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.

3.5 stars. I didn't love A Good Neighborhood as much as I wanted to. While there were aspects that I did enjoy, the ending left me unsatisfied. Let me break it down for you.

The novel is narrated in the third person by "the neighborhood," an unknown, unnamed person or people. I've noticed other reviewers are put off by this, but I actually liked the distance. It set the reader on the outside of the action, just as the neighbors were, and effectively built-up the tension. It reminded me a bit of the role the chorus plays in Shakespeare's works.

While I thought the characters were distinct--I didn't get any of them confused--I wanted more from Xavier and his mother, Valerie. They seemed flat to me; I didn't feel like I knew them well enough, or necessarily believed their actions.

This novel tackled a lot of issues--racism, classism, religious trauma, patriarchy, grief, gender equality, and even ecology. You would think that it might be too much, but the author handles it deftly, weaving them throughout the story. However, it wasn't the plot or the story that I had issues with, it was the characters' choices and reactions from said issues that didn't seem to match with the character they represented. In other words, I wasn't satisfied with the ending.

I do think A Good Neighborhood would make a great book club read--there's lots to unpack and discuss. And I would pick up another book by Fowler--she did keep me turning pages.

*I was provided an advance copy of this novel from the publisher, St. Martin's Press.

This is one of those stories where you are waiting for the other shoe to drop from the very first chapter. Though Fowler takes us down a seemingly predictable path, she has more in store for these characters than a simple morality tale. I think Fowler’s writing, fresh and smart, saved this from becoming an “issue” book; though the amount of hot-button topics still seemed a little unrealistic. I like a book with multiple points of view, so this added to the story for me, though not every character felt authentic. Regardless, Fowler has given us a lot to chew on here; a perfect read for a neighborhood book club.

I started reading this book on Net Galley and I knew I was going to like it, so I ordered a copy from Book of the Month Club. I actually joined BOMC just so I could get a copy!

This is the story of ‘a good neighborhood” where a tragedy happens because of misunderstanding, miscommunication and misconceptions. Oak Knolls is a pleasant racially integrated neighborhood in North Carolina. Things begin changing when homes originally built in the 1950s, small one bedroom affordable ranches, are being torn down to make way for larger, more affluent homes,
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This book expertly highlights clashes of values, cultures, race, gender and age divides with disastrous results. You can see that this is leading to an uncomfortable and infuriating conclusion. I slowed my reading down a bit because I didn’t want to know the tragic end. But yet, I had to know.

This book is thought-provoking and a sad commentary on our times.

Yet the ending is a bit hopeful and there is a wonderful line in a note written to someone who suffered a tremendous loss:

“I hope time has laid it’s consoling hands upon you.”

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Isn't that what we strive for, what our founding fathers as well as countless men and women fought and died for. Our parents work hard to ensure that we get to live and pass on these principals to our children. Parents work to feed us, make sure we get a good education and put a roof over our heads. They look for a good safe neighborhood to raise their families where families will make friends and come home each and everyday feeling safe in their good neighborhood.
Oak Knoll, North Carolina is the definition of a "Good Neighborhood." Nice houses, manicured green lawns lined with flowers and trees that bloom beautiful lush colors of the rainbow throughout spring and summer. It's the place where neighbors aren't strangers but lifelong friends.
Valerie Alston-Holt thought it was a "good neighborhood" to live with her musically-gifted biracial son, Xavier. It was a good and satisfying life in her Good Neighborhood filled with gardening and book clubs as a single parent after losing her husband, Xavier's white father.
Good life, good son, good neighborhood, good oak tree until all white couple, Brad and Julia move into the neighborhood with their two daughters, Juniper and Lily. Soon we see that racism knows no property lines and what starts out as a dispute over a tree ends in unspeakable tragedy.
This may be a work of fiction but Therese Anne Fowler's, A Good Neighborhood, is an all too real tale that can turn this compelling fictional tale into reality.
I received an advance copy of this book from #NetGalley #AGoodNeighborhood

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler.

I almost couldn't finish this book. Not because it wasn't interesting, but because we're in a quarantine, and I'm feeling vulnerable and this was just TOO MUCH. And this is coming from someone who willingly reads books that are considered dark. Maybe this just hit way too close to home, not so much on a personal level, but in the world we live in now, I could see this whole thing playing out. I had an honest-to-goodness gut reaction to it, like I said, it was tough to finish.

But, it was also very important. It addresses a lot of triggering topics, like, a lot, so PLEASE approach with caution. It shines a very ugly light on modern day racism and injustice. But the biggest hope I have for this book and anyone that reads it, is that it will enable them to take a longer pause before jumping to conclusions. It's important to address our own racism so that we can call it out when we see it happening around us.

Domestic Noir at its Best.

If you enjoy books like Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng or Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier this is the perfect book to pick up next. It had everything that I consider important to me when selecting a title to read. Interesting and relatable characters, a stimulating plot, and a hook. I also really liked the arcs that came with each character. I was hooked from page one and didn't want to stop reading at all. I was completely absorbed. This is a top-notch domestic thriller.

I would easily put Therese Anne Fowler into a category with Gilly Macmillian or Heather Gudenkauf. Excellent writing, as well.

Highly recommended!

While this book wasn't necessarily "for me", I can see where this may become very popular with book clubs and certain demographic/target audiences. The Greek Chorus-style narration turned me off, and being such a timely novel, I really couldn't get into it as "entertainment", like the rest of you have been able to see it as. Just my two cents. There's literally nothing wrong with this novel. It's more a "It's me, not you" kind of thing, on my part.

This is a well crafted book that develops the characters and story line slowly while dropping hints of tension that start to build and build. It is a book about race, class, love and how we coexist with our neighbors when we do not see eye to eye. I feared what was coming in this book and at times did not want to even continue. I loathed the character Brad and sadly realized people like him do still exist in this world. The final sections of the book were tough to read and anyone should be prepared for things that could trigger them. This book will definitely make you think about your own judgements of people and how there are underhanded forces that can change and develop the narrative we see everyday.

The author wrote a novel highlighting how relationships can change in an instant. When the two teenage neighbors start to date, it causes friction for their parents. The emotional roller coaster this novel takes you on is one that you won't be able to get off of long after reading the last word. This is going to be a book club pick for many!

I was immediately taken in by the story of a black woman and her biracial high school age son living in a close neighborhood. It is not the fanciest neighborhood, but it is good and filled with people who connect. The a new family builds a big new house and everything changes. The story is told in an third person voice narrating the story to the reader which, to me added to the interest. I often don't care for books written this way, but it was effective here. It all builds up to a very tense third section and an unexpected end. I would absolutely recommend this book.

Overall I liked this. I did find it a bit slow somewhere in the middle when we learned a lot of details about Brad. However, it picked up again. I liked that it didn't wrap up neat and tidy.

Although it dealt with some important issues, I don't feel like this is a story that will stick with me. I didn't connect with any of the characters.

I know many people loved this book, so I am happy for the author that I'm in the minority.

‘Explores the effects of class, race, and heartrending love in a story that’s as provocative as it is powerful.’

A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD was a difficult book to read but is a story that needs telling, and Therese Anne Fowler does a compelling job with such a heartbreaking and challenging narrative involving racism and young love that may never get a chance to bloom.

There was one aspect of the book that I admit I didn’t care for, and that was the intermittent ‘we’ perspective that I’m guessing was from different unidentified people in the neighborhood.

I kept wondering throughout who 'we' was, hoping it would later be revealed at some point.

To me, the additional commentary took a bit away from the impact the ending intended to have regarding the overall message in the book, when, as the reader, my eyes are wide with anticipation, my heart filled with sorrow - the knowing of how it will most likely end - and then I’m pulled out of the story by way of a bit from a horror movie that felt out of place in such a heart wrenching part of the conclusion.

Do I recommend A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD and will I read more books from Fowler? Definitely, and I can't wait!!

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, for loaning me an advance eBook of A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD in exchange for an honest review.

Whoa. This was heartwrenching. Some parts in the second half were so emotional that I had to take breaks. Explores families, race, community, and more. This story is told from a few different perspectives, with interludes from a first person plural ("we"), the community of people that make up the titular neighborhood. I enjoyed this, and the way that it gave perspective or clued the reader in on things, but I can see how it's not for everyone. Would absolutely recommend.

This book started off quite slow and slowly (SLOWLY) built up to an incredibly fast moving second half. 

This book infuriated me, on so many levels. I was angry about certain situation and I was angry about the way the characters handled certain situations. But it made for a interesting read.

Unfortunately because the book was so slow at the beginning, it made it difficult for me to connect with the characters, so i often felt as though i was simply watching the story unfold, instead of living in with the characters. 

This book touches on some deep issues, and I have doubts that this book will do these issues justice, perhaps in a light setting as a springboard to a much larger conversation, but I don't think this book can stand on its own.

I have loved this authors other books, I was so looking forward to this one.
Sadly it did not live up to the hype for me. I felt like this book really missed the mark and really used a lot of things for shock value, and not as a tool to further tell a story.
With #ownvoice books being such a prominent topic now, this book just seemed in bad taste for a lot of reasons.
And spoiler, the fact that it ended in suicide was very disturbing and is a very huge trigger for a lot of readers.

Oak Knoll is a close-knit multiracial neighborhood in North Carolina where everyone looks out for one another. Valerie Alston-Holt, a professor and single mother, has raised her biracial son, Xavier, there since he was small. Their calm life changes, however, when the Whitman family moves in next door. First they raze the current house and build a "Mcmansion," whose very existence threatens the health of Valerie's beloved historic oak tree. Brad Whitman is a local celebrity, known for his charisma and commercials for his company, Whitman HVAC. His wife, Julia, has long escaped her trailer park days and is now raising her daughters Julia and Lily in a privilege she once dreamed of. But soon the Alston-Holts and Whitmans find them themselves fighting over the oak tree's well-being and then, the budding romance between Julia and Xavier.

"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."

This book took my heart and spit it right out again. Oh my goodness. It's a different, beautiful, and absolutely heartbreaking read. We're told from the very beginning--by our omniscient third person narrator--that something bad is going to happen. And yet, I lived in denial that this was true. I devoured this book in two halves. It's utterly engrossing, and the characters just pop off the pages. The teens, especially. Oh Juniper and Xavier. I will not easily forget either of you.

A Good Neighborhood tackles a host of timely topics, and it handles all of them deftly. Race, religion, sexism, feminism--none of these are exempt in the pages of this novel. We see whiteness as a symbolism for purity, and we watch as Juniper struggles with the set of values being pushed upon her by her mother and stepfather, including a "purity vow" to remain both a virgin and loyal to her future husband. And then there's Xavier, a talented musician, who has been raised by his strong mother after his father's death. She wants so much for her son to do anything, but yet lives in fear because he is biracial. Juniper, Xavier, and Valerie were such powerful characters.

I do not want to give much of the plot away, but I can tell you that this book is heartbreaking and beautiful. It will get you to think about racism and sexism. The strong themes of good versus evil are presented in such a unique and compelling manner. Adding the third-person piece just gives an extra piece to the story. This book is incredibly well-written and will stay with you for quite some time. 4.5 stars.

A Good Neighborhood book review - no spoilers
Thank you stmartinspress and netgalley for the free advance copy in exchange for an honest review. This one is out NOW!
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A powerful novel dealing with perceptions, racism, love and family. I was instantly drawn into this story. Frustratingly good there are characters whom you just want to punch in the face or reach through the pages and hug. I highly recommend this to fans of The Golden Son, Americanah, and The Hate You Give.

Happy #pubday to A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler!! This book took me on a journey that I was not entirely expecting. Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5⭐️ •

Synopsis: In North Carolina’s Oak Knoll neighborhood, professor of ecology and forestry Valerie Alston-Holt is a single mother to a teenage son. In the fall, Xavier is headed to a music conservatory in California. Valerie begins to imagine what her life will look like without someone to take care of. In the midst of all this, the Whitmans move into their new house next door. The Whitmans are a very traditional family that flaunts their new money and tries to keep tabs on their teenage daughter at all times. Their life seems charmed. The families almost immediately begin to clash over the historic oak tree in Valerie’s backyard and later, the romance between the two teenagers. •

My thoughts: I will say that the book had a somewhat slower start, but I was never bored. I was constantly asking myself “how is this going to tie together.” The amount of detail written into each chapter was amazing! I loved the amount of character development Fowler put into “Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald”, so I wasn’t surprised to see the same effort put into this book. The book examined class, race, and love in a new and thought-provoking way. I don’t want to reveal anything, but it’s astounding what lengths someone will go to hide their secrets and put on fake happy faces. My heart broke at the ending and made me literally say “oh my god” out loud in my favorite coffee shop.

I'd like to thank the publishers and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book and devoured it over just a few days. The story line was so well written I felt like I was right there with the characters, moving along with them through their joys and sorrows. I also felt quite a range of emotions reading this book, from happiness to utter disbelief and complete rage. I also quite enjoyed the outsider point of view where it seemed as though the residents of the neighbourhood were telling the story, that is something I have not come across in a book before. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a quick and engrossing read.