tighter. The strangely sexual bond that the two have may end up hurting Starla in a way that her new friends can’t understand or see.

I’m so excited that Arsenal Pulp Press agreed to send me an ARC of this title. Ever since I discovered they were releasing a lesbian, ghost novel, I’ve wanted to get my hands on it. I’ve read a few lesbian mystery-ish books that ended up being too predictable or too much like fan fiction, but Sodom Road Exit is not like those at all.

Starla is queer and mentally ill and her struggles are very realistically written. I think the way that Amber Dawn portrays her symptoms of PTSD and general suicidal ideation is accurate, which is a great feat because these illnesses can be hard to describe. I especially liked learning about Starla’s way of coping with triggers and stressors—spelling out words to calm herself down and distract her brain. This is a real technique taught in therapy and seeing it in literature was pretty cool. I found the way that Amber Dawn imagined that a ghost would affect someone with these illnesses interesting as well. PTSD and irregular moods can be difficult to manage on their own; putting sexual chemistry with a ghost on top of them certainly wouldn’t help!

One of my favorite things about Sodom Road Exit is the ending (and not because I’m glad it’s over). It is neither too happy nor too unsatisfying. The ability to wrap things in a way that’s believable and concluding is one that I admire in authors. I really appreciated the character evolution that Starla and her friends at The Point went through. It’s weird that a supernatural/lesbian mystery made me feel so good after finishing it, but I guess that’s Amber Dawn’s special talent.

Lastly, I want to comment on how Sodom Road Exit dealt with one of its character’s wavering sobriety. Hal, someone residing at The Point, struggles with alcoholism. Starla notices that Hal’s drinking is interfering with him properly treating his wife and son, so she works to get him set up with a twelve step program. The way that AA is discussed in this book is really positive and educational. Sometimes addiction and alcoholism are displayed in such a negative light in works of fiction, which is not helpful for reducing the stigma around the disease. Amber Dawn did an excellent job writing about alcoholism in a respectful way.

Overall, I loved Sodom Road Exit. As someone who enjoys reading books with supernatural elements and books with queer characters, I knew I was going to like this book from the very beginning. It definitely met and exceeded my expectations. I want to give a big ‘thank you’ to Arsenal Pulp Press for sending me this title in exchange for an honest review. I know I’m going to be thinking about Starla’s story for a while. I’m excited to read more Arsenal Pulp Press books in the future!

[Danny Ramadan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing style of writing, great storytelling, and a mixture of so many narratives and genres, I adore the complexity of queer characters and the depth of understanding there. Amber Dawn never disappoints.

[Kate Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't sure what to expect from the first few chapters of Sodom Road Exit. Now, it's a tough read - trigger warnings all over this book would be appropriate, and the first chapters had me worried that I was just not in the right headspace for this type of adventure. However, the characters felt real (specifically, the dialogue really sold it for me) and the plot felt promising (and queer) enough that it kept me in the game.

Especially near the beginning, the chapters occasionally feel like a series of rapid short stories - an encounter here, an encounter there, building to a point but rather separate; this makes for some slow moments where I was a little skeptical. That being said, Dawn does not treat her readers like they're stupid - it's crisp writing that needs attention, and rewards with nice parallels between the main plot and the protagonists other struggles, especially as the book comes to a close. The occasional narrative-swapping could be reminiscent of Fried Green Tomatoes, but ghostly. It works alright.

As for the characters, we have a small but interesting crew to work with. The protagonist, Star, was a love-hate relationship. Her decisions and character developed over the course of the book, and her narration is what shows this best, and as an artist I loved her references. Occasionally we have a background character that enters and exits and has no weight on the plot, but the rest are emotional and generally well-rounded. My only complaint may be that everyone seems to take the supernatural goings-on in stride; personally I would imagine less suspension of disbelief in real life, but I'm not reading this book for classic "skeptic-turned-believer" arcs, so it works. I'm rooting for the cast, and their motivations make sense.

All in all, it was a good read that ended too soon - I would've taken a bit more of the adventurous beginnings throughout the entire story. If you're looking for a queer story (and you're prepared/in the headspace for some DARK territory), then this will do you just fine.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh the joy of reading a book set in a location that you know. I haven't experienced this feeling since I read The Call of the Wild after living in the Yukon. But I only lived in the Yukon for eight months, and the setting of Sodom Road Exit is the area I grew up in, frequently visit, and still consider home. Plus this book promised horror elements!

Maybe my excitement to read this book led me to have overly high hopes and set me up for disappointment. While I love the idea of this story - a young woman leaves the big city in debt and disillusionment to return to her home town where the local amusement park has just closed; strange things begin to happen and she becomes haunted by a spirit of the park - the story just never develops enough to be very satisfying. The characters only get partially fleshed out and don't seem realistic, and the plot - which could have been so amazing - grows muddy and meandering.

One element that Amber Dawn does get right, however, is setting: the Southern Niagara region along Lake Erie, where the air is thick with nostalgia for days gone by, and time moves more slowly. It's still like this today, and I can imagine it was so in 1990, after the closing of the legendary Crystal Beach Amusement Park. The oppressive humidity in the summer, the particular stench of the algae blooms in Lake Erie, the music of the insects along the rural country roads, hell even the neon sign on the strip club along the Niagara Boulevard; there is a certain poetry to the area that the author gets right. If only the rest of the book had measured up to the setting, this would have been a 5-star read for me.

[Kat Rogue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edit: Looking back, I'd be more likely to give this one a 4.5/5 because I did need some editing at parts that lagged on a bit too long.

Sodom Road Exit gets 5/5 from me because it absolutely nails the "moments". The big, heartfelt, emotional, hard, funny, fucked up moments. Pulling the rug out from under my heart as it falls out of my chest moments. This book triggered the shit outta me by so accurately depicting the ways abusive relationships can make you feel powerful, despite how much it feasts on your soul. How do you forgive, move on, forge healthier ways out of old relationships? How can you decide who is worth keeping and who needs to leave?

There were times the book felt like it dragged for me, or made heavy reference to places and people that folks who grew up near Crystal Beach would appreciate more than the average reader. But I just couldn't leave Starla. I had to know how she was doing, if she was going to be okay. I fell in love with the dummy. And the townspeople around her. And, well, hot lesbian sex.

Dawn earns every word. I've never finished a book while sobbing in the last pages and reaching the perfect climax of emotions right at the final sentence. That experience won't leave me anytime soon. I'm a kinky gay softy for trauma stories with supernatural elements, so SUE me.

[George Ilsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the character Starla, Amber Dawn gives us a voice both clear and startling. This novel is many things, but ultimately it is about self-care and learning when to draw the line at abuse. Usually there are many reasons why abuse is allowed to continue, and we swallow these reasons and allow them to grow. Calling this a lesbian ghost story only scratches the surface of this multilayered novel. Brava!!

[Amy Roebuck · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this five for the second half of the book--a really neat ghost story, with lots of local references.
I give it two for the slow moving first half of the book... and for the (for me) unnecessarily graphic sex scenes (and no, it doesn't matter if they're lesbian or hetero--they weren't necessary for me to understand the power both Etta and Tamara held over our protagonist). This makes it a 3.