BOOK REVIEW: A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler

Genre: Fiction

Book Club Favorite | T.I.M.E. Favorite ✨😎✨

I absolutely loved, loved, loved this one!

This book has a modern-day Romeo and Juliet vibe going on… but not, at the same time?! I know that's not very helpful!

But I can tell you with this book… As the story unfolded, my heart took such a beating within reading this one.

A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler really holds a mirror up to our own souls on how we see the people in our community. And perhaps even how we are being seen within our community.

This one gets a “heavy sobber” rating. Meaning expect to experience lots of heavy sobbing reading this book! It absolutely broke my heart in so many ways.

It's wonderful. It's insightful. Read it.…

A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler
2020 Book Release | March

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All my reviews can be seen at This Is My Everybody | Books & DIY Home Ideas | Denise Wilbanks at www.thisismyeverybody.com ... Including my video tutorials for DIY home ideas inspired by recommended books to support you in bringing your favorite books to life in your life and home.

You can see my full review for A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler at https://www.thisismyeverybody.com/books/reading-wrap-up-february-2020


✨😎✨A big thank you to Therese Anne Fowler, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in my review are my own.

This book was tough to read, especially in this current climate, but I think Therese Anne Fowler did a beautiful job portraying this tough subject with heart and honesty. I would recommend this book for any fans of Jodi Picoult.

The chatty narrator invites the reader in from the first paragraph, "A Sunday afternoon in May when our neighborhood is still maintaining its tenuous peace, a loose balance between old and new, us and them. Later this summer when the funeral takes place..."

Throughout the novel the narrator makes the reader wonder who they are, given their intimate knowledge of characters. "Julia wasn't a helicopter parent; no, she was worse. She was an entire atmosphere surrounding her daughters' bodies, controlling their lives." The house had to be perfect and the daughters even more so.

Book groups can have a field day with this book that delves into race, mother-daughter relationships, women's 'proper' roles, climate change and trees, creepy stepfather, impressing others, wealth and more. Place is as much of a character as any human in this novel set in the American South. All this to ponder and the book moves quickly, building suspense. It's not a police procedural or a legal thriller or a conventional mystery. Neither is it a summer romance. What it is is a very good story about a not-so-good neighborhood.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Many thanks to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this engrossing novel, A Good Neighborhood. And wow, what a book to be reading right now as protests continue across the country over racial injustice. Set in North Carolina, the main character is a single mother raising her biracial son and problems arise when new White neighbors move in next door.

I did need some time to adjust to the first person plural narration. It's so difficult to pull off, and I think the author is mostly successful with it. I did find it to get a little "preachy" at times with this kind of narration. Sometimes it got in the way (at least for me) of my being able to come to my own conclusions about certain characters and their motives.

At the center of the story is the imminent demise of a very old oak tree, but the novel focuses on such issues as class, wealth (new and old), racial injustice and racial profiling, secrets, lies, loyalty, teenage love, single parenting, and what it means to be a "good neighbor."

There is excellent character development and each character has his/her flaws, so it's hard to really know who to "root" for. There is no true hero or villain in this story. I was engaged from the very beginning and look forward to reading more from this author.

A tragedy has occurred in the lush, tight-knit town of Oak Knoll, North Carolina. Unlike a natural disaster or fateful brush with death, the tragedy at the heart of Therese Anne Fowler’s new novel is the divisive sort --- one that forces friends, families and neighbors to take sides, even when they do not want to do so. Weaving issues of class, race and womanhood with unforgettable characters and a setting as dangerous as it is inviting, Fowler asks readers to consider what it means to be a good neighbor, and how to live alongside those who may be different from you at a time when differences can be seen as flaws or even dangers. In A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD, we see how a community can be ripped apart by its deepest secrets and fears.

Valerie Alston-Holt is a stalwart member of the Oak Knoll community. A hearty mix of ages, races and socioeconomic backgrounds, Oak Knoll may pride itself on being inclusive, color-blind and progressive, but as Fowler reveals, it is one thing to take pride in something and quite another to actually act on it. Still, with her dark skin and bright eyes, Valerie is a respected if sometimes laughed-about member of Oak Knoll. Her elderly and less progressive neighbors value her eye for botany as much as they tease her for not using animal products or paying extra for storage containers devoid of plastic. Adding to her appeal is her son, Xavier, a biracial teen who gets straight As, doesn’t mess around with girls and has a gift for classical music that feels nearly supernatural.

But the Alston-Holts have watched all season as the lot next to theirs has been deforested, demolished and topped with a giant, hi-tech house with a gorgeous stone patio and in-ground pool behind it. As the elderly residents of Oak Knoll have died off, gentrification has slithered in, and Valerie is heartbroken to see the ecology of her beloved and verdant town suffer. Enter the Whitmans.

Brad Whitman is a pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps kind of guy who knows how to get what he wants --- and rarely fails in achieving it. From his gorgeous, always-dressed-for-yoga wife, Julia, to his angelic stepdaughter Juniper and his bright and peppy daughter Lily, Brad really seems to have it all. His arrival in Oak Knoll is somewhat of a highlight; he runs his own HVAC company, and there isn’t a person in town who hasn’t seen his commercials, the ones that make each and every viewer feel like Brad’s favorite customer. As pure and wholesome as he seems on TV, the citizens of Oak Knoll are eager to see him and his family up close. What are they really like? they wonder.

As much as they represent two very different backgrounds, tax brackets and, quite literally, sides of the fence, it is not Valerie and Brad who are the stars of A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD, but rather Xavier and Juniper. From their first meeting at the side of the Whitmans’ pool, the two seem fated for one another in the way that only high school romances can feel. Their attraction is immediate, yet familiar, and though Juniper is known for her commitment to purity --- yes, she even went through with a public ceremony dedicating her virginity to God and, in God’s absence, Brad --- the two strike up a careful friendship that quickly turns into something more, a puppy love backed by real, all-consuming, star-crossed love.

Beyond the obvious disadvantages to Xavier and Juniper’s pairing --- Xavier is black (half-white, but we all know what people see first), and Juniper is white; Xavier is a scholarship student, and Juniper is the daughter of a millionaire --- a historic tree in Valerie and Xavier’s backyard soon thrusts itself between them as well. Valerie, who has deep, emotional ties to the tree, has been watching it closely since construction began on the Whitmans’ property. Because the builder did not disclose its existence, he was able to secure permits that are beginning to kill it. Valerie responds by consulting a lawyer. When she finds out that her lawyer is willing to take on Brad, the builder and even the town to stand up for what is right, she grows starry-eyed with the possibilities. Her intentions are pure, but as the residents of Oak Knoll are eager to tell you, intentions are only half of the story.

With the two families at odds, and their Romeo and Juliet-inspired teens raising the tension, deep-seated secrets and fears among not only the neighbors but also the neighborhood begin to rear their ugly faces. Fowler employs the “we” of the neighborhood to tell the story of what follows, explaining how easily sides are created, destroyed, rebuilt and bolstered as neighbors team up with, deceive and ultimately betray one another in a battle that, while initially centered on a tree, becomes symbolic of so much more. The tree in and of itself is obviously a metaphor for life, particularly the quiet wholesome life people lead in Oak Knoll, but in Fowler’s careful hands it becomes so much more --- a beacon of memory, a statement of pride, and an unwavering faith in the goodness of others and the necessity for community.

What is most impressive about A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD is the sheer amount of research and sensitivity Fowler has taken on to carefully and properly develop her black and biracial characters. She writes microaggressions so carefully you just might miss them --- unless you already have begun picking up on them in real life --- and her portrayal of the prejudices and assumptions Valerie and Xavier face on a day-to-day basis is so precise and detailed that it is sure to open eyes and start some very necessary conversations. But at the same time, Fowler is careful not to turn them into caricatures or tropes --- a near-impossible balance to strike and yet one that she does with such grace that it seems nearly easy (an illusion, of course, but one beautifully maintained).

Meticulously developed and painfully moving, A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD is the perfect book club book. It will leave you speechless, and yet you will find yourself desperate to bring it up, to allow yourself to linger on Fowler’s exquisite prose while pondering the depth of her themes. Although it begins with the knowledge that tragedy is afoot, it is so carefully plotted and unfolded that you will still find yourself shocked by its inevitable end and, more so, that one person could have created a fictional community so full of life, love, fear and hate. Fowler is at the height of her powers here, and she just might ruin you for anyone else.

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for an ARC. All opinions are my own.


This is a heartbreaking story. It's a had read for aome as there are some elements of the story that could be triggers. It was engaging, but I'm not sure how satisfied I was with the story. I know not all stories and with a perfect bow. Although this I didn't enjoy every wlwment of the story, but is really well written and that is what kept motivated me to finish it

I really enjoyed this book, even though it made my blood boil. It was hard to read about one of my most hated characters of all time, but I felt like there was a good mixture of likable characters as well that kept me interested.

A Good Neighborhood
By Therese Anne Fowler
3.5 / 5 🌟

“Good Fences Make Good Neighbors.” ~ Robert Frost

Do you agree with that quote? 𝐀 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐍𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 is an interesting domestic drama. It started a little slow for me and I had a hard time getting drawn into these two families that find themselves neighbors in a lovely North Carolina neighborhood.

It appears the problem between Valerie Alston-Holt and her new neighbors the Whitmans is simply her beloved oak tree. When Valerie begins a lawsuit over this dying tree and names Brad Whitman in it, it opens up the door to much larger, graver issues at hand.

This book takes on many issues: race, religion, class, the justice system, even parenting. I love books that aren’t afraid to tackle the big questions and strive to make us think differently, but I struggled with some of the generalizations.

I found the third person plural narrator interesting. Were these the surrounding neighbors that watched the ensuing drama unfold? Or was it to be the voice of society as a whole - telling a cautionary tale? The ending was heartbreaking, but also a bit disheartening for me. I was waiting for that hopeful message on how we should be good neighbors to one another.

Thank you to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are mine.

*Trigger warnings: racial issues, pedophilia, suicide

🏡 𝔻𝕠𝕖𝕤 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕟𝕖𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕓𝕠𝕣𝕙𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕗𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖𝕤? →𝕎𝕖 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕗𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖𝕤 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖, 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕦𝕟𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕡𝕠𝕠𝕝𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕔𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤.

I’m writing this review mere days after the leaking of footage of George Floyd’s death—murder—at the hands of police officers, and never has a book felt more timely.

(If you’re reading this review in the future and aren’t sure who George Floyd is, look him up. But beware that triggering video.)

<i>A Good Neighborhood</i> is a contemporary take on modern issues such as class and race in a small neighborhood in the American south, and from that description alone you can probably get a feel for what this book touches on and where it goes. Maybe. The ending did take me off guard.

While written well enough, I found the author’s prose isn’t particularly noteworthy, but it does its job. And despite handling modern societal issues with grace and care, I did feel these characters and motivations are a bit contrived, at times. Everything serves the message; luckily the story is compelling enough I didn’t give up.

(Oh, and I do regret the book not giving more of a feel of the actual neighborhood at large—instead the focus is only on two neighboring families.)

A fine book, not one I’ll likely ever revisit—though I did dig it. A solid B, or 4 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins for a complimentary copy. I voluntarily reviewed this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

A Good Neighborhood took me by surprise because I couldn't put this book down. From the first page, I was absorbed in this story. The whole situation with the old tree was so sad. I had a similar experience with evil neighbors not long ago, and I realized how horrible people really are. Case in point, the obnoxious self absorbed attention needing dad next door. Geez! This guy is scum. If you've never met this type of guy, be glad. Karma. It's real. So much relevant information and subject matter is addressed in this story, and it's all very compelling. In every neighborhood, there is open hostility and latent hostility simmering just below the surface. There is a social hierarchy and a division that exists but is never acknowledged, especially by those at the top. I love this story for its portrayal of an invisible truth and dynamic that you can find just about anywhere. Imagine all the ways this story could have gone, better and less heartbreaking, if some people would realize they are not god incarnate. I highly recommend this thought provoking book.

Could not stay interested in this one. I wanted to! I respect the subject matter and really was rooting for the story to be one I wanted to stick with. Did not share socially since I only like to post positive reviews.

Great novel that emphasizes the very real way that Racism still exists.
A wealthy,white family move into an old,but established neighborhood in N.C.
In order to have an enormous home with an in ground pool built.They purchase an older home,have it razed,along with all trees and vegetation.
Next door,lives an African-American woman with her adult son.
She has lived there for 18 yrs.and has a strong affinity for a large,old oak tree,in her yard,that is rumored to be at least 400
yrs.old.
When the new family,has all the vegetation removed,it upsets the root system in her yard,since their yards border and the large old oak begins to loose it's leaves and wither,as if to die.
She decides to sue,her neighbors,to make them pay for their indifference.
Since,I have given you the premise of the book.
Please read to find out,,just what lengths a good,old boy will go to,to get his way and pay nothing for his ignorance.

One of the best of this type of book,I have read for quite sometime.
Thank you to Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review this treasure and to the author (Therese Ann Fowler) for writing it.

Such a moving and eye opening story.

Xavier and Juniper never thought that their relationship would cause so many problems. Valerie had no idea that a tree would change her sons life so much.

This is a story about race, class, love and taking sides....friendships and family relationships and how circumstances and prejudices can change relationships in the blink of an eye.

I really enjoyed the author’s writing style and the characters she came up with. I liked that we got to see this story from so many different perspectives. Will definitely pick up more by this author in the future.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was very excited to read "A Good Neighborhood", but it didn't quite work for me. Before its release, I heard a few comparisons to "All the Ugly and Wonderful Things" and "An American Marriage," both of which I loved, so I really expected to enjoy this one too. However, I found the content to be disturbing, which is saying something because I gravitate towards challenging, emotional reads.

Although I found the writing to be compelling and enjoyed the use of multiple perspectives, there was a lot to take in (racism, incest, pedophilia) and the way it all came together didn't sit will with me. I don't need a happy ending, but it felt like too much tragedy was forced into one story with no real pay-off.

A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Valerie Alston-Holt is a professor of forestry, living in the quiet neighborhood of Oak Knoll. She teaches ecology classes at the local college while preparing herself for her only child’s own departure away to school. Life shakes up a bit when new neighbors move in, the local-celebrity Whitmans. Right off the bat it is clear that the Whitmans and Valerie will not be fast friends, though the Whitmans’ daughter Juniper and Valerie’s son Xavier disagree. Narrated by the collective neighborhood, A Good Neighborhood follows the intertwining lives of Valerie, Xavier, and the Whitman family. The reader soon learns that there is something sinister afoot as the novel discusses race and strained neighbor relations.

This is Fowler’s first foray into contemporary fiction, and I was absolutely blown away. I love her historical fiction, so I was a little weary of her break from the genre. A Good Neighborhood reminded me of a darker Little Fires Everywhere. It starts slow, but the writing and character development sucks you in. The narration is so unique, making the collective neighborhood feel like a character in its own right and allowing the reader to be privy to information otherwise unknown by the characters. There are parts of this story that were very uncomfortable (when you read it, you’ll know) and I had to put the book down a few times. I was genuinely so surprised by the ending... I didn’t see it coming at all. If you’re in the mood for a contemporary family drama with some grit, I highly recommend this one. Thank you @stmartinspress and @netgalley for my advanced readers copy. A Good Neighborhood is out now, and is currently a @bookofthemonth March selection!

I want to be clear that I found A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler to be very problematic. Before I get there though, I will note that I did enjoy the classic tragedy style of the book (the Greek chorus of the neighborhood women was a lovely addition) and the obvious nods to other classic literature-Lolita, Romeo and Juliet.

That being said, this is a book that is about the black family experience in the American South written by a white woman and the tone deafness is apparent and shocking. It is impossible to read this story without hearing Fowler trying in earnest to let the reader know that she’s not like other white people, she’s a cool white person who “gets it”. The language is presumptuous and I couldn’t help thinking throughout the whole book: what makes Fowler think she has the right to use some of the specific words she does or to speak on the topic of racism in the South in such a bold, self-serving, and generalizing way?

Thanks to Netgalley for the early copy of this book. This book was very good. It is narrated by a character who lives in the neighborhood but we never get to meet. Set in the neighborhood of Oak Knoll in North Carolina, we meet Valerie Alston -Holt and her son Xavier who have lived on Oak Knoll for over a decade. Enter the new neighbors, the Whitmans who ooze money and who build their house from the ground up and a pool that damages the very old tree in Valerie's yard. This sets off a very unfortunate set of events. This book made me angry and sad. I'm really glad to have read this and recommend it highly.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishing house for providing a review copy of this novel. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you are looking for a, “feel good,” read right now, I wouldn’t recommend this one.

If you are looking for a layered family drama that tries to take on big book club themes, then this book would be for you!

Valerie Alston-Holt is raising her biracial son, Xavier, and is so proud of the young man is becoming.

Xavier is destined for great things and is headed to college in the fall.

Their life has been fairly idyllic, but all of that changes when the Whitmans move next door.

I am sure we all can roll our eyes at people with, “new money,” that flaunt their wealth excessively.

The father, in this family, is as obnoxious as they come.

As a self-made man, he is flashy and over-the-top with everything in his life.

The conflict starts when the two are at odds over a historic oak tree that is on the property line of their house.

Valerie is a professor of forestry and ecology so the tree has great importance to her.

When the family begins making renovations to their property, the tree starts to suffer and Valerie can’t let it go.

Brad Whitman uses this dispute to fuel his anger and it is amplified when Xavier and his daughter fall in love.

This is a Romeo & Juliet story where neither parent is thrilled with the relationship and this dispute ends in a tragedy that neither family would expect.

The neighbors, in this novel, observe the happenings within the neighborhood and narrate the tale. Fowler uses their voice to help foreshadow what is happening and to guide the reader through each moment of the drama.

This would be a meaty pick for any book club, even if the ending might not lead where the reader wants the story to go.

It has big themes that explore race, entitlement, and wealth.

I enjoyed the writing and the intrigue and drama of this story. Ms. Fowler captures a picturesque suburb and the families that live within it very well. She also sets up the drama that is to follow in a powerful way. We know that this book will capture interesting details about the interactions between the two families and their race and class differences. I'm reading Little Fires Everywhere now and some of A Good Neighborhood has a similar feel -a compliment to A Good Neighborhood.
There is a fair amount of overshadowing in the book, enough to leave the reader with wanting more.
One of the plot points detracted from the book for me -- it was just a topic that made me uncomfortable, related to the stepfather, and unfortunately that prevented me from loving the book as much as I other wise would. However, I should say that I know most people have absolutely loved this book and I can see why. The characters and narrative voice are interesting, it builds the suspense and drama well, and it tackles a variety of interesting issues, (race, class, etc.) all while building a story about two families. I think the right readers will love this book.

This book was very well written. It was actually written differently than any other book I've read, which I found intriguing. I loved Juniper, the main character. She was a smart, well read, rich, white girl who falls in love with the bi-racial boy next door. I kind of knew where this was going, but it made me think, all of this started with a tree? A dispute about a tree. Now that's good writing. It kept me interested and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the drama unravel.