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A gripping contemporary novel that examines the American dream through the lens of two families living side by side in an idyllic neighborhood, and the one summer that changes their lives irrevocably, from the New York Times bestselling author of Z and A Well-Behaved Woman.
In Oak Knoll, a verdant, tight-knit North Carolina neighborhood, professor of forestry and ecology Valerie Alston-Holt is raising her bright and talented biracial son. Xavier is headed to college in the fall, and after years of single parenting, Valerie is facing the prospect of an empty nest. All is well until the Whitmans move in next door—an apparently traditional family with new money, ambition, and a secretly troubled teenaged daughter.
Thanks to his thriving local business, Brad Whitman is something of a celebrity around town, and he's made a small fortune on his customer service and charm, while his wife, Julia, escaped her trailer park upbringing for the security of marriage and homemaking. Their new house is more than she ever imagined for herself, and who wouldn't want to live in Oak Knoll?
But with little in common except a property line, these two very different families quickly find themselves at odds: first, over an historic oak tree in Valerie's yard, and soon after, the blossoming romance between their two teenagers. Told in multiple points of view, A Good Neighborhood asks big questions about life in America today — what does it mean to be a good neighbor? How do we live alongside each other when we don't see eye to eye? — as it explores the effects of class, race, and heartrending star-crossed love in a story that’s as provocative as it is powerful.
In Oak Knoll, a verdant, tight-knit North Carolina neighborhood, professor of forestry and ecology Valerie Alston-Holt is raising her bright and talented biracial son. Xavier is headed to college in the fall, and after years of single parenting, Valerie is facing the prospect of an empty nest. All is well until the Whitmans move in next door—an apparently traditional family with new money, ambition, and a secretly troubled teenaged daughter.
Thanks to his thriving local business, Brad Whitman is something of a celebrity around town, and he's made a small fortune on his customer service and charm, while his wife, Julia, escaped her trailer park upbringing for the security of marriage and homemaking. Their new house is more than she ever imagined for herself, and who wouldn't want to live in Oak Knoll?
But with little in common except a property line, these two very different families quickly find themselves at odds: first, over an historic oak tree in Valerie's yard, and soon after, the blossoming romance between their two teenagers. Told in multiple points of view, A Good Neighborhood asks big questions about life in America today — what does it mean to be a good neighbor? How do we live alongside each other when we don't see eye to eye? — as it explores the effects of class, race, and heartrending star-crossed love in a story that’s as provocative as it is powerful.
384 pages, Paperback
First published March 10, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 8,190 reviews
October 26, 2019
Love this book. Solid five stars. Won it on the Goodreads Giveaway contest. I predict it will instantly be a New York Times bestseller. I don’t say this too often but it’s the kind of book that I tell friends to, drop what they’re doing, go out and buy it.
I’m a firm believer in the Fictive Dream, it’s what I need most in a book. To be dropped into a character driven story and live it with the character. If done correctly time stands still. When I come out of the fictive dream it seems like twenty minutes have passed and in reality, it’s four hours.
Normally, narrator intrusion dispels the fictive dream. The Narrator steps in and interrupts the forward motion of the story to give the reader information. This book is stylistic and the narrator is actually the neighborhood, (really love this aspect). So instead of the third person close voice, or the “I” narrator it’s “We,” who is telling the story. The neighborhood “We,” stops the story and gives us needed information. And it works. But only because the author is a master at word craft and voice. Voice is the big kahuna in creating the fictive dream. It’s the everything of writing.
The symbolism in this book is subtle yet obvious. The tree (at the root of the story) symbolizes life, and the encroaching neighbor--who is slowly killing off the tree--is everything that is wrong with society today. Brilliant. Love this book. It’s good vs evil, black vs white or vice versa. It’s also a parable of climate change and how if things don’t change the neighborhood is doomed.
Highly recommend.
David Putnam Author of the Bruno Johnson Series
I’m a firm believer in the Fictive Dream, it’s what I need most in a book. To be dropped into a character driven story and live it with the character. If done correctly time stands still. When I come out of the fictive dream it seems like twenty minutes have passed and in reality, it’s four hours.
Normally, narrator intrusion dispels the fictive dream. The Narrator steps in and interrupts the forward motion of the story to give the reader information. This book is stylistic and the narrator is actually the neighborhood, (really love this aspect). So instead of the third person close voice, or the “I” narrator it’s “We,” who is telling the story. The neighborhood “We,” stops the story and gives us needed information. And it works. But only because the author is a master at word craft and voice. Voice is the big kahuna in creating the fictive dream. It’s the everything of writing.
The symbolism in this book is subtle yet obvious. The tree (at the root of the story) symbolizes life, and the encroaching neighbor--who is slowly killing off the tree--is everything that is wrong with society today. Brilliant. Love this book. It’s good vs evil, black vs white or vice versa. It’s also a parable of climate change and how if things don’t change the neighborhood is doomed.
Highly recommend.
David Putnam Author of the Bruno Johnson Series
November 30, 2022
In the love literature Gods, what an incredible, tasteful gem I just read! This is epic! This is masterpiece! This is surprising! I loved everything about it and I’m sure it’s gonna be most anticipated and highly recommended fictions of 2020!
Please stop singing Mr. Roger’s epic song: “It is a beautiful day in the neighborhood, would you be my, could you be my? Won't you be my neighbor?” because this book is nothing about good neighboring. It is about tangled, complex situations and their eventual consequences.
You love to travel to the South to take a quick break at beautiful suburban houses, friendly people, genuineness, friendliness, respectful and exampled families that you may root for. So yes, it started like a dream is coming true. Oak Knoll is heaven of NC, a splendid suburb with its lovely people. Who doesn’t want to solve his kidneys to live there? But wait a minute… Is that a drilling sound? Rrrrrrrr… Does somebody start to build a mall across the street? Oh, thank God! No! Keep calm. Just new neighbors moved to your next door.
Valerie Alston-Holt, African-American woman, raises her son Xavier (he is biracial) by herself and considers herself lucky because she is living in this peaceful neighborhood, a wonderful house fits with her own expectations. And Xavier is a musical prodigy. He is hard worker, respectful son who takes his duties very serious. But when Whitman family moves to their next door, their peaceful life will be shattered into the pieces.
Brad is the jerk and rich father of the family, making tons of money from air conditioning and heating business ( unfortunately those two adjectives can be often used to describe a same person) and his wife Julia, their girls Lily (little one), Juniper (sarcastic, problematic one) are the other members. Only Julia is too friendly, raised in a trailer park and now she is happy about their new wealthy condition and wants to enjoy the whole benefits, making friends in the neighborhood.
At first everything looks safe and sound. But their teenagers’ romantic involvement will change many things.
I don’t want to give spoilers but this book is a quiet crazy train ride. When you learn more about the way of thinking Brad and other characters’ back stories, motives, actions, you get shaken and say several times: “Oh no! I didn’t see this coming!”
So this is surprisingly provocative, unconventional, exciting book. And I repeat it again: I didn’t read much 2020’s upcoming fiction books but I’m so adamant to say this gem earned a place at my top ten list.
Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for choosing me to share this amazing ARC COPY. And I have to congratulate Therese Anne Fowler for creating this remarkable, unique work.
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Please stop singing Mr. Roger’s epic song: “It is a beautiful day in the neighborhood, would you be my, could you be my? Won't you be my neighbor?” because this book is nothing about good neighboring. It is about tangled, complex situations and their eventual consequences.
You love to travel to the South to take a quick break at beautiful suburban houses, friendly people, genuineness, friendliness, respectful and exampled families that you may root for. So yes, it started like a dream is coming true. Oak Knoll is heaven of NC, a splendid suburb with its lovely people. Who doesn’t want to solve his kidneys to live there? But wait a minute… Is that a drilling sound? Rrrrrrrr… Does somebody start to build a mall across the street? Oh, thank God! No! Keep calm. Just new neighbors moved to your next door.
Valerie Alston-Holt, African-American woman, raises her son Xavier (he is biracial) by herself and considers herself lucky because she is living in this peaceful neighborhood, a wonderful house fits with her own expectations. And Xavier is a musical prodigy. He is hard worker, respectful son who takes his duties very serious. But when Whitman family moves to their next door, their peaceful life will be shattered into the pieces.
Brad is the jerk and rich father of the family, making tons of money from air conditioning and heating business ( unfortunately those two adjectives can be often used to describe a same person) and his wife Julia, their girls Lily (little one), Juniper (sarcastic, problematic one) are the other members. Only Julia is too friendly, raised in a trailer park and now she is happy about their new wealthy condition and wants to enjoy the whole benefits, making friends in the neighborhood.
At first everything looks safe and sound. But their teenagers’ romantic involvement will change many things.
I don’t want to give spoilers but this book is a quiet crazy train ride. When you learn more about the way of thinking Brad and other characters’ back stories, motives, actions, you get shaken and say several times: “Oh no! I didn’t see this coming!”
So this is surprisingly provocative, unconventional, exciting book. And I repeat it again: I didn’t read much 2020’s upcoming fiction books but I’m so adamant to say this gem earned a place at my top ten list.
Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for choosing me to share this amazing ARC COPY. And I have to congratulate Therese Anne Fowler for creating this remarkable, unique work.
blog
March 30, 2020
2 1/2 stars.
Reading this was a bit like reading two separate books, in which the first two thirds was Liane Moriarty at her slowest, and the final third was a constant stream of heart-pounding, horrible drama that made me so unbelievably angry (not, I should say, in a bad way).
This was the only book that sounded interesting for March Book of the Month, which is why I picked it. It takes on several delicate subjects - race, racism, class and womanhood - all in a middle/upper middle class North Carolina neighbourhood, and the author is keenly aware of her own whiteness when it comes to the first two. She addresses it, and the steps she took to overcome her biases (etc.), in an author's note at the start of the book.
A Good Neighborhood follows two families in the picturesque, "good" neighborhood of Oak Knoll. Valerie Alston-Holt is a professor of ecology and has been raising her musically-gifted and biracial son Xavier in Oak Knoll for a long time now. She senses trouble as soon as the Whitmans move in next door. Brad Whitman is a local businessman and something of a celebrity, while his beautiful wife Julia stays at home and raises their daughters. While she looks like the stereotype of a perfect suburban housewife, Julia's past is a sad story and one she intends to never have her daughters repeat.
All of this is narrated by a first person plural-- the "neighborhood" in question. This style won't be for everyone, but I actually quite liked it. I think it gave the story a bit of an ominous tone, added a much-needed touch of foreboding to the earlier (and slower) chapters of the novel.
Several things happen in these early chapters, though I confess none of them were very interesting to me. Fowler's writing flows well, though, so it wasn't all bad, just a little dull as we sit through book club meetings and daily life. The beginnings of the flirtations between Juniper and Xavier lack excitement. Even when Valerie attempts to sue Brad over his destruction of a historic oak tree, I could definitely understand her frustrations, but the stakes felt low.
Also, Fowler clearly means well and is trying her best here, but I do think this book perfectly highlights the issue white authors face when trying to write about race. She has done everything she can to avoid stereotypes and portraying either Valerie or Xavier as "thuggish" and yet, what is left are two very one-dimensional characters who lack flaws and do absolutely nothing wrong. They don't even feel like people. In her effort to be PC, there is something a little patronizing about her depictions of the two black characters. She tries to avoid the "oversexed black man" stereotype by denying Xavier a sexuality beyond his feelings for Juniper. He even at one point thinks this, which actually doesn't make sense:
This is an incorrect use of cis. Cis males can be gay. Or asexual, for that matter.
As I said, though, the last part of the book was extremely effective. While I'd been meandering my way through the book up until that point, I couldn't put it down during those final chapters. It was perhaps even more effective for me because I recently read Just Mercy and am all too aware how this situation is not even fiction. It seems outrageous to me, but this shit actually happens.
I may read more from Fowler. We'll see.
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Reading this was a bit like reading two separate books, in which the first two thirds was Liane Moriarty at her slowest, and the final third was a constant stream of heart-pounding, horrible drama that made me so unbelievably angry (not, I should say, in a bad way).
This was the only book that sounded interesting for March Book of the Month, which is why I picked it. It takes on several delicate subjects - race, racism, class and womanhood - all in a middle/upper middle class North Carolina neighbourhood, and the author is keenly aware of her own whiteness when it comes to the first two. She addresses it, and the steps she took to overcome her biases (etc.), in an author's note at the start of the book.
A Good Neighborhood follows two families in the picturesque, "good" neighborhood of Oak Knoll. Valerie Alston-Holt is a professor of ecology and has been raising her musically-gifted and biracial son Xavier in Oak Knoll for a long time now. She senses trouble as soon as the Whitmans move in next door. Brad Whitman is a local businessman and something of a celebrity, while his beautiful wife Julia stays at home and raises their daughters. While she looks like the stereotype of a perfect suburban housewife, Julia's past is a sad story and one she intends to never have her daughters repeat.
All of this is narrated by a first person plural-- the "neighborhood" in question. This style won't be for everyone, but I actually quite liked it. I think it gave the story a bit of an ominous tone, added a much-needed touch of foreboding to the earlier (and slower) chapters of the novel.
Several things happen in these early chapters, though I confess none of them were very interesting to me. Fowler's writing flows well, though, so it wasn't all bad, just a little dull as we sit through book club meetings and daily life. The beginnings of the flirtations between Juniper and Xavier lack excitement. Even when Valerie attempts to sue Brad over his destruction of a historic oak tree, I could definitely understand her frustrations, but the stakes felt low.
Also, Fowler clearly means well and is trying her best here, but I do think this book perfectly highlights the issue white authors face when trying to write about race. She has done everything she can to avoid stereotypes and portraying either Valerie or Xavier as "thuggish" and yet, what is left are two very one-dimensional characters who lack flaws and do absolutely nothing wrong. They don't even feel like people. In her effort to be PC, there is something a little patronizing about her depictions of the two black characters. She tries to avoid the "oversexed black man" stereotype by denying Xavier a sexuality beyond his feelings for Juniper. He even at one point thinks this, which actually doesn't make sense:
He knew he was supposed to want to jump if and when any girl asked. What normal cis male wouldn't?
This is an incorrect use of cis. Cis males can be gay. Or asexual, for that matter.
As I said, though, the last part of the book was extremely effective. While I'd been meandering my way through the book up until that point, I couldn't put it down during those final chapters. It was perhaps even more effective for me because I recently read Just Mercy and am all too aware how this situation is not even fiction. It seems outrageous to me, but this shit actually happens.
I may read more from Fowler. We'll see.
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December 2, 2020
1/2 Stars
Unpopular opinion ahead and over-sensitive thinker at work here. I am an outlier in this one I am sure.
Updated opinion from my original review that got a lot of comments about how realistic this one is.
The author is white writing the POV of two black characters and she tells us exactly how to feel about all the characters. The black characters lack depth to them with one character with the harmful trope of angry black woman whose conflict with a neighbour is over a tree. More time was spent on that than developing the numerous other themes going on. She creates a horrible white privilege male character with multiply themes that surround him, giving none of them any depth. Instead, uses drama to move the story forward and play on our feelings instead of deepening the characters and the story.
The story missing the mark on privilege and more profound issues around white privilege and systemic oppression and it reveals little about what is really happening in the world we live in. The story did not put me in the shoes of any of the characters or provide me with any understanding of human behaviour.
Just because things can happen or do happen that does not make a story convincing for me. The author has to work a little harder for me than that by creating convincing characters. At the end of it all, it's a story it's not non-fiction and stories need to be convincing whether it can happen or happens every day.
Quote from the below linked article that pretty much sums it up for me.
"It provides the same frustration one feels at Thanksgiving, when your self-described open-minded aunt won’t shut up about the beautiful gay couple she waves to at the gym."
I do not feel this is a good representation of what is real or not in the world we live in and I suggest reading this article to see why before commenting on how realistic this one is.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/10/bo...
My original review
This one scares the living daylights out of me and there are some pretty scary things going on right now. Here is why the characters are so awful in this story and I fear if this could happen and this neighborhood could be for real, our humanity is at risk. For that reason, I did not find this one convincing but overdone using drama (there is a lot of themes for one neighborhood going on here) to move this story forward and play on our emotions. There is nothing hopeful about this story, especially with that devasting ending.
I don't get and I don't think I want to either and I am pretty sure no one is going to get me to with their comments—sorry friends for overthinking and not being sensitive in this review. Maybe I should have waited to write this review.
Unpopular opinion ahead and over-sensitive thinker at work here. I am an outlier in this one I am sure.
Updated opinion from my original review that got a lot of comments about how realistic this one is.
The author is white writing the POV of two black characters and she tells us exactly how to feel about all the characters. The black characters lack depth to them with one character with the harmful trope of angry black woman whose conflict with a neighbour is over a tree. More time was spent on that than developing the numerous other themes going on. She creates a horrible white privilege male character with multiply themes that surround him, giving none of them any depth. Instead, uses drama to move the story forward and play on our feelings instead of deepening the characters and the story.
The story missing the mark on privilege and more profound issues around white privilege and systemic oppression and it reveals little about what is really happening in the world we live in. The story did not put me in the shoes of any of the characters or provide me with any understanding of human behaviour.
Just because things can happen or do happen that does not make a story convincing for me. The author has to work a little harder for me than that by creating convincing characters. At the end of it all, it's a story it's not non-fiction and stories need to be convincing whether it can happen or happens every day.
Quote from the below linked article that pretty much sums it up for me.
"It provides the same frustration one feels at Thanksgiving, when your self-described open-minded aunt won’t shut up about the beautiful gay couple she waves to at the gym."
I do not feel this is a good representation of what is real or not in the world we live in and I suggest reading this article to see why before commenting on how realistic this one is.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/10/bo...
My original review
This one scares the living daylights out of me and there are some pretty scary things going on right now. Here is why the characters are so awful in this story and I fear if this could happen and this neighborhood could be for real, our humanity is at risk. For that reason, I did not find this one convincing but overdone using drama (there is a lot of themes for one neighborhood going on here) to move this story forward and play on our emotions. There is nothing hopeful about this story, especially with that devasting ending.
I don't get and I don't think I want to either and I am pretty sure no one is going to get me to with their comments—sorry friends for overthinking and not being sensitive in this review. Maybe I should have waited to write this review.
February 25, 2020
In a seemingly close-knit neighborhood in North Carolina, a widowed ecology professor, Valerie, is raising her biracial son, Xavier, in the house she bought years ago with her husband—before his sudden death devastated their family and left Xavier without his father. Valerie has considered moving somewhere less “southern,” somewhere where the color of her and her son’s skin doesn’t make them an anomaly. But she can’t leave a house that holds so many memories, especially when Xavier is doing so well and about to go off to college with a scholarship to study classical guitar. She’s content in her life, happy to teach, raise her son, and look after her beautiful yard, including the stunning old oak tree in their backyard, the one that reminds her of her life before her husband passed.
So she’s not thrilled when Mr. Big Shot Brad Whitman moves in with his nervous wife and quiet stepdaughter next door, demolishing the existing home and yard to make way for his giant “smart” mansion and obnoxious pool—damaging significant portions of her majestic oak’s root system in the process. Within months of the Whitman’s home renovation, Valerie knows her beloved tree is a goner. But she can’t bring herself to “work something out amicably” with egotistical Brad since he clearly doesn’t think he’s part of the problem. Instead she chooses to sue the Whitmans—only realizing too late that her son is secretly dating Brad’s stepdaughter. Now the relationship between the two families has become exponentially more complicated…and potentially explosive.
MY THOUGHTS
I’ve been hesitant to write a review for this book. The overwhelming opinion about A Good Neighborhood is that it is phenomenal. Most people praise it for tackling big issues in an emotionally gripping way, all while using a unique narrator (the neighborhood “we”) to tell the story.
Unfortunately, not only did I not like the “we” narrator—I thought it was inconsistent, clunky, and confusing—I also simply did not like the way the author presented this story about community, class, racism, and bigotry. Don’t get me wrong. The issues are important; they exist and need to be talked about. But this book is pandering. This book feels manipulative, like a hollow liberal propaganda piece meant to tug at the heartstrings without offering up a thoughtful, nuanced story. (I say this as a liberal myself.)
Almost every single character in this book is one-dimensional. As the reader, I knew EXACTLY how I was supposed to feel about Brad, his wife, his daughter, Valerie, and her son—Brad with his weird sexual fantasies that make him disgusting and completely unlikable yet still inexplicably adored by almost everyone; his wife with her vapid, doe-eyed idiocy; his sheltered stepdaughter with zero emotional insight or self-awareness who can’t even seem to speak full sentences when asked.
I’ll admit that Valerie is a slightly more layered character, which made her easier to relate to and appreciate, but then Xavier… Good grief, Xavier with his infinite goodness, cleanness, perfection, destined to become a martyr. I just couldn’t buy it.
This isn’t a story, it’s a gimmick. It’s superficial and heavy-handed, a device to badger readers into feeling a certain way about a certain topic. But all this book did, in my opinion, is take away from actual important issues like racism and an unfair criminal justice system and what it means to exist with people who are different from us. I know we’ve all been having this conversation over the controversy of American Dirt, but, seriously, if you’re going to write a story about an experience or ethnicity or injustice or whatever that you haven’t experienced yourself, well then you better get it pitch perfect. It’s okay for authors to tell stories that aren’t their own; that’s what fiction is about! But do it justice; get it right. Otherwise you end up with garbage like this: a histrionic mess of exhausted plot tropes that no longer communicate a message with any real authenticity or power.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Net Galley for the ARC. I love you, SMP! Please don't blacklist me...
So she’s not thrilled when Mr. Big Shot Brad Whitman moves in with his nervous wife and quiet stepdaughter next door, demolishing the existing home and yard to make way for his giant “smart” mansion and obnoxious pool—damaging significant portions of her majestic oak’s root system in the process. Within months of the Whitman’s home renovation, Valerie knows her beloved tree is a goner. But she can’t bring herself to “work something out amicably” with egotistical Brad since he clearly doesn’t think he’s part of the problem. Instead she chooses to sue the Whitmans—only realizing too late that her son is secretly dating Brad’s stepdaughter. Now the relationship between the two families has become exponentially more complicated…and potentially explosive.
MY THOUGHTS
I’ve been hesitant to write a review for this book. The overwhelming opinion about A Good Neighborhood is that it is phenomenal. Most people praise it for tackling big issues in an emotionally gripping way, all while using a unique narrator (the neighborhood “we”) to tell the story.
Unfortunately, not only did I not like the “we” narrator—I thought it was inconsistent, clunky, and confusing—I also simply did not like the way the author presented this story about community, class, racism, and bigotry. Don’t get me wrong. The issues are important; they exist and need to be talked about. But this book is pandering. This book feels manipulative, like a hollow liberal propaganda piece meant to tug at the heartstrings without offering up a thoughtful, nuanced story. (I say this as a liberal myself.)
Almost every single character in this book is one-dimensional. As the reader, I knew EXACTLY how I was supposed to feel about Brad, his wife, his daughter, Valerie, and her son—Brad with his weird sexual fantasies that make him disgusting and completely unlikable yet still inexplicably adored by almost everyone; his wife with her vapid, doe-eyed idiocy; his sheltered stepdaughter with zero emotional insight or self-awareness who can’t even seem to speak full sentences when asked.
I’ll admit that Valerie is a slightly more layered character, which made her easier to relate to and appreciate, but then Xavier… Good grief, Xavier with his infinite goodness, cleanness, perfection, destined to become a martyr. I just couldn’t buy it.
This isn’t a story, it’s a gimmick. It’s superficial and heavy-handed, a device to badger readers into feeling a certain way about a certain topic. But all this book did, in my opinion, is take away from actual important issues like racism and an unfair criminal justice system and what it means to exist with people who are different from us. I know we’ve all been having this conversation over the controversy of American Dirt, but, seriously, if you’re going to write a story about an experience or ethnicity or injustice or whatever that you haven’t experienced yourself, well then you better get it pitch perfect. It’s okay for authors to tell stories that aren’t their own; that’s what fiction is about! But do it justice; get it right. Otherwise you end up with garbage like this: a histrionic mess of exhausted plot tropes that no longer communicate a message with any real authenticity or power.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Net Galley for the ARC. I love you, SMP! Please don't blacklist me...
February 24, 2020
In the beginning we’re warned that a tragedy has occurred and I was hooked already wondering. As the story progresses, it’s intense to say the very least and I became so emotionally involved with these characters and was heartbroken already before the ending, trying to imagine which one would be impacted by the tragedy . Suffice it to say, they all were .
The third person “we” narrator, seemingly removed but yet all knowing about the neighborhood, the characters, gives the feeling that they are part of this community, but we never know who they are. The perspective felt eerie, like the “we” whoever they might be, were invading the privacy of these two families, of the thoughts and feelings of these characters. In spite of that, I was drawn in to this complex story which is not just about this neighborhood and the people who live there or a lawsuit over a dying tree, but so much more. There’s a lot to take in, so much ground covered - racism, class differences, single parenthood, first love, a disturbing and creepy revelation, the burdens that these characters carry from their past.
Valerie Alston-Holt, a professor, an environmentalist, mother to her musically gifted biracial son, Xavier hosts the book club, tends to her garden and dearly loved Oak Tree seems to be living a satisfying life even though she has lost her husband, Xavier’s white father. That is until, Brad and Julia and their daughters Juniper and Lily move in next door after Brad has felled all the trees on the lot and built a huge house with a swimming pool. It’s apparent from the get go that Brad is racist, but that’s not the half of it . As Xavier and Juniper begin secretly dating and Valerie’s beloved Oak Tree begins to die, this tragic story is set in motion and I couldn’t stop reading. While I was connected to the present, I was also pulled in by their pasts that are slowly revealed.
This is a heartbreaking story, so relevant and moving in its depiction of racism. It should make you sit up and listen. I know I did.
I received a copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley.
The third person “we” narrator, seemingly removed but yet all knowing about the neighborhood, the characters, gives the feeling that they are part of this community, but we never know who they are. The perspective felt eerie, like the “we” whoever they might be, were invading the privacy of these two families, of the thoughts and feelings of these characters. In spite of that, I was drawn in to this complex story which is not just about this neighborhood and the people who live there or a lawsuit over a dying tree, but so much more. There’s a lot to take in, so much ground covered - racism, class differences, single parenthood, first love, a disturbing and creepy revelation, the burdens that these characters carry from their past.
Valerie Alston-Holt, a professor, an environmentalist, mother to her musically gifted biracial son, Xavier hosts the book club, tends to her garden and dearly loved Oak Tree seems to be living a satisfying life even though she has lost her husband, Xavier’s white father. That is until, Brad and Julia and their daughters Juniper and Lily move in next door after Brad has felled all the trees on the lot and built a huge house with a swimming pool. It’s apparent from the get go that Brad is racist, but that’s not the half of it . As Xavier and Juniper begin secretly dating and Valerie’s beloved Oak Tree begins to die, this tragic story is set in motion and I couldn’t stop reading. While I was connected to the present, I was also pulled in by their pasts that are slowly revealed.
This is a heartbreaking story, so relevant and moving in its depiction of racism. It should make you sit up and listen. I know I did.
I received a copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley.
May 5, 2020
A book by a white person, for white people!
Full of spoilers, so don't read further unless you're looking for a justification as to why you shouldn't get this book.
Where on earth do I begin?
In a nutshell, this book is trauma porn of the black experience, managing to hit upon SEVERAL things black (and/or biracial (namely, half black)) people may deal with in their lifetimes, all over a swift 300+ pages. Fowler, who couldn't resist pointing out any time a character, even those of little importance, was black, managed to fit in fascination with black bodies (namely their hair and sexual nature), a tree with deep ties to slavery, the need to feel cautious around white people, wrongful accusations and arrest and hate crimes. And it suffered greatly because of it. She also recounted black experiences in a way that made me feel she was trying to convince people these things actually do occur in real life, in a way that made it clear her audience for this book is certainly no one who is black. She also pointed out white privilege at every turn, specifically white male privilege. Did she watch several buzzfeed videos and youtube channels so that she could have the POV of a "woke" white woman? Perhaps.
I was largely disturbed by Fowler's need, near the end of this extremely long-winded "tragedy" (as the neighbors, who I'll touch on later, called it), to flesh out a scene in which Xavier decided to become the criminal the media wished him to be, but fool the reader and instead turn Xavier into a martyr for social justice by having him kill himself. What an absolute disgrace to the black men and women who became martyrs to the cause and not of their own choosing. It also felt extremely out of character for Xavier.
I did not enjoy the narration one bit. While I get and can appreciate the idea of giving the neighborhood a voice, I found those passages, at times, insufferable to read. The epilogue left me feeling as empty as I did throughout the entire story. I also cannot understand the incestuous subplot. The story could have proceeded exactly as it did without it. Fowler seemed to not know what social issue or cause to touch upon, so she chose to write about as many as she could.
I'll be leaving my copy in a "free book" pile at the office. Good riddance.
Edited to add: After reading other reviews, I have to say 1) Please stop calling Fowler “brave” for being a white woman who chose to write about the black experience; 2) In what I assume is an effort to be PC, Valerie is being described in reviews as African American when she is Haitian American. Just call her black or do your research about the African diaspora.
Full of spoilers, so don't read further unless you're looking for a justification as to why you shouldn't get this book.
Where on earth do I begin?
In a nutshell, this book is trauma porn of the black experience, managing to hit upon SEVERAL things black (and/or biracial (namely, half black)) people may deal with in their lifetimes, all over a swift 300+ pages. Fowler, who couldn't resist pointing out any time a character, even those of little importance, was black, managed to fit in fascination with black bodies (namely their hair and sexual nature), a tree with deep ties to slavery, the need to feel cautious around white people, wrongful accusations and arrest and hate crimes. And it suffered greatly because of it. She also recounted black experiences in a way that made me feel she was trying to convince people these things actually do occur in real life, in a way that made it clear her audience for this book is certainly no one who is black. She also pointed out white privilege at every turn, specifically white male privilege. Did she watch several buzzfeed videos and youtube channels so that she could have the POV of a "woke" white woman? Perhaps.
I was largely disturbed by Fowler's need, near the end of this extremely long-winded "tragedy" (as the neighbors, who I'll touch on later, called it), to flesh out a scene in which Xavier decided to become the criminal the media wished him to be, but fool the reader and instead turn Xavier into a martyr for social justice by having him kill himself. What an absolute disgrace to the black men and women who became martyrs to the cause and not of their own choosing. It also felt extremely out of character for Xavier.
I did not enjoy the narration one bit. While I get and can appreciate the idea of giving the neighborhood a voice, I found those passages, at times, insufferable to read. The epilogue left me feeling as empty as I did throughout the entire story. I also cannot understand the incestuous subplot. The story could have proceeded exactly as it did without it. Fowler seemed to not know what social issue or cause to touch upon, so she chose to write about as many as she could.
I'll be leaving my copy in a "free book" pile at the office. Good riddance.
Edited to add: After reading other reviews, I have to say 1) Please stop calling Fowler “brave” for being a white woman who chose to write about the black experience; 2) In what I assume is an effort to be PC, Valerie is being described in reviews as African American when she is Haitian American. Just call her black or do your research about the African diaspora.
March 18, 2020
My reviews can also be seen at: https://deesradreadsandreviews.wordpr...
A compelling and timely read!
This story involves two families whose lives will intertwine in ways they would never have imagined.
“We begin our story here, in the minutes before the small event that will change everything.”
The Whitman's have just built an upscale new house in the neighborhood of Oak Knoll.
Seventeen-year-old, Juniper Whitman seems to have it all. But appearances can be deceiving. Juniper's mother, Julia met Brad Whitman when she was a single mother to nine-year-old, Juniper. Before Brad, life was hard and money was extremely tight. He made life much easier. At one time, Brad had been Juniper’s hero, but now everything has changed.
Juniper has secrets.
Juniper is relaxing by the pool when she first meets her new neighbor, Xavier Alston-Holt. Xavier (Zay for short) has an intense personality, but his mother taught him to use that intensity to his benefit. Xavier was set on getting into his first-choice college. His grades were excellent and his teachers and bosses loved him. His hard work paid off and he received a scholarship to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Xavier's mother, Valerie Alston-Holt was NOT in a hurry to meet her new neighbors. She already thought Brad Whitman was a man child with money. She had cried when she watched their yard being cleared of all the beautiful trees.
When Valerie discovers something very upsetting, she makes a decision that will change all of their lives.
“A Good Neighborhood” is a truly distinctive and well-written story that asks many tough questions.
Emotionally powerful this was a very quick read at only 279 pages. However, the author fit quite a lot into those pages.
A heartbreaking, compelling, and thought-provoking story with many well-developed characters. This story deals with many important issues. Many of the conversations and situations in this novel will stay with me for a long time.
I think this book would be a great choice for book clubs and/or group reads. This is a book that you’ll want to talk about.
I'd like to thank St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an advanced copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.
A compelling and timely read!
This story involves two families whose lives will intertwine in ways they would never have imagined.
“We begin our story here, in the minutes before the small event that will change everything.”
The Whitman's have just built an upscale new house in the neighborhood of Oak Knoll.
Seventeen-year-old, Juniper Whitman seems to have it all. But appearances can be deceiving. Juniper's mother, Julia met Brad Whitman when she was a single mother to nine-year-old, Juniper. Before Brad, life was hard and money was extremely tight. He made life much easier. At one time, Brad had been Juniper’s hero, but now everything has changed.
Juniper has secrets.
Juniper is relaxing by the pool when she first meets her new neighbor, Xavier Alston-Holt. Xavier (Zay for short) has an intense personality, but his mother taught him to use that intensity to his benefit. Xavier was set on getting into his first-choice college. His grades were excellent and his teachers and bosses loved him. His hard work paid off and he received a scholarship to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Xavier's mother, Valerie Alston-Holt was NOT in a hurry to meet her new neighbors. She already thought Brad Whitman was a man child with money. She had cried when she watched their yard being cleared of all the beautiful trees.
When Valerie discovers something very upsetting, she makes a decision that will change all of their lives.
“A Good Neighborhood” is a truly distinctive and well-written story that asks many tough questions.
Emotionally powerful this was a very quick read at only 279 pages. However, the author fit quite a lot into those pages.
A heartbreaking, compelling, and thought-provoking story with many well-developed characters. This story deals with many important issues. Many of the conversations and situations in this novel will stay with me for a long time.
I think this book would be a great choice for book clubs and/or group reads. This is a book that you’ll want to talk about.
I'd like to thank St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an advanced copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.
March 11, 2020
“What has more meaning to humankind than words? Without a call to action, change rarely occurs.”
A tragedy strikes a “Good Neighborhood.” This is where good families and good people live. But under the veneer of perfection, exists deep-seated racism, gender bias, class separation, and a sexual predator. Families are ripped apart based on choices made stemming from greed, desperation, “doing the right thing,” and love.
Fowler explores themes of racial and class divisions through the characters of Xavier, Valerie, vile Brad, and Julie, and Juniper. Through them, we learn of bias, racism, gender dynamics that exist in "the good neighborhood." As difficult as it is to read, themes of social justice and love leave the reader feeling a little hopeful.
My one criticism of this book is the narrator. Told through a third person POV, the narrator is invasive, offering commentary on characters/events. They often direct the reader on how to think or feel about certain situations. I feel that this book could have reached me on an even deeper level if I had more of an opportunity to think of broader implications on my own (but that’s just me).
I appreciate what this book has to say about American society, but I would not want to read this again! I knew what I was getting into reading this, but reading about it and hearing about are two very different things. Sickening, disturbing, beautiful at times, this book hit me hard. It took me on an emotional rollercoaster ride and left me with a broken heart.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
A tragedy strikes a “Good Neighborhood.” This is where good families and good people live. But under the veneer of perfection, exists deep-seated racism, gender bias, class separation, and a sexual predator. Families are ripped apart based on choices made stemming from greed, desperation, “doing the right thing,” and love.
Fowler explores themes of racial and class divisions through the characters of Xavier, Valerie, vile Brad, and Julie, and Juniper. Through them, we learn of bias, racism, gender dynamics that exist in "the good neighborhood." As difficult as it is to read, themes of social justice and love leave the reader feeling a little hopeful.
My one criticism of this book is the narrator. Told through a third person POV, the narrator is invasive, offering commentary on characters/events. They often direct the reader on how to think or feel about certain situations. I feel that this book could have reached me on an even deeper level if I had more of an opportunity to think of broader implications on my own (but that’s just me).
I appreciate what this book has to say about American society, but I would not want to read this again! I knew what I was getting into reading this, but reading about it and hearing about are two very different things. Sickening, disturbing, beautiful at times, this book hit me hard. It took me on an emotional rollercoaster ride and left me with a broken heart.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
October 28, 2019
5 Breathless, Stunning Stars.
Actions. Circumstances. Ramifications. My Oh My! What a tangled Web You Weave!
When you think of a suburban community, you think barbecues and book clubs. That’s exactly how life was in the quiet suburb of Oak Knoll. Life was positively idyllic, but of course, good neighbors sure are hard to find!
Valerie Alston-Holt loves raising her teenaged son Xavier in the quiet neighborhood of Oak Knoll and both consider themselves lucky, until the drilling and demolition starts next door, signaling that someone new is moving in. That someone is wealthy businessman Brad Whitman, his wife Julia and her daughters, Juniper and Lily, who are ecstatic to move to the town of Oak Knoll. Little do they know that their moving in has disrupted their neighbors’ peace as well as the land surrounding them. Tsk tsk, Brad. If only that was your first mistake!
Tragedy awaits this little town - as the reader is immediately made aware. Everyone has a plan, and some are more selfish than others.
Trust, for some, isn’t that easy. As for justice, hmm.
So it begins. Chest tightness. Heart palpitations. Stomach a ball of nerves.
I had my own suspicions about this novel as I began reading. I was sure, so very sure of what was going on. So darn sure. Yet my heart caught, my pulse pounded, my eyes filled.
Then, here and now, I sit pondering, mesmerized at the sheer brilliance of Therese Anne Fowler’s writing in “A Good Neighborhood,” the character driven storyline and specifically, at the characters. The characters, whose personalities delight and/or vex me. Xavier, Juniper, Valerie, Julia and Brad. My, Oh My. What a Tangled Web You Weave.
As soon as I read the synopsis for “A Good Neighborhood” I knew I had to read it. Little did I know once I started that it would top my list of favorites for the year. For me this book has it all and is a must-read. I hope you will grab it and love it just as must as I do.
A huge thank you to Marissa and Naureen at St. Martin’s Press and to Therese Anne Fowler for an arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Published on Goodreads on 10.26.19.
Will be published on Amazon in February of 2020 upon release.
Actions. Circumstances. Ramifications. My Oh My! What a tangled Web You Weave!
When you think of a suburban community, you think barbecues and book clubs. That’s exactly how life was in the quiet suburb of Oak Knoll. Life was positively idyllic, but of course, good neighbors sure are hard to find!
Valerie Alston-Holt loves raising her teenaged son Xavier in the quiet neighborhood of Oak Knoll and both consider themselves lucky, until the drilling and demolition starts next door, signaling that someone new is moving in. That someone is wealthy businessman Brad Whitman, his wife Julia and her daughters, Juniper and Lily, who are ecstatic to move to the town of Oak Knoll. Little do they know that their moving in has disrupted their neighbors’ peace as well as the land surrounding them. Tsk tsk, Brad. If only that was your first mistake!
Tragedy awaits this little town - as the reader is immediately made aware. Everyone has a plan, and some are more selfish than others.
Trust, for some, isn’t that easy. As for justice, hmm.
So it begins. Chest tightness. Heart palpitations. Stomach a ball of nerves.
I had my own suspicions about this novel as I began reading. I was sure, so very sure of what was going on. So darn sure. Yet my heart caught, my pulse pounded, my eyes filled.
Then, here and now, I sit pondering, mesmerized at the sheer brilliance of Therese Anne Fowler’s writing in “A Good Neighborhood,” the character driven storyline and specifically, at the characters. The characters, whose personalities delight and/or vex me. Xavier, Juniper, Valerie, Julia and Brad. My, Oh My. What a Tangled Web You Weave.
As soon as I read the synopsis for “A Good Neighborhood” I knew I had to read it. Little did I know once I started that it would top my list of favorites for the year. For me this book has it all and is a must-read. I hope you will grab it and love it just as must as I do.
A huge thank you to Marissa and Naureen at St. Martin’s Press and to Therese Anne Fowler for an arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Published on Goodreads on 10.26.19.
Will be published on Amazon in February of 2020 upon release.
July 2, 2022
Update;
$1.99 kindle download today. I’d buy it myself if I didn’t already own 📕🤗
5 Phenomenal Affecting Stars!!!!
Sooooo ENGROSSING!!!!
Emotions and thoughts spin around and around in my head!!!
They will for a LONG TIME!
Huge Kudos to the author!!! She is insanely talented!!!
Unbelievable how engaging - thought provoking - urgent - and - heartbreaking- this story is!!!
Full Review still to come!
NEW UPDATE:
NO SERIOUS SPOILERS...
“Most of us hide what troubles and confuses us, displaying instead the facets we hope others will approve of, the parts we hope others will like”.
The characters in “A Good Neighbor” are protecting and hiding something. They have their agendas, their opinions, their judgements, their anger, their distrust, and their plans.
The community and media will speculate and wonder who was to blame for the tragedies that will unfold between the two families who live next-door to each other.
The reader is encouraged to examine our own thoughts: the different issues at hand - looking at circumstances - reasons - ideals - truth -lies -secrets- justifications - what’s right - what’s wrong - what would you do? what do you think the neighbors will do? —what do you agree with? - who do you believe? - who don’t you agree with? - what side are you on? Or —do you see yourself split down the middle, on both sides?
The Whitman family, new to the close-knit
neighborhood in Oak Knoll, North Carolina,
lives next door to the Alston-Holt family.
Most of the houses in the neighborhood are moderately built, including the Alston-Holt family.
The only house that stands out as prestigious among all the other homes in size - - swimming pool and ultra modern amenities is the Whitman’s custom built home.
Single mother, widowed, Valerie Alston-Holt, 48 yrs old, ( a black female Professor of forestry and ecology) and her 18 yr. old son Xavier ( biracial), classical guitar musician, An A-student -senior -in High School, (accepted to the San Francisco Conservatory of music in the fall), both tolerated the builders construction noise for many months before the Whitman family moved in.
Brad and Julia Whitman, a wealthy white family, have two daughters: Juniper, 17, and Lily, 10.
Each of the characters — in both families — (other than perhaps little Lily Whitman), had a full plate of problems. We learn back stories from each of the characters that has us understand where they were coming from... helping us understand the choices that they each made.
It’s easy to make assumptions from stereotypes - but those assumptions will not particularly be the complete picture or true.
Can we compare environmental protection to civil rights? Perhaps not... but Valerie’s passion for trees, (“we need to keep at least seven trees for every human on the planet, or else people are going to start suffocating”), was her life’s purpose.
Had Valerie been alive during the civil rights movement..justice for racial equality might have been her life’s purpose.
But today she felt saving the planet was where her life’s work could make the most difference. Tending her plants was her therapy...
irises, peonies, azaleas, phlox snowdrops, camellias, rhododendrons, clematis, honeysuckle... etc.
If the plant grew in North Carolina, Valerie installed it somewhere on their plot.
Her magnificent oak tree with it’s wide trunk, was more than just a tree of arboreal history. She had a personal, and emotional connection to it.
Her oak tree is what sold she and her husband, Tom, a young white sociology professor, on the house many years ago in the first place.
Oak Knoll had been conceived in the boom years after the second world war with wide streets, sidewalks - and because it was North Carolina it was rich in both trees and small functional 3-bedroom homes- set on spacious tree-filled lots.
Valerie spent many moments pressing her
forhead against its “nubby gray-brown bark and cried while Xavier slept in his crib”.
Xavier - just a baby- was too young to understand that his father, Tom, a white sociology professor, died in a freak accident.
Brad Whitman, late 40’s, owner of the national growing business- an Air-Condition company, ‘Whitman HVAC’ - a man who worked from the ground up - made serious money. He was a local celebrity/ seen in TV commercials and radio.
Normally - an enormous mansion - such as the one he just had built for his family - would be seen in a nearby community, ‘Hillside’. The Whitman’s had once lived in one of those neighborhoods...but Brad knew to get the extravagant ultra modern house he wanted for a mortgage he could afford, building his dream home in Oak Knoll, was more cost effective. He would still be able to drive his BMW, later his Maserati.....
and Julia, 34 years old, who was once a financially struggling single mother with 10 year old Juniper, when they first met, could enjoy her new Lexus.
Juniper and Lily could go to a private school.. which they did.
The house that Brad built was the risk to the nearby trees.
The large oak tree in Valerie‘s backyard was showing distress from the disruption of her trees’ root systems from the way the Whitman’s swimming pool was installed.
Environmental corners had been cut while the Whitman’s house was being built. Not everything was up to code - when installing the swimming pool. Brad Whitman’s connections with a builder-friend allowed him to put his own needs above the integrity of the environment.
His ‘corner-cutting’ would come back to haunt him.
Valerie - planned to sue Brad for the damage to her Oak Tree. Her lawyer was asking for $500,000.
Love thy neighbor vs. justice becomes a fascinating inquiry and debate.
When Julia married Brad, her life was completely turned around...
no longer living in a trailer home - and we wonder - did she marry him for love or money? Maybe both?
Julia wanted her daughters in a private school away from bad influences that had led to so much trouble in her own growing life.
In turn - Julia became overly protective and controlling mother.
Juniper became a chaste Christian girl. She still had urges and temptations, but she was at peace - with her religious values - of not to have sex until marriage. She and Brad attended the purity ball when she was 16. She agreed to not have sex until marriage and Brad agreed to look out for her best interest.
Girls at school teased Juniper... ( JeniPURE). It wasn’t fun being teased by other more sexually liberated girls at school - but Julia was - mostly’ able to hold her head high. She loved books - and was interested in attending college. Possibly to study Biology or zoology. She didn’t have time for boys anyway. ...
Ha... in the same way Xavier didn’t have time for girls... with his studies, work, and music.
But...
Julia and Xavier will get together. Their connection was slowly developing into a substantial authentic mature relationship.
Together they tried to not be influenced by Valerie and Brad’s disputes.... rather discover what was best for them.
Julia was trying to fit into the neighborhood.
She joined the book club which took place on Thursday nights at Valerie’s house. She only had to walk next-door.
Valerie’s friends were all bright professionals in their 40’s and up -
Julia - the youngest - new to the book club - was judged as a bourgeois/ snooty white rich woman....
from the size of her house next-door to the foie gras dish she brought to share.
Nobody ate her foie gras - because in order to make it, birds were force-feed in order to create a fatty liver. They put tubes down their throat’s.
The women at the book club - more educated - wouldn’t touch Julia’s appetizer.
Julia simply didn’t know about the ducks and geese.
She had no idea - felt horrified-
small - ‘less than’ - less valued - and intimidated. She tossed her foie gras in the trash.
Julia wanted desperately to be part of the sisterhood with Valerie and her friends.
So she opened up and shared of how she grew up-with her mother cleaning homes so they could afford their run down trailer. She also shared that Juniper was the result of a man who raped her.
While Brad Whitman and Valerie Alston-Holt are fighting out their problem -
young love between their kids - Juniper and Xavier are growing.
I can’t express enough how terrific this novel is ....
The issues are gripping. The intimacy of the characters - including the collective community narrative - sheds insightful compassionate details - giving this novel fully evocative power.
“A Good Neighbor”, is totally my type of book...
*Important fiction*!!!
It’s a close inside look at the pressures of racism, justice, legal disputes, conservative religious beliefs, young adult love, parenting, and what it means to be a good neighbor.
Author Meg Waite Clayton described my feelings to a ‘t’......
“A provocative, timely, page turner, about the crucial issues of our time. I gulped it down, and the stunning conclusion left me both heartbroken and hopeful”
HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!
Thank you St. Martin’s Press, Netgalley, and Theresa Anne Fowler!
I’m soooo a new fan!!!!
$1.99 kindle download today. I’d buy it myself if I didn’t already own 📕🤗
5 Phenomenal Affecting Stars!!!!
Sooooo ENGROSSING!!!!
Emotions and thoughts spin around and around in my head!!!
They will for a LONG TIME!
Huge Kudos to the author!!! She is insanely talented!!!
Unbelievable how engaging - thought provoking - urgent - and - heartbreaking- this story is!!!
Full Review still to come!
NEW UPDATE:
NO SERIOUS SPOILERS...
“Most of us hide what troubles and confuses us, displaying instead the facets we hope others will approve of, the parts we hope others will like”.
The characters in “A Good Neighbor” are protecting and hiding something. They have their agendas, their opinions, their judgements, their anger, their distrust, and their plans.
The community and media will speculate and wonder who was to blame for the tragedies that will unfold between the two families who live next-door to each other.
The reader is encouraged to examine our own thoughts: the different issues at hand - looking at circumstances - reasons - ideals - truth -lies -secrets- justifications - what’s right - what’s wrong - what would you do? what do you think the neighbors will do? —what do you agree with? - who do you believe? - who don’t you agree with? - what side are you on? Or —do you see yourself split down the middle, on both sides?
The Whitman family, new to the close-knit
neighborhood in Oak Knoll, North Carolina,
lives next door to the Alston-Holt family.
Most of the houses in the neighborhood are moderately built, including the Alston-Holt family.
The only house that stands out as prestigious among all the other homes in size - - swimming pool and ultra modern amenities is the Whitman’s custom built home.
Single mother, widowed, Valerie Alston-Holt, 48 yrs old, ( a black female Professor of forestry and ecology) and her 18 yr. old son Xavier ( biracial), classical guitar musician, An A-student -senior -in High School, (accepted to the San Francisco Conservatory of music in the fall), both tolerated the builders construction noise for many months before the Whitman family moved in.
Brad and Julia Whitman, a wealthy white family, have two daughters: Juniper, 17, and Lily, 10.
Each of the characters — in both families — (other than perhaps little Lily Whitman), had a full plate of problems. We learn back stories from each of the characters that has us understand where they were coming from... helping us understand the choices that they each made.
It’s easy to make assumptions from stereotypes - but those assumptions will not particularly be the complete picture or true.
Can we compare environmental protection to civil rights? Perhaps not... but Valerie’s passion for trees, (“we need to keep at least seven trees for every human on the planet, or else people are going to start suffocating”), was her life’s purpose.
Had Valerie been alive during the civil rights movement..justice for racial equality might have been her life’s purpose.
But today she felt saving the planet was where her life’s work could make the most difference. Tending her plants was her therapy...
irises, peonies, azaleas, phlox snowdrops, camellias, rhododendrons, clematis, honeysuckle... etc.
If the plant grew in North Carolina, Valerie installed it somewhere on their plot.
Her magnificent oak tree with it’s wide trunk, was more than just a tree of arboreal history. She had a personal, and emotional connection to it.
Her oak tree is what sold she and her husband, Tom, a young white sociology professor, on the house many years ago in the first place.
Oak Knoll had been conceived in the boom years after the second world war with wide streets, sidewalks - and because it was North Carolina it was rich in both trees and small functional 3-bedroom homes- set on spacious tree-filled lots.
Valerie spent many moments pressing her
forhead against its “nubby gray-brown bark and cried while Xavier slept in his crib”.
Xavier - just a baby- was too young to understand that his father, Tom, a white sociology professor, died in a freak accident.
Brad Whitman, late 40’s, owner of the national growing business- an Air-Condition company, ‘Whitman HVAC’ - a man who worked from the ground up - made serious money. He was a local celebrity/ seen in TV commercials and radio.
Normally - an enormous mansion - such as the one he just had built for his family - would be seen in a nearby community, ‘Hillside’. The Whitman’s had once lived in one of those neighborhoods...but Brad knew to get the extravagant ultra modern house he wanted for a mortgage he could afford, building his dream home in Oak Knoll, was more cost effective. He would still be able to drive his BMW, later his Maserati.....
and Julia, 34 years old, who was once a financially struggling single mother with 10 year old Juniper, when they first met, could enjoy her new Lexus.
Juniper and Lily could go to a private school.. which they did.
The house that Brad built was the risk to the nearby trees.
The large oak tree in Valerie‘s backyard was showing distress from the disruption of her trees’ root systems from the way the Whitman’s swimming pool was installed.
Environmental corners had been cut while the Whitman’s house was being built. Not everything was up to code - when installing the swimming pool. Brad Whitman’s connections with a builder-friend allowed him to put his own needs above the integrity of the environment.
His ‘corner-cutting’ would come back to haunt him.
Valerie - planned to sue Brad for the damage to her Oak Tree. Her lawyer was asking for $500,000.
Love thy neighbor vs. justice becomes a fascinating inquiry and debate.
When Julia married Brad, her life was completely turned around...
no longer living in a trailer home - and we wonder - did she marry him for love or money? Maybe both?
Julia wanted her daughters in a private school away from bad influences that had led to so much trouble in her own growing life.
In turn - Julia became overly protective and controlling mother.
Juniper became a chaste Christian girl. She still had urges and temptations, but she was at peace - with her religious values - of not to have sex until marriage. She and Brad attended the purity ball when she was 16. She agreed to not have sex until marriage and Brad agreed to look out for her best interest.
Girls at school teased Juniper... ( JeniPURE). It wasn’t fun being teased by other more sexually liberated girls at school - but Julia was - mostly’ able to hold her head high. She loved books - and was interested in attending college. Possibly to study Biology or zoology. She didn’t have time for boys anyway. ...
Ha... in the same way Xavier didn’t have time for girls... with his studies, work, and music.
But...
Julia and Xavier will get together. Their connection was slowly developing into a substantial authentic mature relationship.
Together they tried to not be influenced by Valerie and Brad’s disputes.... rather discover what was best for them.
Julia was trying to fit into the neighborhood.
She joined the book club which took place on Thursday nights at Valerie’s house. She only had to walk next-door.
Valerie’s friends were all bright professionals in their 40’s and up -
Julia - the youngest - new to the book club - was judged as a bourgeois/ snooty white rich woman....
from the size of her house next-door to the foie gras dish she brought to share.
Nobody ate her foie gras - because in order to make it, birds were force-feed in order to create a fatty liver. They put tubes down their throat’s.
The women at the book club - more educated - wouldn’t touch Julia’s appetizer.
Julia simply didn’t know about the ducks and geese.
She had no idea - felt horrified-
small - ‘less than’ - less valued - and intimidated. She tossed her foie gras in the trash.
Julia wanted desperately to be part of the sisterhood with Valerie and her friends.
So she opened up and shared of how she grew up-with her mother cleaning homes so they could afford their run down trailer. She also shared that Juniper was the result of a man who raped her.
While Brad Whitman and Valerie Alston-Holt are fighting out their problem -
young love between their kids - Juniper and Xavier are growing.
I can’t express enough how terrific this novel is ....
The issues are gripping. The intimacy of the characters - including the collective community narrative - sheds insightful compassionate details - giving this novel fully evocative power.
“A Good Neighbor”, is totally my type of book...
*Important fiction*!!!
It’s a close inside look at the pressures of racism, justice, legal disputes, conservative religious beliefs, young adult love, parenting, and what it means to be a good neighbor.
Author Meg Waite Clayton described my feelings to a ‘t’......
“A provocative, timely, page turner, about the crucial issues of our time. I gulped it down, and the stunning conclusion left me both heartbroken and hopeful”
HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!
Thank you St. Martin’s Press, Netgalley, and Theresa Anne Fowler!
I’m soooo a new fan!!!!
April 18, 2021
So what makes A Good Neighborhood? Oak Knoll was originally made up of post WWII ranch houses. But lately, those older houses were being torn down and McMansions built in their place. It’s a phenomenon being seen more and more often in closer in, older neighborhoods. Valerie Alston-Holt lives in one of the older houses. She’s a widow, raising her teenage son. A professor of forestry and ecology, she is more than disturbed by the new house going in next to her, especially as the construction impacts the health of the huge oak tree in her backyard.
This book covers preconceived notions, prejudices of all types - sexism, educational and class divides, and racism. The new family is nouveau riche; all about impressions, with some very conservative values. At the core, this is a Romeo and Juliet love story.
I’m always into how a narrative style affects my thoughts about a book. Here, we have an invisible narrator speaking directly to the reader. Saying things like “before we depict our first encounter between our story’s other central players…”. It’s an odd mechanism. It annoyed me at first, but then, as the story goes on, I felt it really worked. It was like the narrator and I were sharing a book club discussion about this particular book. It evoked the removal of the fourth wall in a play.
I love that Fowler made the initial issue that divided the neighbors a tree and let it snowball from there. As the unknown narrator says “The stories we as a culture love best, almost always have a villain.” The question is, who is the villain in this story? Who is the bad neighbor?
Fowler’s also does a great job in showing how people misinterpret actions based on their perceptions. Fair warning, there’s a creep factor to one of the plot lines that had me squirming.
This isn’t a fast paced book. Fowler draws out the plot. We know there’s a crisis. Again, our unknown narrator says “every meaningful story has to have a crisis”. We know it’s coming. Fowler teases us with how this story will play out. And when it does play out, it brought out all sorts of emotions for me.
Five big stars here. This book is perfect for anyone looking for an emotionally charged book. It’ll make a great book club selection.
My thanks to netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of this book.
Update- the book discussion questions state that the book is meant to invoke a Greek tragedy, with the unknown neighbors acting as the chorus.
This made for a great book club selection, especially in light of the BLM events of the past year.
This book covers preconceived notions, prejudices of all types - sexism, educational and class divides, and racism. The new family is nouveau riche; all about impressions, with some very conservative values. At the core, this is a Romeo and Juliet love story.
I’m always into how a narrative style affects my thoughts about a book. Here, we have an invisible narrator speaking directly to the reader. Saying things like “before we depict our first encounter between our story’s other central players…”. It’s an odd mechanism. It annoyed me at first, but then, as the story goes on, I felt it really worked. It was like the narrator and I were sharing a book club discussion about this particular book. It evoked the removal of the fourth wall in a play.
I love that Fowler made the initial issue that divided the neighbors a tree and let it snowball from there. As the unknown narrator says “The stories we as a culture love best, almost always have a villain.” The question is, who is the villain in this story? Who is the bad neighbor?
Fowler’s also does a great job in showing how people misinterpret actions based on their perceptions. Fair warning, there’s a creep factor to one of the plot lines that had me squirming.
This isn’t a fast paced book. Fowler draws out the plot. We know there’s a crisis. Again, our unknown narrator says “every meaningful story has to have a crisis”. We know it’s coming. Fowler teases us with how this story will play out. And when it does play out, it brought out all sorts of emotions for me.
Five big stars here. This book is perfect for anyone looking for an emotionally charged book. It’ll make a great book club selection.
My thanks to netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of this book.
Update- the book discussion questions state that the book is meant to invoke a Greek tragedy, with the unknown neighbors acting as the chorus.
This made for a great book club selection, especially in light of the BLM events of the past year.
July 24, 2020
***NOW AVAILABLE***
My feelings are all over the place on this one. I think it is extremely well written, the use of the third person omnipotent point of view is always an interesting view. I think it’s hard to use it successfully which this book did. The premise, though not a new one, is good and relatable. A story of a neighborhood where everyone knew each other, in an older suburb where the residents are now having to “make way” for the Brad Whitmans of the world.
Valerie Alston-Holt is a widowed African American woman raising a teenage son. She is a Forestry and Ecology professor and an advocate for keeping their neighborhood beautiful and ecologically sound. She almost grieves when the adjoining lot is cleared of large established, beautiful trees just for the purpose of clearing the land easily.
Their new neighbors, the Whitman’s, have done just that. Cleared the beautiful land and installed a modern mini mansion complete with swimming pool, fast cars and expensive private schools for their two daughters. So we have the new money Whitmans, he’s a hustler and got in early in the air conditioning/heating business and he has a lot of disposable income. Julie was raised in a trailer park and met Brad before he really became wealthy but she definitely loved her new wealth, enjoying the house, pool, etc.
When first these neighbors meet it almost seems as though there might be a chance for these two families to be able to exist side by side in spite of these differences. That was, however, before we started to understand the depths of Brad Whitman’s corruptions. He is manipulative, controlling and has been known to watch 15 year old Juniper more often than sounds “parental”.
It is also before we are reminded of young love and it’s incredible strong pull. Through these characters we are made to feel this age again and try to understand that it was never supposed to end this way.
The characters are a bit stereotypical, yes I know he is bi-racial, but that was my thought. That didn’t however take away from my enjoyment of the book.
This is a quick roller coaster of a ride that is so much more dangerous than it first appears. I don’t want to give away any more of this multi-layered “cautionary” tale, this descriptive word is at one time mentioned in the book and I thought that was a perfect single word description
This book flies along quickly and we are forced so many times to say “if even one of us had been privy to how Brad's mind worked, we would have stepped in and at least given Julia a heads, we would have seen the situation so differently”.
I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through Edelweiss.
My feelings are all over the place on this one. I think it is extremely well written, the use of the third person omnipotent point of view is always an interesting view. I think it’s hard to use it successfully which this book did. The premise, though not a new one, is good and relatable. A story of a neighborhood where everyone knew each other, in an older suburb where the residents are now having to “make way” for the Brad Whitmans of the world.
Valerie Alston-Holt is a widowed African American woman raising a teenage son. She is a Forestry and Ecology professor and an advocate for keeping their neighborhood beautiful and ecologically sound. She almost grieves when the adjoining lot is cleared of large established, beautiful trees just for the purpose of clearing the land easily.
Their new neighbors, the Whitman’s, have done just that. Cleared the beautiful land and installed a modern mini mansion complete with swimming pool, fast cars and expensive private schools for their two daughters. So we have the new money Whitmans, he’s a hustler and got in early in the air conditioning/heating business and he has a lot of disposable income. Julie was raised in a trailer park and met Brad before he really became wealthy but she definitely loved her new wealth, enjoying the house, pool, etc.
When first these neighbors meet it almost seems as though there might be a chance for these two families to be able to exist side by side in spite of these differences. That was, however, before we started to understand the depths of Brad Whitman’s corruptions. He is manipulative, controlling and has been known to watch 15 year old Juniper more often than sounds “parental”.
It is also before we are reminded of young love and it’s incredible strong pull. Through these characters we are made to feel this age again and try to understand that it was never supposed to end this way.
The characters are a bit stereotypical, yes I know he is bi-racial, but that was my thought. That didn’t however take away from my enjoyment of the book.
This is a quick roller coaster of a ride that is so much more dangerous than it first appears. I don’t want to give away any more of this multi-layered “cautionary” tale, this descriptive word is at one time mentioned in the book and I thought that was a perfect single word description
This book flies along quickly and we are forced so many times to say “if even one of us had been privy to how Brad's mind worked, we would have stepped in and at least given Julia a heads, we would have seen the situation so differently”.
I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through Edelweiss.
January 31, 2020
This book hurt my heart to read it. You see a train wreck coming and you can do nothing to stop it. On top of that, you have this all knowing, mysterious "we" narrators, who know things about everybody that they couldn't possibly know. At times, I wanted to shut them up because I felt that this way of narrating kept a barrier between me and the characters but, on the other hand, I welcomed that barrier because I didn't want to care about the characters anyway.
White Brad, and his family, move into their very, over the top, home. To build the home, Brad made things happen that shouldn't have happened, got permissions that he shouldn't have gotten, did too much of everything, for the size of his lot. Behind him lives black Valerie and her biracial son Xavier. They've lived in their house for eighteen years and Valerie, whose whole life revolves around ecology, loves her very old oak tree, a tree that is dying because of the things that Brad has done to her property. Valerie decides to do something about it, make Brad pay for his destruction of her oak tree, and this is the beginning of a very horrendous end.
The heart of the story is the relationship between Xavier and Brad's stepdaughter, Juniper. Smart, hardworking, and ambitious Xavier is headed to college on a scholarship. Sheltered, spoiled, controlled Juniper wants more than what her parents want for her...that she marry well and live her life as a subservient housewife and mother. As the actions of the parents set a course for confrontation, the teens are caught in a crossfire that can only lead to ruin. I wanted to look away from what was coming but couldn't do so.
Thank you to St Martin's Press/Macmillan and Edelweiss for this ARC.
White Brad, and his family, move into their very, over the top, home. To build the home, Brad made things happen that shouldn't have happened, got permissions that he shouldn't have gotten, did too much of everything, for the size of his lot. Behind him lives black Valerie and her biracial son Xavier. They've lived in their house for eighteen years and Valerie, whose whole life revolves around ecology, loves her very old oak tree, a tree that is dying because of the things that Brad has done to her property. Valerie decides to do something about it, make Brad pay for his destruction of her oak tree, and this is the beginning of a very horrendous end.
The heart of the story is the relationship between Xavier and Brad's stepdaughter, Juniper. Smart, hardworking, and ambitious Xavier is headed to college on a scholarship. Sheltered, spoiled, controlled Juniper wants more than what her parents want for her...that she marry well and live her life as a subservient housewife and mother. As the actions of the parents set a course for confrontation, the teens are caught in a crossfire that can only lead to ruin. I wanted to look away from what was coming but couldn't do so.
Thank you to St Martin's Press/Macmillan and Edelweiss for this ARC.
January 13, 2022
okay… this story was not what i was expecting. and not in a good way.
what i wanted was some neighbourhood drama about a tree. you know, a light-hearted story about two teens who like each other but their parents are fighting over a tree. entertaining, but also provides an opportunity to provide commentary on communities, families, etc.
and i thought that was what i was going to get until about the halfway mark. it then turns into a really depressing, rage-inducing conflict of race, class, and sexual assault. and a lot of the content actually feels exploitative of the struggles the african american community faces. which gave me an icky feeling.
i do understand what the authors intentions are. but with the complete change in direction of the story, as well as the really unsatisfying ending, this was not the book i was personally wanting.
↠ 3 stars
what i wanted was some neighbourhood drama about a tree. you know, a light-hearted story about two teens who like each other but their parents are fighting over a tree. entertaining, but also provides an opportunity to provide commentary on communities, families, etc.
and i thought that was what i was going to get until about the halfway mark. it then turns into a really depressing, rage-inducing conflict of race, class, and sexual assault. and a lot of the content actually feels exploitative of the struggles the african american community faces. which gave me an icky feeling.
i do understand what the authors intentions are. but with the complete change in direction of the story, as well as the really unsatisfying ending, this was not the book i was personally wanting.
↠ 3 stars
April 24, 2020
After reading Therese Anne Fowler's new novel,
A Good Neighborhood
, all I can say, in the words of Keanu Reeves in many of his early movies is, “whoa.”
I don’t belong to a book club, but I wish I did after reading this book. It made me sad, it made me angry, it made me think about our world today, and it made me wonder whether or not certain characters’ actions were justified.
In the comfortable North Carolina suburb of Oak Hill, Valerie and her biracial son Xavier have lived since he was a baby. An ecology and forestry professor, Valerie feels more at home among the plants and trees than with people, especially the majestic, historic oak tree at the back of their property. Xavier, studious, friendly, and charming, is just about ready to head across the country for college, where he’ll study classical guitar.
The Whitmans move into the lot behind Valerie and Xavier, building a McMansion, razing all of the trees on their property and infringing upon Valerie’s oak. Brad Whitman, the self-made man with the HVAC empire, who fancies himself a minor celebrity because he appears in his company’s commercials, lives there with his wife, his teenage stepdaughter Juniper, and his daughter Lily.
When Valerie’s tree starts dying, she pursues some legal remedies which anger Brad. And then Juniper and Xavier begin seeing each other secretly, and the discovery of the relationship sets an indelible chain of events into motion.
This book shook me. I wasn’t surprised by anything that happened but I was so irritated/upset by the fact that stuff like this actually happens. Therese Anne Fowler did an excellent job creating a veritable car crash of a novel I couldn’t look away from. I've seen mixed things but I can't help but wonder if some who didn't like the book were put off by the behavior of the characters.
I won’t forget about this one for a long time.
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2019 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2019.html.
Check out my list of the best books of the decade at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/my-favorite-books-of-decade.html.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
I don’t belong to a book club, but I wish I did after reading this book. It made me sad, it made me angry, it made me think about our world today, and it made me wonder whether or not certain characters’ actions were justified.
In the comfortable North Carolina suburb of Oak Hill, Valerie and her biracial son Xavier have lived since he was a baby. An ecology and forestry professor, Valerie feels more at home among the plants and trees than with people, especially the majestic, historic oak tree at the back of their property. Xavier, studious, friendly, and charming, is just about ready to head across the country for college, where he’ll study classical guitar.
The Whitmans move into the lot behind Valerie and Xavier, building a McMansion, razing all of the trees on their property and infringing upon Valerie’s oak. Brad Whitman, the self-made man with the HVAC empire, who fancies himself a minor celebrity because he appears in his company’s commercials, lives there with his wife, his teenage stepdaughter Juniper, and his daughter Lily.
When Valerie’s tree starts dying, she pursues some legal remedies which anger Brad. And then Juniper and Xavier begin seeing each other secretly, and the discovery of the relationship sets an indelible chain of events into motion.
This book shook me. I wasn’t surprised by anything that happened but I was so irritated/upset by the fact that stuff like this actually happens. Therese Anne Fowler did an excellent job creating a veritable car crash of a novel I couldn’t look away from. I've seen mixed things but I can't help but wonder if some who didn't like the book were put off by the behavior of the characters.
I won’t forget about this one for a long time.
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2019 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2019.html.
Check out my list of the best books of the decade at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/my-favorite-books-of-decade.html.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
December 18, 2019
2.5 A readers we all have certain subjects that we try to avoid, as ell as different likes or dislikes in the way a book is written. That was the case, for me, here. I don't like when a book has a narrator, an unknown entity that comments from the void, different opinions and explanations. It keeps me from fully engaging with the story itself.
The story itself was a good one, somewhat predictable, not in scope, but I pretty much knew where it was going before its arrival. Until the end, that I didn't expect, and not sure I liked. Plus, and it may be the case of my dislikes as noted above, but I never fully engaged with these characters. Not sure I liked them, though there were only a few I actually disliked.
Please be aware my review and rating is in the minority, but it is what it is and one I own.
ARC from publisher.
The story itself was a good one, somewhat predictable, not in scope, but I pretty much knew where it was going before its arrival. Until the end, that I didn't expect, and not sure I liked. Plus, and it may be the case of my dislikes as noted above, but I never fully engaged with these characters. Not sure I liked them, though there were only a few I actually disliked.
Please be aware my review and rating is in the minority, but it is what it is and one I own.
ARC from publisher.
September 4, 2019
I won this ARC in a GoodReads Giveaway - big thanks to the publisher, author and GoodReads fo this opportunity! I obsessively read this book all night until I was finished - and devastated by the heartbreaking ending. This heartbreaking story is timely and and all too plausible and the only thing that kept me going was a great story and poignant, heartbreaking protagonists that kept me invested till the bitter end.
I loved Therese Anne Fowler's historical novel Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald so much that I have been on a library waiting list to read A Well-Behaved Women: A Novel of the Vanderbilts and I was absolutely thrilled to win this book. It did not disappoint but it did break my heart.
I loved Therese Anne Fowler's historical novel Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald so much that I have been on a library waiting list to read A Well-Behaved Women: A Novel of the Vanderbilts and I was absolutely thrilled to win this book. It did not disappoint but it did break my heart.
January 25, 2020
Oh. My. Gosh. - NO!
A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD begins with "An upscale new house in a simple old neighborhood." Oak Knoll is a desirable area to live in North Carolina. A mixed race color-blind progressive area....or so we're told.
The storyline has an interesting narration with just a bit of commentary by the neighbors along the way that does not detract, but added to the telling....from my perspective.
It's a Sunday afternoon in May. The new self-made privileged millionaire, wife and two daughters have recently moved in....after their builder cleared the land of all its beautiful mature trees.
The neighbors behind, an educated ecologist widowed mother and mature talented scholarship awarded 18 year old son have just introduced themselves....and all seems well as friendships begin to develop.
And then things in the old neighborhood start to heat up....in more ways than one.
A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD is a powerful, cautionary tale, maddening, sad....and engrossing with so many at fault here. At first I thought I knew what was coming....and then I didn't....and then; well, I recommend you read it. Available: March 10, 2020.
Many thanks to St. Martin's Press via NetGalley for the arc in exchange for review.
April 2, 2021
"Trees are life. Not just my life, … but life, period."
As this story begins, set in a neighborhood populated by modest homes built when the boys who fought in World War II returned home to a housing boon in the rapidly growing suburban developments. A neighborhood in North Carolina, these many years later, by now established. That is, until a new family, the Whitmans, build a new, far more upscale, sprawling house next door to Valerie Alston-Holt. Valerie is a black female professor of forestry and ecology, and her son, Xavier, is 18, bi-racial, and poised to head off to SF Conservatory of Music to study music – his passion.
The Whitman family, technically Mrs. Whitman, has a 17-year old daughter, Juniper. Brad Whitman is a narcissistic, self-made man who left college in his first year to build an HVAC company from the ground up at a propitious time and has built a certain reputation in the area, working closely with key local political figures. He knows how to schmooze, and is used to getting his way. Brad is white, as are his wife and family.
When a tree that borders both of their properties begins to show signs of dying, Valerie knows it is due to the process of building the Whitman’s house, and takes legal steps. Meanwhile, Juniper and Xavier are taking steps of their own, but in another direction.
This story unfolds slowly through the voice of the omniscient narrator, as though the town itself is telling this tale, which I loved. It covers multiple current, and some longstanding, topics. Racism, the division of people by “class,” love in all its varying forms, and privilege. Sex, as well as sexual violence, as well. Yet, it never felt as though it was a “statement,” more that it was a reflection of the times in which we live.
This is the first of Therese Anne Fowler’s books that I’ve read, so I can’t compare it to any others by her, but I loved her strong female characters, and the social issues that she examines in this one, subtly reminding us of the continuing problems, but it was how the story was shared that kept me completely under her spell.
Published: 04 Feb 2020
Many thanks for the ARC provided by St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley
September 3, 2019
To write about the black experience as a white woman is a brave thing to do and being a white woman, myself, I don’t know if Fowler nailed it or not. In addition to racial profiling, class, white privilege, power, sexual abuse, and Christian conservatism this book tackles an ecological issue. All of these are timely topics and a lot to pack into one novel. Initially, the pacing is a bit slow but necessary to fully develop the characters whom I felt like I knew rather well. I liked the narration by the neighbors which functioned as a sort of Greek chorus. This is uncomfortable novel about coming of age and being a good neighbor with an event that changes the lives of everyone involved.
September 27, 2020
picked this up thinking it would be a “suburban family drama” type story, and i guess you could consider it that??? more so, this was a book about racism written by a white person, for white people. characters were caricatures and stereotypes, except for Valerie and Juniper, but only at moments. giving it 2 stars instead of 1 because the last third of the book SICKENED me so at least Fowler’s emotional manipulation worked.
December 21, 2019
This story is narrated by the neighbors of the two households involved in this story. These two households backyards meet and one family is a well to do white family in an extravagant new build and the other is a black woman and her biracial son in an older modest ranch. Each home contains a teenager that eventually have a relationship with each other.
We are told this on the very first page — “Later this summer when the funeral takes place, the media will speculate boldly on who's to blame."
Such injustice in this book that enraged me.. this novel embodies class, race, love, tragedy.. among other topics very timely right now.
It was a very good read!
Thank you to St Martin’s Press through Netgalley for the ARC!
We are told this on the very first page — “Later this summer when the funeral takes place, the media will speculate boldly on who's to blame."
Such injustice in this book that enraged me.. this novel embodies class, race, love, tragedy.. among other topics very timely right now.
It was a very good read!
Thank you to St Martin’s Press through Netgalley for the ARC!
August 26, 2019
Here I am once again to be a killjoy amongst all of the 4 and 5 star reviews ....
I want to start off by saying that I love a book that isn't afraid to tackle tough, hot button issues straight on, and this book attempts to do so, and for that attempt, I give Fowler props; however, the issues for me started right off the bat. It took way too long to get to the "heart" of the premise. I was at Chapter 19 (and they weren't small chapters) and NOTHING substantive had taken place yet! There was just way too much character development and description. Sort of an aside, but in the way of description, the lawsuit and the general angst over the oak tree just didn't work for me in any way. The whole thing was the textbook definition of a frivolous lawsuit, and I feel like the author could have found a better way to bring a meaningful issue to the table.
I also took issue with the narrator. At the end of the book, I was still saying, "who the hell was the narrator?" I get that it was "the neighbors," but there were times when the third person neighbors/narrators seemed to be in the heads of the protagonists, and it just seemed out of line.
For me, the most powerful part of the book, and where I believe Fowler was on to something, was in the racial profiling aspect. I was very moved by Valerie's situational reflections including her rumination, “White is white, black is black, biracial is still black.” It was a strong foreshadowing of the difference in both of the families, who faced events with their own prejudices that ultimately put them on a collision course that changed all of their lives. I just wished Fowler had delved deeper into the issue and didn't murky the waters with bizarre religiosity, hints of pedophilia, and the oak tree debacle - the book just didn't need it, and I thought it took away from the authenticity of the characters and plot. Overall, not a terrible read, but it just didn't live up to my expectations. 3 stars.
I want to start off by saying that I love a book that isn't afraid to tackle tough, hot button issues straight on, and this book attempts to do so, and for that attempt, I give Fowler props; however, the issues for me started right off the bat. It took way too long to get to the "heart" of the premise. I was at Chapter 19 (and they weren't small chapters) and NOTHING substantive had taken place yet! There was just way too much character development and description. Sort of an aside, but in the way of description, the lawsuit and the general angst over the oak tree just didn't work for me in any way. The whole thing was the textbook definition of a frivolous lawsuit, and I feel like the author could have found a better way to bring a meaningful issue to the table.
I also took issue with the narrator. At the end of the book, I was still saying, "who the hell was the narrator?" I get that it was "the neighbors," but there were times when the third person neighbors/narrators seemed to be in the heads of the protagonists, and it just seemed out of line.
For me, the most powerful part of the book, and where I believe Fowler was on to something, was in the racial profiling aspect. I was very moved by Valerie's situational reflections including her rumination, “White is white, black is black, biracial is still black.” It was a strong foreshadowing of the difference in both of the families, who faced events with their own prejudices that ultimately put them on a collision course that changed all of their lives. I just wished Fowler had delved deeper into the issue and didn't murky the waters with bizarre religiosity, hints of pedophilia, and the oak tree debacle - the book just didn't need it, and I thought it took away from the authenticity of the characters and plot. Overall, not a terrible read, but it just didn't live up to my expectations. 3 stars.
March 25, 2020
3.5 rounded up to 4 Stars
I had heard a lot of bugaboo about this book and its provocative themes, so of course I had to check it out. My advice to those considering reading this is if you want to be uplifted at all, it's absolutely not happening with this book.
This is a story about an upwardly mobile family that moved into the exclusive Oak Knoll neighborhood in North Carolina. Brad Whitman was now part of the nouveau riche, having created a thriving business. He was easily recognizable because of appearing in his own commercials. His family consisted of wife Julia, his seventeen year old stepdaughter Juniper, and his young daughter Lily. Brad is a really bad guy. The author employs a stereotype of a white guy who looks down upon black people and uses his money, bribery, and whatever other seedy tactics necessary to get his way. He already got variances through questionable means to allow him to rid his new property of a lot of trees...this so he could tear down the modest house that was originally there to build a huge showcase house with an enormous in-ground pool. This upset the ecology of the area so as to cause disease and destruction to his neighbor's beloved oak tree. The next door neighbor was a widowed ecology professor named Valerie Alston-Holt. She was black and her late husband was white, and they were parents to a now eighteen year old son. Xavier was extremely handsome, intelligent, and talented. He earned a prestigious scholarship for college due to his exquisite guitar playing prowess.
Well, Valerie was passionate about the massive oak tree in her yard, which spanned a width of 6 feet. It held a lot of wonderful memories for Valerie, especially involving her son Xavier who used to sit under its canopy as a child, and also enjoyed the swing fashioned around its huge limbs. As Valerie had feared, the tree started showing signs of a slow death due to the ecological upset her new neighbors caused with their construction.
The other conflict that occurs in the book is the sensual attraction between teenagers Juniper and Xavier. With the combined controversy of Brad's racial animus coupled with the simmering hostility over the destruction of Valerie's oak tree, any romantic notion between these two was a recipe for disaster.
If it is even possible, there is an even darker and despicable element to Brad's personality in regards to his stepdaughter Juniper which isn't hard to figure out. This is a book about racial bias, an unequal justice system, a very sick and sadistic patriarch, and two young hearts. The writing was good, utilizing the unusual method of some unknown entity narrating the story...but you didn't quite know who it was. I can only surmise that it was the neighborhood itself, as odd as that sounds.
I was heartened the most reading about the young and likeable characters of Juniper and Xavier, but the overall atmosphere of this book was one of impending gloom and doom.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press who provided an advance reader copy via NetGalley.
I had heard a lot of bugaboo about this book and its provocative themes, so of course I had to check it out. My advice to those considering reading this is if you want to be uplifted at all, it's absolutely not happening with this book.
This is a story about an upwardly mobile family that moved into the exclusive Oak Knoll neighborhood in North Carolina. Brad Whitman was now part of the nouveau riche, having created a thriving business. He was easily recognizable because of appearing in his own commercials. His family consisted of wife Julia, his seventeen year old stepdaughter Juniper, and his young daughter Lily. Brad is a really bad guy. The author employs a stereotype of a white guy who looks down upon black people and uses his money, bribery, and whatever other seedy tactics necessary to get his way. He already got variances through questionable means to allow him to rid his new property of a lot of trees...this so he could tear down the modest house that was originally there to build a huge showcase house with an enormous in-ground pool. This upset the ecology of the area so as to cause disease and destruction to his neighbor's beloved oak tree. The next door neighbor was a widowed ecology professor named Valerie Alston-Holt. She was black and her late husband was white, and they were parents to a now eighteen year old son. Xavier was extremely handsome, intelligent, and talented. He earned a prestigious scholarship for college due to his exquisite guitar playing prowess.
Well, Valerie was passionate about the massive oak tree in her yard, which spanned a width of 6 feet. It held a lot of wonderful memories for Valerie, especially involving her son Xavier who used to sit under its canopy as a child, and also enjoyed the swing fashioned around its huge limbs. As Valerie had feared, the tree started showing signs of a slow death due to the ecological upset her new neighbors caused with their construction.
The other conflict that occurs in the book is the sensual attraction between teenagers Juniper and Xavier. With the combined controversy of Brad's racial animus coupled with the simmering hostility over the destruction of Valerie's oak tree, any romantic notion between these two was a recipe for disaster.
If it is even possible, there is an even darker and despicable element to Brad's personality in regards to his stepdaughter Juniper which isn't hard to figure out. This is a book about racial bias, an unequal justice system, a very sick and sadistic patriarch, and two young hearts. The writing was good, utilizing the unusual method of some unknown entity narrating the story...but you didn't quite know who it was. I can only surmise that it was the neighborhood itself, as odd as that sounds.
I was heartened the most reading about the young and likeable characters of Juniper and Xavier, but the overall atmosphere of this book was one of impending gloom and doom.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press who provided an advance reader copy via NetGalley.
January 30, 2020
Excerpt: “An upscale new house in a simple old neighborhood. A girl on a chaise beside a swimming pool, who wants to be left alone. We begin our story here, in the minutes before the small event that will change everything......
For the record, we never wanted to take sides.”
So begins this cautionary tale, as told by our omniscient narrator(s), which I assumed was one or more of the other Oak Knoll neighbor(s).
The story finds Valerie Alston-Holt at odds with her new neighbors, Brad and Julia Whitman, over an historic old Oak tree.
Things become more complicated when Juniper Whitman, the girl on the chaise and Xavier Alston-Holt, Valerie’s bi-racial son, become romantically involved.
Excerpt: “Every meaningful story has to have a crisis, and now we stand on the precipice of this one’s. We were not, a single one of us, prepared for what was ahead........”
EVERY ACTION HAS A REACTION.
Whose side of the fence will you be standing on when all is said and done?
I found myself torn, just like our narrator(s).
While one adult was absolutely reprehensible by the end, I for one, did NOT find the opposing parent, devoid of all blame.
Will you?
A perfect book club read, that explores Class, Race and what it means to be a “good neighbor”....4.5 stars ! ⭐️
Thank you to Edelweiss, St. Martin’s Press, and Therese Anne Fowler, for the digital ARC I received in exchange for a candid review. You can pick this up on March, 10, 2020 or pre-order now!
For the record, we never wanted to take sides.”
So begins this cautionary tale, as told by our omniscient narrator(s), which I assumed was one or more of the other Oak Knoll neighbor(s).
The story finds Valerie Alston-Holt at odds with her new neighbors, Brad and Julia Whitman, over an historic old Oak tree.
Things become more complicated when Juniper Whitman, the girl on the chaise and Xavier Alston-Holt, Valerie’s bi-racial son, become romantically involved.
Excerpt: “Every meaningful story has to have a crisis, and now we stand on the precipice of this one’s. We were not, a single one of us, prepared for what was ahead........”
EVERY ACTION HAS A REACTION.
Whose side of the fence will you be standing on when all is said and done?
I found myself torn, just like our narrator(s).
While one adult was absolutely reprehensible by the end, I for one, did NOT find the opposing parent, devoid of all blame.
Will you?
A perfect book club read, that explores Class, Race and what it means to be a “good neighbor”....4.5 stars ! ⭐️
Thank you to Edelweiss, St. Martin’s Press, and Therese Anne Fowler, for the digital ARC I received in exchange for a candid review. You can pick this up on March, 10, 2020 or pre-order now!
March 23, 2020
2.5 stars. A neighbourhood filled with secrets, lies and scandal. Not at all what I was expecting....
I was excited to read this as I had seen nothing but raving reviews. I was ready for a powerful, emotional, unforgettable story. Perhaps that high expectation is what ruined this for me? Not sure. I just couldn’t seem to get fully immersed in this storyline. From start to finish, I kept thinking “what am I missing?” Although the writing was good, the plot felt long and drawn out. The characters and storyline started off interesting, but lost their intrigue by the halfway point. The drama was factor was high toward the end and left me shaking my head in frustration. There are several heavy topics covered within the pages of this story, yet none of them resonated with me or pulled at my emotions whatsoever.
At the start, I did enjoy the neighbourhood perspective but as the story progressed, I grew tired of it as it didn’t pull the plot forward.
This book fell short for me, but I encourage you to check out the many raving reviews. Thank you to Edelweiss for my review copy!
I was excited to read this as I had seen nothing but raving reviews. I was ready for a powerful, emotional, unforgettable story. Perhaps that high expectation is what ruined this for me? Not sure. I just couldn’t seem to get fully immersed in this storyline. From start to finish, I kept thinking “what am I missing?” Although the writing was good, the plot felt long and drawn out. The characters and storyline started off interesting, but lost their intrigue by the halfway point. The drama was factor was high toward the end and left me shaking my head in frustration. There are several heavy topics covered within the pages of this story, yet none of them resonated with me or pulled at my emotions whatsoever.
At the start, I did enjoy the neighbourhood perspective but as the story progressed, I grew tired of it as it didn’t pull the plot forward.
This book fell short for me, but I encourage you to check out the many raving reviews. Thank you to Edelweiss for my review copy!
March 4, 2020
I don't know that I've ever given such a harsh review, but this book was terrible. What I went into thinking was a contemporary novel exploring the issues of race and white privilege in America, morphed into a tale encircling pedophilia. It was almost as if the author couldn't choose which social issue she wanted to explore most, so hit them all and completely lost the impact of her overall message. The characters were all unlikable and followed strict stereotypes - which aren't these books suppose to be breaking down? And as if all that wasn't bad enough...the ending was. My god. TERRIBLE. Pointless, infuriating, and just ugh.
December 8, 2019
I really love this author. I’m two for two with her books. A Good Neighborhood is a thoughtful and timely representation of neighbors with different beliefs. Full review will come closer to pub date in February 2020.
I received a gifted copy from the publisher.
I received a gifted copy from the publisher.
April 20, 2020
4 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wow. Just wow.
This book certainly covers a multitude of subjects! Racism, stereotypes, white privilege, sexual abuse and even ecology.
A Good Neighborhood is not a fast paced read. When a well-to-do white family with two daughters (one is a 17 year old) moves in next door to a single, black mother raising her teenage biracial son, things start off well enough. That is, until the teenagers fall in love. What originally starts out as a disagreement over a tree between the two neighbors quickly escalates into something so huge, it will have lasting effects on both families. The injustice that transpires had me fuming. Really pissed off.
The author does a fantastic job of developing these characters. The unknown narrators were a unique touch. I think it’s safe to assume that they are the other neighbors in the neighborhood. If Ms. Fowler’s other books are much like this one, I think I would enjoy them immensely.
Highly recommend!
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Therese Anne Fowler for my advanced copy to read and review.
Wow. Just wow.
This book certainly covers a multitude of subjects! Racism, stereotypes, white privilege, sexual abuse and even ecology.
A Good Neighborhood is not a fast paced read. When a well-to-do white family with two daughters (one is a 17 year old) moves in next door to a single, black mother raising her teenage biracial son, things start off well enough. That is, until the teenagers fall in love. What originally starts out as a disagreement over a tree between the two neighbors quickly escalates into something so huge, it will have lasting effects on both families. The injustice that transpires had me fuming. Really pissed off.
The author does a fantastic job of developing these characters. The unknown narrators were a unique touch. I think it’s safe to assume that they are the other neighbors in the neighborhood. If Ms. Fowler’s other books are much like this one, I think I would enjoy them immensely.
Highly recommend!
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Therese Anne Fowler for my advanced copy to read and review.
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