MY REVIEW OF "THE BEST KIND OF PEOPLE" by ZOE WHITTALL


What a thought provoking novel "The Best Kind of People" by Zoe Whittall is. I appreciate the many contemporary issues in today's society, that Zoe Whittall had written about. I had so many emotions when I was reading this book. The genres for the book are Fiction and Adult Fiction. I also feel there is a dash and question of some mystery in here as well. The timeline of this book is  set mostly in the present, and goes to the past only to explain relevant issues of the characters or storyline. "The novel takes place in an affluent town of Avalon Hills, a suburb of Connecticut, and also in the city.

The author describes the characters as complicated and complex. The Woodbury's are an affluent family in the small community of Avalon Hills. George, is a husband, father, and Science teacher at a private school, where he is known as a hero for stopping a man with a gun pointed at his daughter. Joan is a wife, mother and is an emergency room nurse. Sadie is the daughter, that still has memories of the attack in school, when she was little, but now is seventeen, and making plans for college. Andrew is the older son, now an attorney , and lives with his partner in the city. 

Everything seems fine, until suddenly it isn't. George is arrested for inappropriate sexual behavior that supposedly occurred during a skiing trip with his students. Several girls have made accusations.
 
My first thought is that with our legal system, isn't one innocent until proven guilty? Suddenly everything changes for the family, and not only is the father on trial, but the media is involved, and the whole family seems to be on trial as well. There are twists and turns in this story.

I appreciate that the author describes contemporary problems such as sexual abusers and the effects of their actions on their families, the victim, and the victim's families.
Also discussed is recreational use of drugs, sexual freedom in high schools, homosexuality, lack of adequate parenting and providing a role model for children, and the consequences of the media today.

The author writes about family, support, love, and hope. I would recommend this emotionally charged  book for readers that like to question things. I received a copy of this Advanced Reading Copy  for my honest review.

This book has all the pieces that make it one you can't put down. It is full of drama, mystery and intrigue, as well as family tragedy. "The Best Kind of People" follows the Woodbury family after the father, George Woodbury, is arrested for an unthinkable crime. The emotions that follow bring you closer to the family members, and rooting for them to overcome their tragedy. The plot focuses mostly on the family relationships that erode after the crisis is revealed, and how family members learn to deal with each other, begin to heal together, and move on. I especially liked how the author allows you into the thoughts of the daughter, as even though many parts of her life are unraveling, she is still a teenager and thinks like one.
I highly recommend this book to anyone how likes books by authors such as Kristin Hannah, Diane Chamberlain, and Jodi Picoult.

2.5 stars

Kaitlyn Greenridge describes Zoe Whittall's The Best Kind of People as a "compelling exploration of the ways a crime implicates all of us." In shortlisting The Best Kind of People for the 2016 Giller Prize, the jury found it

"urgent and timely, nuanced and brave. This gripping story challenges how we hear women and girls, and dissects the self-hypnosis and fear that prevent us from speaking disruptive truth. With subversive precision and solid veracity, Whittall calls into question pervasive forms of silence and acquiescence."

Frankly, I'm not really sure what it means to "dissect [] self-hypnosis" or to write with "subversive precision." What I do know, however, is that there is nothing compelling, gripping, nuanced, or brave about Whittall's storytelling.

The book's plot is simple enough: well-respected teacher George Woodbury is accused of, and arrested for, unspecified "sexual improprieties" with female students on a school ski trip. (What? Your middle or high school didn't go on ski trips? Well, how many of your classmates arrived at school in chauffeured limousines?) Despite George having no known history of sexual misconduct and strong ties to his community, he is denied bail and sits in jail, primarily off-stage, for the next eight months, while Whittall recounts, in excruciating and repetitive detail, how his wife Joan and teenaged daughter Sadie are ostracized and vilified.

Nothing about this story makes sense. Forget all the holes in Whittall's understanding of the American justice system (George has been arrested but another character emphatically states, "This is a lawsuit"; George's son Andrew, an attorney practicing in New York City, has "switched over" from corporate law to civil law; bail is denied on the ground that George is a flight risk notwithstanding the relative paucity of liquid assets). I found it completely unbelievable that Sadie, whose loving father saved her seven-year-old self from a school shooting no less, immediately believes that George is guilty; that the wealthy parents of his alleged victims stood by quietly (no threatened lawsuits? no PR consultants or "spokesmen"?); or that conversations like this one, between Andrew and Sadie, would ever take place:

“I agree with you that he’ll probably get off—only six percent of rapists actually ever spend a day in jail in the United States, and he’s only accused of impropriety and attempted rape—but that doesn’t mean things aren’t totally, irrevocably changed.”

. . .

Sadie reached into her kilt pocket and pulled out the weird postcard Dorothy had given her from the men’s rights group. Andrew read it, sneered.

“This is some end-of-the-world shit,” Andrew said. “They look like wing nuts, but I’m betting they’re more powerful than we know. ‘Save George Woodbury,’” he read. “This isn’t good. We need to make sure people know that our father is a reasonable man, who loves and supports women and their autonomy, and isn’t some crazy woman-hater like these insane people.”

“But you kind of sound like them, a bit. Automatically assuming the girls are lying.”

“No, I don’t. I’m not denying women are harassed and assaulted. I’m just saying that Dad deserves fairness and the benefit of the doubt[.]"

The Best Kind of People is not an honest exploration of the ways in which victims of sexual assault, primarily women, have historically been ignored or discredited, nor it is a reasoned attempt to explain why many men accused of sex crimes receive what appear to be unduly lenient sentences. Rather, as the Giller Prize jury implicitly acknowledged, it is yet another polemic in the ongoing war over "rape culture." I get enough of this name-calling and finger-pointing from the news; I want something truly nuanced from an author who supposedly represents the best of Canadian fiction.

This review was based on a free ARC provided by the publisher.

Interesting story. The author exhibited keen insight into the dilemmas faced by the various family members, especially teenager Sadie. Another variation on the theme of "how well can you ever really know someone?" the book held my interest right to the end. I would read more from this author.

This was an interesting yet somewhat disturbing novel highlighting how privilege is a buffer from legal consequences. George, a teacher from a privileged background is accused of sexual misconduct with his students. We don’t have much insight into George’s mind, but the author focused how the lives of his children and wife slowly unravel. It was heartbreaking to read about how the alleged victims were treated.

This book was better once I understood that it wasn't so much about the crime and the guilt as it was about the effects on the family. A family has to decide if they will support a father they aren't sure they trust or believe.

We see the daughter's struggles as she is faced with her father's accusers in school and the confusion of who to be close to; the wife is faced with devastating revelations from the past and what is life without her husband; and the son is forced to return to a community he wants to escape and relive early relationships.

The trial is wrapped up at the end, so while questions remain unanswered, there is a conclusion.

Worth 3.5/5 stars.

I really liked this book a lot. It kept me changing my mind, back and forth, about the guilt or innocence of the teacher. I thought it was interesting to see how the accusation affected every person.

The Best Kind of People by Zoe Whittall is a stunning piece of fiction. It had the same intensity as the To Kill a Mockingbird and as The Crucible. All three novels were based on false accusations that built up into a nightmare. Destroying many lives. While it wasn't as bad as The Crucible it certainly held the same kind of trouble.

Watching how a man went from town hero to a victim of lies. Lies that were set up by young girls. Their lies brought a once closely held family to the ruins. A father sent off to jail, a wife feeling wary about her husband, and a daughter trying to deal with the torments at school. Zoe Whittall shows us, readers, that even the best kind of people can fall victim to cruelty and lies. George Woodbury a fellow teacher, husband, and father is wrongly accused of raping innocent girls. Yet these girls were far from innocent...they were the tormentors. Bullying, drugs, coming out, and marriage are just some of the strong themes present inside this captivating novel. It all felt so real. The pressure built to a point that I felt like all were drowning along with the victim. The whole Woodbury family were victims to slander. Sad, heartbreaking, and believable. This is a must read for all. I recommend this page-turning tale to readers everywhere.

Wow! This book held my attention from the start. The emotional side in this book felt so real!

A tough book to read considering the topic. It has a few twists I did not expect. I liked that a large part of the focus was how the children dealt with the father's arrest and even though it was just briefly mentioned that the accuser was having just as difficult a time with the community's reaction. Good read!!

2.75 Stars

“If only she could have the privilege of believing him entirely. What kind of person, what kind of ungrateful daughter, doesn’t believe her own father? She had never doubted him before. She never thought he was anything but moral and civilized. She wasn’t even sure what those words meant. But if someone puts the possibility of something terrible in your head—and people around you believe it—you can’t go back to thinking it completely inconceivable. The possibility is there whether or not you choose to believe it, and you can’t go back to not knowing that the possibility exists.”

George Woodbury had been a hero for ten years or more in their small, Connecticut town, had saved his daughter Sadie and the other children from a gunman who had walked into their school armed with his father’s rifle, George tackling him, saving the lives of the children and the school’s secretary who had been his intended target.

Then the accusations began.

”No one saw it coming.”

Sadie’s parents had just wished her “Happy Birthday” when there was a loud pounding on the door, with someone calling out they were “looking for George Alistair Woodbury,” Sadie’s father. Red and blue lights flashed through the window.

Their lives transformed in a moment.

”Sexual misconduct with four minors, attempted rape of a minor.”

Joan, his wife, responds to the police procedures, the handcuffing, the search warrant handed to her, with her cultured politeness, her life momentarily lost in confusion. She believes him innocent, of course, but she can’t afford to think or feel right now, she responds as she would at work, calm, knowing as a nurse that the inner hysteria that threatens to spill over is never helpful. Poised on the outside, inside she feels violated as they tear her home apart, searching for who knows what. Anger floods her.

People would talk; likely they were already talking as George was being processed at the police station.

”They talked. It must have felt nearly involuntary—it was simply too beyond the realm of possibility to not talk about. Humans crave connection, after all, even when it’s about another’s misfortunate. Especially then.”

The time that follows that night takes a toll on all of them, including Andrew, their oldest, who is now living in NYC with his partner. Like an earthquake whose aftershocks ripple through a devastated city long after the initial event, as time goes by, as more questions are thought, asked, more confusion builds. How could this have happened? How did we not see this coming? Is this man, this husband / father capable of these heinous acts of which he is accused? Could this man who once sang her lullabies, read her bedtime stories, and tucked her in at night be capable of what he is accused of? And—if he is, if he did, then what does that mean? Was none of that real? How well do they actually know this man, this father, this husband, this teacher?

This could have, should have, been better. For me, this was a bit disappointing. The premise was potentially interesting. The characters had potential. For me, the story became more than a little muddled when Sadie loses interest in her boyfriend, and becomes enamored with Kevin, her boyfriend’s mother’s boyfriend, very soon after the arrest. She’s suddenly dreaming of him, fantasizing about him. It seemed sudden, and unlikely – especially considering the charges leveled against her father and the fact that Kevin is, at least chronologically, an adult.

Ultimately, for me, this had promise, but failed to deliver. However, it may be worthwhile to note that The Best Kind of People was a bestseller in Canada, a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, and was Indigo’s #1 Book of the Year. – so you may enjoy this more than I did.


Pub Date: 19 Sep 2017

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Random House Publishing Group / Ballantine Books

A strong start to this novel. In the prologue, George Woodbury stops a shooter from killing his daughter at the prep school where he teaches and she attends, making him an instant town hero and celebrity. Years later, he is accused by several students of rape which lands him in prison until his trial. The story of his wife and daughter coping with this life-changing event make up the meat of the book. George is really a secondary character.
For me, this book was okay. A book tackling the pertinent issue of teacher/student rape culture is apropos and current, but this one just misses the mark a little. You definitely feel something for the characters of Joan and Sadie. I was certainly interested in following how the story played out for them. It just seemed to drag on for a while and then abruptly end. This is a character driven novel without enough character closure at the end. I think my overall feelings are that I'm glad I read The Best Kind of People because there were some interesting plot points and situations to think about, but I'm planning to move right along with the next book granted to me by Netgalley without a further thought or backward glance.

George Woodbury, who has always been highly respected in his community and a loving husband/father, is arrested one evening after multiple accusations of sexual misconduct have been made against him. As a result the characters are forced to question everything they thought they knew, not only of this man, but of themselves and each other as well. Seeing how this shakes the town and his family makes for an emotional roller coaster of a story. I was kept guessing how the story would play out, which as a reader I always appreciate. While I found the subject matter to be important and interesting, in the end the character studies and story felt slightly unresolved.

Loyalty Truth Happiness
What do these mean? What do they look like?

A man is a hero -- then a criminal.
He is accused of sexual misconduct with 3 young females and attempted rape of 4th.
The family and every part of their lives changes in that instant - they now have a new life also.

Spend the following days after with the accusal.

I haven’t read this one yet but I can’t wait to start. I am seriously addicted to mysteries and suspense books lately and I just want to devour every one I come across.

The Best Kind of People by Zoe Whittall is getting great reviews, it’s another book with a great plot!

Check it out:

A local schoolteacher is arrested for a heinous crime, leaving his family to wrestle with the possibility of his guilt in this exquisite novel about loyalty, truth, and happiness.

George Woodbury, an affable teacher, and beloved husband and father, is arrested for sexual impropriety at a prestigious prep school. His wife, Joan, vaults between denial and rage as the community she loved turns on her. Their daughter, Sadie, a popular over-achieving high school senior, becomes a social pariah. Their son, Andrew, assists in his father’s defense, while wrestling with his own unhappy memories of his teen years. A local author tries to exploit their story, while an unlikely men’s rights activist attempts to get Sadie onside their cause. With George locked up, how do the members of his family pick up the pieces and keep living their lives? How do they defend someone they love while wrestling with the possibility of his guilt?

I received this book "The Best Kind of People" from Netgalley for my honest review.

I did finish the book but I admit I had to skip or fast forward a bit on the kindle. It started off okay but then I just was lost, it didn't keep my interest but I wanted to see how the book ended. I didn't connect with the characters.

George Woodbury is a loving father and husband but became highly respected in his community when a few years before he’d stopped a gunman in the school where he taught. Now however things have taken a horrid turn for George when the police arrived on his doorstep, placed him under arrest and began searching his family’s home. George has been accused of sexual impropriety with the young women at the prep school.

George’s arrest has left behind his wife Joan who is torn between denial and outrage when her husband is taken away, his daughter Sadie who is a high school senior herself and his son Andrew who begins to assist in his father’s defense. The family is left behind dealing with the public and media and the treatment that such accusations has brought into their life and struggling with how to proceed until the trial.

The Best Kind of People by Zoe Whittall is a contemporary story of those that are left behind when a loved one is accused of a horrible crime. If looking for a story of the crime and trial afterwards then this one wouldn’t be for you as those are background information to this book while the family and how they deal with the fallout is at the forefront of the story.

The book changes the point of view all throughout from Joan, Sadie and Andrew as they each struggle with the idea that the loving husband and father could possibly be the evil man he’s being made out to be. With every crime reported on in the media people are apt to make their own conclusions and question those involved and this story tells the behind the scenes tale that we have probably all been curious about at one point or another. Did they know? Did they hide it? Is he truly guilty? I actually found the story quite compelling and the characters interesting as they dealt with how to move on.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

I wasn't a huge fan of this book. I thought the topic of pointing the finger at the victims of sexual assault was definitely interesting, however, the ending fell flat for me and felt very unresolved. I was hoping for more of a unique viewpoint on the topic, but the book really just reiterated the state of gender relations at present time, which is bleak.

The missing husband with a deep, dark secret and a clueless wife has become a familiar trope in women’s contemporary fiction. Something terrible takes the husband out of the picture — be it death, a trip from which he never returns, or accusation of a heinous crime. The wife, accustomed to an idyllic life of upper class ease and opulence, is suddenly faced with harsh reality: she has been married for decades to a man she doesn’t really know. To make matters worse, their finances — of which she has always remained blissfully ignorant — are a mess. Her high-society friends turn their back. Now, fraught with anger and disillusionment, she must struggle to remake her life, come to terms with his deceptive behavior, and figure out why he did this to her and the kids. At the same time, she mourns his loss and must protect her children from the truth about their father so as not to taint his memory.

The Best Kind of People is just such a book. Joan is a trauma nurse with a long career in emergency medicine. Her husband, George, is a highly respected teacher who, years before, tackled a school shooter and kept tragedy from occurring at the elite private school where he teaches and his daughter is a junior. Now, however, he has been accused by students of inappropriate behavior and attempted rape. He’s arrested and imprisoned without bail, and, in an instant, he goes from town hero to villain. Neighbors and co-workers turn against Joan, her daughter, and her grown son. Her sister, Clara, from whom she has become estranged, comes from New York City to help, even though Clara has never been a fan of George. Joan soon learns that family money she thought she could fall back on in George’s absence is mysteriously missing from his personal account.

The story is told from the points of view of several key characters other than George, and it kept my attention from the get-go. Each character became a real person to me — realistically flawed, likeable, plausible. Their reactions to the charges against their husband/father/brother-in-law are believable and understandable. Their lives drastically change over the year it takes for George to come to trial — their personal relationships suffer, they do questionable things and make mistakes, they experience a range of evolving emotions. Through it all, even as more damning evidence surfaces, George swears he’s been set up, so an element of mystery remains — did he do it or didn’t he? I found my own feelings about the case changing over time. I knew how I wanted the trial to come out, and I kept reading, wanting to know the answer because I wanted to know how each family member would ultimately fare.

The ending, frankly, was a disappointment; it felt like the author took the easy way out. 3.5 stars

I received a free electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley, Zoe Whittall, and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.

This novel is presented from the aspect of the immediate family of an award winning high school teacher accused of rape and improper behavior on a weekend ski trip with his class. His accusers are several of his students, girls the family all knew and trusted. It is a hard book to read. You waffle back and forth - he did it, he didn't do it - just as the members of his family do, for the whole 8 months between arrest and trial. We don't see much of George as he is held without bond. We live with this family, though - ostracized in their their community, bullied at school, under constant surveillance by the paparazzi and dehumanized by every Tom Dick and Harry they have to deal with every day. By the middle of the book you realize it doesn't really matter if George did what he is accused of or not - the lives of these people will never be 'normal' again.

Rape is horrific. To be falsely accused of rape is horrific. The biggest injustice out there is the general acceptance of what society identifies as 'rape culture'. Rape is a nightmare to everyone involved and everyone who loves the victim, the perpetrator. This book helps us understand just how hard it is to find justice for this crime in this fast paced life we are living today. I am glad that I read it. I want my son and daughter to read it, as well.