Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The premise of the book drew me in but once I started reading it, I just couldn’t get into it at all.

This my first book by this author. I found it to a very enjoyable read. Highly recommend! I will be looking into other books by this author.

Normally LOVE this author, but this one didn't grab me until at least the middle of the book. I found the main character extremely unlikeable and struggled to get through it at times.

However, still love the author and will read again. We all have our "not our best" moments!

DNF This was okay but I didn't feel there was anything distinctive about it to make me read on. I'm not sure the world needs another book about affluent New Yorkers!

Thank you Netgalley for this copy of Alternate Side by Anna Quindlen.

I rarely read a book without first vetting it on Goodreads. I'm a big fan of Quindlen, so I was disappointed to see a lower rating for this one. Now that I've read it, I understand, but I can't say that I agree.

This story is a total downer. It has people in it that make a lot of bad choices. The ending leaves a chalky aftertaste, and it's just overall a bummer. But, Quindlen just has this WAY you know?

Every book I've ever read by her, I've been confounded by how quickly she can grab me right by the heart, and make me feel every real life feeling to ever feel. She dives into domestic drama with an exquisiteness that is hard to put into words. I could just feel the characters, their relationships, their deep sorrows. I just think that's such a strong sign of an excellent writer.

Not my favorite Quindlen book though I liked it enough to finish it. It’s not one I’d recommend per se.

This is a book about one dead end street in New York and the people who live in its houses. If you've ever looked back at your younger self and wondered how you got from there to here, this book covers that. This book made me reflect on some choices I made when I was younger. I love Anna Quindlen's writing and I highly recommend this book.

I expected more from this book. It was an ok read but I did find it a bit boring. I found myself skipping pages due to my interest just not being held. Was not for me. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest opinion. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on my review of this book.

This is a pretty quiet novel, one of those that is less about the plot than about the characters and atmosphere - here, privileged New York City. Main character Nora lives with her husband in a townhouse on a dead end block on the Upper West Side where all the townhouse residents are unusually close for NYC. Like Anna Quindlen's other books, the writing is just so good, wise and witty. The book is a bit of a social satire, but in a very wry way rather than a harsh way, and with some interesting things to say about marriage, race/class, and NYC living. The book started a touch slow, but I became so attached to Nora over the course of the book that this was one of those books where I teared up a little at the end just because I was sad to say goodbye to her.

This author's writing is just easy, easy to digest, easy to enjoy , and easy to relate to!

It's relaxing to read about the ins and outs of someone else's everyday life, the family relationships and the dynamics that occur between husband and wife and parents and their children, as well as the interactions between people who barely know each other but connect on some level everyday.

Nothing earth shattering happens in this novel, and that's okay, the superb writing is all that is needed to make this a very enjoyable read.

This novel tells the story of a neighborhood everyone would want to live in - a cul de sac in NYC. All the neighbors get along, have block parties and the kids hang out at each other's houses. When the novel opens, the children are older and an event occurs on the street that makes everyone take sides and the fractures start to cause issues within and between households.

Thank you so much for this ARC.

Unfortunately, I was not able to read this book completely as it did not capture my interest.

RATING: 2 STARS
DNF @ 42%
(Review Not on Blog)

Ever since I read [book:Black and Blue|5157] I have enjoyed Anna Quindlen's writing. I was excited to read this new novel about families, but I could not get through this book. I tried at various times to read this book, but eventually gave up in October 2018 and called it. There was nothing wrong with the writing or even the plot, I just couldn't get into either. While this novel did not work for me, I am definitely still a fan...and maybe at a later date (far into the future) try this book again. With so many novels I want to read and enjoy, I have to be ruthless sometimes.

***I received an eARC from NETGALLEY***

Alternate Side
by Anna Quindlen

I would read any book written by Anna Quindlen, so when this one became available on NetGalley, I requested it immediately. Expecting a “first world problems” type of story, Quindlen delivers that and more: an intimate portrait of class divides through the lens of one New York City block. Quindlen deftly avoids an arch or preachy tone, and the drama that plays out is surprisingly tense and compelling. Her love for New York is on every page here, and, despite their loudly voiced opinions and general dysfunction, all of its crazy characters, too.

For Goodreads:

Why I picked it — Because Anna Quindlen wrote it.
Reminded me of… Calvin Trillen’s Tepper Isn’t Going Out, weirdly, for all of the talk about parking spots in New York…
For my full review — click here

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have to start out by saying I generally love Anna Quindlen. Her characters are always so well developed and you get really attached. Her storylines are relatable and seem that they are taken right out of everyday life.

While I for the most part liked this book, it moved a little too slow for me. I generally enjoyed it overall but thought that it could have moved a little faster. If Anna Quindlen is a favorite of yours, I say pick it up and read it. If she is not an author you are familiar with, start with one of her other books and save this one for later. I

So far my least favorite Quindlen book. This book was really slow to me and it had a hard time keeping my attention. It was uneventful and not a book I would recommend. Quindlen has many other great books to pick from!

This is another book that falls under the category of "read awhile back/late to review", so this review will be more about my feelings and faded recollections about this book. Please keep that under advisement (though my rating was assigned in Goodreads at the time I finished it). 

I'm a fan of Anna Quindlen. Her style is stellar and my reading experience with her work has been more hits than misses. Which is why it pains me to give any of her work 3 stars. It is most definitely not a reflection on her writing, but on the story. In a nutshell, I wasn't interested. Not in their privileged little lives, not in the disruption of their perfect little enclave. The only characters I cared about in this book were Ricky and his family, and they were hardly the focus.

Truthfully, the neighborhood in this story sounds like a neighborhood I lived in not too long ago, one where HOA's ruled, and the people who loved them were tyrants. A neighborhood filled with people who cared more about how the neighborhood looked, the status it gave them, than the people who actually live in it, who shunned newcomers and rejected change. I struggle to empathize with them, and this book gave me no insights that would help in that cause.

No matter how good the writing, if I can't invest in the characters, if I don't care about their wins and woes, it's a meh read for me. Alas, that is the case here. But I'll still be first in line for her next book.

Alternate Side is a book with unsympathetic characters where nothing much happens - and yet I found it compelling to read. Nora's transition from suburban housewife to single, successful mother and careerwoman was an honest and interesting study about one kind of womanhood, and I really enjoyed reading it.

This episode was recommended as a favorite on episode 151 of What Should I Read Next, with guest and literary agent Maria Ribas. The episode is called "Knockout books for a recovering completionist."

https://modernmrsdarcy.com/151-episode/

I’ve been an Anna Quindlen fan for quite awhile – Black and Blue among my favorites. I was really looking forward to her latest, Alternate Side…and, as usual, it was well-written with excellent dialogue, setting, and characterization. The problem for me was that I not only didn’t care for the setting, I really didn’t care about the people…despite Quindlen’s skill at making them real for me.

In this book, the Nolans (Nora and Charlie) are among the elites of New York City, living on a dead-end street with huge issues around parking (hence the title). Bothe their kids are at college, life should be terrific, right? But then an act of violence occurs, and the neighborhood starts to unravel.

Charlie and Nora live on a dead-end street, and have a dead-end marriage. had a dead-end marriage just as they lived on a dead-end street. The story revolves around the elite residents on this dead-end street but addresses issues of class, including characters who are not among the elites. It is fascinating to see such a smug character as Nora interact with those people she would never encounter in the neighborhood if the elites didn’t need so many services.

So: interesting, entertaining, well written. Just not my thing. Three stars.