Run to get a copy of A Good Neighborhood: A Novel and place it as near the top of your TBR list as you dare. Why? Because this book is going to get a lot of buzz, and all your reading friends are going to want a partner to discuss it with.
Therese Anne Fowler has given the reader plenty to ponder in this emotional novel. She deals with good and evil in themes including young love, success, race, bigotry, prejudices, jealousy, greed, dishonesty and political influence. Her characters cover the spectrum from an African American widow raising her teenage son to be a successful, hard working young man to a well-connected local businessman who pulled himself up by the bootstraps and developed an overly self-important view of himself. These two characters exemplify the good and the base among us.
The reader is warned in the beginning that this story is the beginning of change in Oak Knoll, a simple North Carolina neighborhood surrounded by mature trees and older homes. The change that comes shakes the community down to its roots. Roots themselves play a central roll in A Good Neighborhood. Our widowed mother is a professor of ecology and forestry in a nearby university. She has an old growth oak tree in her backyard that has roots as wide-spread and deep as the roots that she herself has cultivated in the neighborhood. By the end of the book, both these deep sets of roots will be destroyed.
In the opening pages the reader realizes that this story is being told by an omniscient narrator(s) who drives the action. From time to time, I struggled with this narrator: was it a reliable one, or did it have prejudices and biases that clouded the story; is this story the truth or juicy neighborhood gossip. Fowler’s choice to present the story in this structure was an interesting one which I think enhanced the overall effect of the book.
I developed a connection with most of the characters in this novel. I felt empathy and concern for some, distaste and disdain for others. The point is that the author was able to give them a depth of character that was palpable. I had enjoyed Fowler’s historical novels about Zelda Fitzgerald and Alva Vanderbilt but was really impressed at the totally fictional characters that she developed for this book.
It’s not often that I find myself pondering over a book days after I finish it. This is the exception.
My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. It was a 5-stars stunner in my opinion.

My overwhelming first impression of this book was the sadness I felt as soon as I finished it. I could not escape my emotions in the wake of finishing A Good Neighborhood, with its themes of racial and social injustice, religion and sexual assault. The writing style made me feel like I was a bigger part of this book because it is told in a unique way. The unseen, unidentified neighbors of Oak Knoll, NC narrate the story of two families. I got to know Valerie, Xavier, Juniper, Julia and Brad through the eyes and ears of the neighbors. At first I wasn't sure if the writing style would work for me, but I quickly became engrossed in the story. I was a willing participant to the events that would unfold in this neighborhood under the shade of a century=old oak tree that would serve as a catalyst for much of the story.

I can't recommend this book enough. It's not a book I would ever want to read again. But it's a book I think everyone should read. And I will definitely read more books written by this author.

I devoured this book in one sitting and it was amazing. The story is set in an idyllic upscale North Carolina neighborhood of Oak Knoll where Valerie, a professor and her son Xavier a senior in High School lives. This idyllic setting doesn’t last too long when the Whitman's move next door and these families find themselves at odds with each other. I enjoyed reading about the third person all knowing narrator in this riveting read about race, prejudice, money and class in a refreshing plot skillfully delivered. Fowler is a brilliant writer who really understands the brevity of social issues and self-centered decisions in a timely heartbreaking story.

I don’t even know where to start! This book sounded so interesting from the blurb but I honestly feel duped! The story was so much more than a neighboring dispute over an old tree. There were some serious triggering topics in this read that I was blindsided by! At the end of my review I will post those for anyone interested.

The story started out kind of slow, detailing the on goings of Oak Knoll and the importance of the old oak tree in the Alston-Holt family’s backyard. It’s significance to their ancestry and the impact it had on the ecosystem of the neighborhood. The tree started to show signs of distress after the new next door neighbor’s giant home and pool were built. Enraged by this, Valerie Alston-Holt rightfully decided to sue her neighbors, the Whitmans and the builders of the Whitman home. She knew that corners were cut and suspected deals were made, which negatively impacted the livelihood of the old oak.

But then, all hell broke loose and the story took a dark turn into territory I’d NEVER anticipated with regards to the Whitman family. After I got over my initial shock and disgust, I was enraptured by the main characters and how their lives would play out. I was invested in the young love between Xavier and Juniper, despite their families’ ongoing feud. They were stuck in the middle of issues that were larger than themselves and their little upscale neighborhood.

The writing in this book was not only captivating but also very well thought out and detailed. It was slow at times but I never felt as though any part of the story was irrelevant. There was just so much going on, webs of storyline intertwining and winding in directions that you didn’t expect. I quite liked the “we” narrative of the neighborhood and the odd foresight it brought to the story.

By the end of the book, I honestly wanted Brad Whitman dead. His character was beyond vile and deplorable. Someone needed to wipe that smug smile off his entitled, rich face. I wished Xavier would have!

While the ending was completely heartbreaking, I was glad for the tiny bit of justice that Ms. Alston-Holt received.

I received a complimentary advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review from Netgalley.


*TRIGGER TOPICS IN THIS BOOK*

Racism / Hate crimes
Pedophilia/Incest
Sexual assault
Physical assault
Suicide
Grief/Loss

This book! I don't even know where to start. I was hooked from the first page which includes the line "For the record: we never wanted to take sides" and was so invested in how the story would end, I stayed up until three in the morning to finish it. A few times I laughed. Other times I cried. It's a tale of race, privilege, entitlement, gentrification, racism, and injustice that feels so real it could happen in your neighborhood.

Told from the point of view of an unnamed neighbor in Oak Knoll, North Carolina, the titular "good neighborhood," the story revolves around Valerie Alston-Holt, a widowed African-American nature lover and mom to biracial high school senior, Xavier, and the Whitman family who moved into a new mansion adjoining Valerie's property. The Whitmans are new money - patriarch Brad is the local celebrity head of an HVAC company and is married to Julia, who escaped her single-mom white trash days via her relationship with him. Her high-school-aged daughter, Juniper, lives with the couple along with Julia and Brad's young daughter, Lilly.

I won't spoil what happens when these two families become neighbors but from the outset, it's clear things won't end well (see the line quoted above if you don't believe me). The neighbor/narrator moves the story along, filling in the blanks, discussing the assumptions made by those observing and hearing second-hand what goes down between the Alston-Holts and the Whitmans, ultimately revealing the true character of all involved.

Fowler's turns of phrase and colorful descriptions make Oak Knoll and its residents feel like people you know personally - even when I started to realize where things were headed, I kept hoping I would be wrong because I cared that much about them. Their motives and decisions seemed plausible in a way those in a lot of suspenseful novels I've read recently didn't, making the choices they make and the repercussions of them that much more difficult to swallow.

I can't say I enjoyed "A Good Neighborhood" because it's such a gut-punch of a book but it is an amazing read that covers important topics and will stay with me for a very long time. If you're looking for a great book club pick - this is it!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and the author for an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I can see why this book is being chosen by book clubs to read. It's a perfect book for discussion. The writing style was a little unusual with the narrator breaking in from time to time with observations.

The characters were very well done. I liked all of them (except Brad of course!) The story flowed naturally and as it neared the end I found myself saying NO NO NO - do'n't go where it looks like it's going.

The story was authentic and sad and horrifying.

5 out of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and St.Martins Press for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Where to start? How can I describe How much this book moved me? It is hard to put down in words. This was such a special book told in such and unique and personal way. The story is told from the other various neighbor's POV.

Two young lovers meet when Juniper's family moves into the house that her step Father had built right behind Xavier and his mother's house. From the moment they set eyes on one another it is love. The issue? Juniper is white and Xavier is bi-racial. What's the big deal? You may ask yourself that, after all the year is 2020. The problem is that there are still ugly people that judge people by the color of their skin. There is also the problem with Juniper's step Father Brad and Xavier's Mother Valerie. Valerie didn't care for Brad from the start. It could have been that he immediately assumed that Xavier was a the hired "help" because he was black or it could be that Valerie could just see the kind of person he is.

At the start we are warned that this is a tragedy and it most certainly is. Be ready to cry, a lot. You really want people to be better and it is always disappointing to see so many people fail to try. That is what the book tells you in such a lovely, poetic way.

This book!! Wow. This will most certainly end up in my Top 10 for the year!
This is a heart-wrenching story about two families who are backdoor neighbors in a wonderful neighborhood. One of the families is a black, woman professor at the local college who is an ecologist and loves to maintain her yard due to her love for plants and trees and the wildlife they attract. Her son, who is biracial, is a brilliant young man who is a senior in high school and talented classical guitarist. He is leaving within weeks to go to university for a degree in music. Then the new, white neighbors move in and there is the possibility of befriending these neighbors, who happen to have a teenage daughter who is slightly younger, but also academically gifted herself.
The story is like a retelling of Romeo and Juliet with the possible teenage love story but also with two families who each carry their own baggage.
The voice throughout the story is unique, in that it is told as though there is a narrator taking the reader through the events as a reporter would take the public through a news story. This was an interesting method for telling the overall story and then the back story of each character.
I highly recommend this book if you enjoy controversy and family sagas. The writing is superb and both the plot and character details were engaging throughout.
Loved it!
#AGoodNeighborhood #Netgalley #StMartinsPress #ThereseAnneFowler

Author Therese Anne Fowler has written a modern version of Romeo and Juliet with A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD. The tale is situated in modern North Carolina, in a neighborhood transitioning from middle class to McMansion, with all the transitional troubles that accompany those changes. But those aren’t really the issues at the heart of this compelling drama. Two teens from neighboring families that represent different outlooks find themselves increasingly attached, despite their parents’ disagreements. It isn’t likely to end well as readers are warned early in the book. This is a well-done re-working of an age-old tale, sure to delight almost every reader. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

I was given the advice to not read any reviews or much of anything about this book before reading. I'm so glad I listened to that advice! I went in blind, not really having a clue what this book was about. This is advice that I will be repeating as I felt that it added to my overall enjoyment of A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler. No one likes a spoiler. Sure, you want to know a little about a book before picking it up, but sometimes knowing too much information can ruin the whole experience. This is one of those books. If I told you too much, you would never pick it up and that would be such a shame.

This book was written with the anticipation and anxiety of a thriller. The first half of this book was a slow climb, leaving you to worry that what was coming next probably wasn’t going to be good. This is also what compels you to keep turning the pages. Once I got into the second half of the book, I couldn't put it down. There are storylines that will make you very uncomfortable, others that will make you angry. I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that there is one storyline that will make you SO uncomfortable you will want to put the book down and stop reading. Don't. Keep reading. This book gave me so much to think about and I think will do the same for anyone who reads it.

Thank you so much NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this advanced copy in return for my honest review.

DETAILS

A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler
Published by: St. Marti's Press, March 10, 2020
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Where I read: In the car waiting for my son at the golf course
Stephenie's Goodreads Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

🍁𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗡𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗱🍁
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Thanks to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review. Book releases: Mar. 10, 2020⠀
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“𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦, 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘥.”
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Synopsis 📖⠀
In Oak Knoll, a tight-knit North Carolina neighborhood, professor of forestry, Valerie Holt, is raising her bright and talented biracial son. All is well until the Whitman’s move in next door-a traditional family with money and a troubled teenager. With little in common except a property line, these two families quickly find themselves at odds, first over an Oak tree, then over the new romance between their two teenagers.
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Review✨⠀
I can’t wait until the end of my review to say this: FIVE STARS! This will be a NY Times bestseller. This book was so beautifully written with so much depth, it’ll be hard to encompass it all in this little review. The storyline was beautiful, albeit tragic at the end, and the characters were so well developed, I still wonder if they were real people. The entire storyline was driven by the tangled web of characters. I can’t give too much away but this book touches on the idyllic dream neighbors and what happens when we don’t see eye to eye. It explores race, class, money-driven decisions, and a powerful love story.
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I love the voice of this book and how the narrator pops in to give the reader more information. The narrator is actually the neighborhood and refers to itself as “we” who is telling the story. It’s like watching the story unfold from the outside looking in. Such a unique point of view. The Oak tree symbolizes the beauty of life and what happens when the wrong parts of society start encroaching on the good parts. And the love story defies all the ugly parts. Please give this unique book a read. It’s a gem and may very well be one of the best books I’ll read this year!

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for a gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

A Good Neighborhood is a heartbreaking and powerful novel about racism, class, and forbidden love. Xavier is a biracial kid who is mature beyond his years and is headed to college in the fall with a scholarship under his belt. He meets and falls in love with his new neighbor, Juniper. The two families got along fine when the Whitmans first moved in but shortly after, Xavier’s mom Valerie discovers that the Whitmans destroyed a historic oak tree in her yard when they built their fancy new house. Then they discover the budding romance between the teenagers. From there, things get a little out of control, which begs the question – what does it mean to be a good neighbor?

This book made me cry because I’m so devastated for Valerie and Xavier. There were so many poor decisions made in this book with devastating consequences. I don’t want to give anything away but please read it and feel free to PM me to discuss. I’m looking forward to the discussion with my book club. Thank you to Therese Fowler for this epic novel. It will stay with me for a long time.

“A Good Neighborhood” by Therese Anne Fowler, St. Martin's Press, 320 pages, March 10, 2020.

Valerie Alston-Holt is a widowed African American woman raising a teenage biracial son, Xavier, in Oak Knoll, North Carolina. She is a forestry and ecology professor. Xavier has earned a partial college scholarship in classical music.

Brad and Julia Whitmore and their two daughters, Juniper and Lily, move in behind them. Brad is Juniper’s stepfather, but Lily’s father. They cut down trees to build a mansion and in the process damage the root system of an old oak on Valerie’s property.

Valerie reaches out to Julia and invites her to her home for a book club meeting. But the families then find themselves at odds over the tree and over the romance between two teenagers. This novel touches on many issues including racism, criminal justice and sexual assault.

It is slow to get to the heart of the story and the issue of the tree is overblown. And there is a Greek chorus of third person neighbors narrating that is odd.

In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

This book left me unsatisfied; I thought more than once to stop reading it, (I read a book in between) and when I finished it, I was unfulfilled with the story.
From the beginning I felt awkward with the “we” as narrator, it felt distant, disconcerting; then the first part it was some kind of slow, the description of the different characters and their personalities was good but, in the background there was always the feeling of something very bad is going to happen and it cannot be stopped that make the reading not enjoyable.
The second and third part were faster paced but the sensation of been a witness of a bad train wreck was intensified, so strong that I finished the last pages in hurry just to see what was going to happen. And I didn’t like how it ended, I am not going to write more because I would have to write and spoil the story.

A final note in another review I read the author spent a little too much time in describing Brad fantasies and instead of writing more about the racial profiling and I completely agree with that, may be it is this that left me so unsettled.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for a digital galley in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC of this book through Netgalley, and I was so excited because the initial blurb for this story really drew me in and had me excited to read. I am so disheartened to say that this story ended up NOT being anything that I thought it was going to be.

So many things in this story rubbed me the wrong way, multiple times over. From the way it felt like the story was being dictated to me, instead of showing the reader what is happening. It was so distracting. The characters never felt real to me, at least I never connected with any of them, and the stepfather just made my skin crawl. Because of this I never felt invested in anything that was happening.

Speaking of happening, it took until three quarters of the way into the book for anything to occur and then that made the ending feel like it was just too rushed. I had such an unsatisfied feeling when I finished reading, and that totally bums me out since I was so looking forward to this.

I'm sure my opinions are in the minority, and I do hope this book is a huge success. Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Wow! A compelling page turner! Anyone who thinks there are not racist and corrupt bad people in the world would be proved wrong by this book. A newly rich self -made man moves his family into a good neighborhood in North Carolina. He builds a monster house and has impure thoughts of his teenage step-daughter. The neighbors are black and soon the troubles begin. This one is hard to put down.

Before I even jump into my review of A Good Neighborhood, two things. 1. I read this book in less than 5 hours, in one night. 2. I now have a book hangover, a very serious book handover. Does this give you a good idea of what I thought about this book yet?
I had so many feelings while reading this book. I felt anger, outrage, sad, and confused. Most times I was feeling 3+ emotions at once. Told from the perspective of the folks in 'the neighborhood' where the events take place, the narration and the jump between perspectives was a refreshing twist on story telling. I really enjoyed getting to see the view points of each of the individual characters, it added a significant amount of depth to the story for me.
The relationships that Fowler has built are beautifully woven together, and without being too much of a cliché, she has generated a real modern day Romeo & Juliet story. When we first join 'the neighborhood' we meet the Whitman family, who have recently built their new house next to Valerie and her son. When Valerie notices that the Whitman's construction has caused significant environment damage to the area, in particular an Oak tree on her property, she files a lawsuit against the family and their builder. As an Ecology professor, I can understand her motive behind the lawsuit.
In the meantime Valerie's son Xavier, a promising classical guitarist with a scholarship to college, and the oldest Whitman daughter Juniper are fostering a blooming relationship. When Mr. Whitman stumbles upon the two in a secluded cabin, he quickly decides to use this to his advantage by accusing Xavier of rape, in the hopes of getting Valerie's lawsuit dropped. This is really the turning point for the story and honestly I'm still upset over the rest of the events.
This book truly captures what it means to be a good neighbor but it also tackles big topics such as racism, classism, privilege, sexual violence, and how the justice system works.
Xavier, a half black teenager, is dealt the worst hand in this book and really goes to show how even though our justice systems says 'Innocent until proven guilty', it frequently isn't the case. The added hardship of being in The South, even in today's world, just ads an extra level of injustice to the case for Xavier.
On the other hand, Juniper voices goes unheard throughout the entire sexual assault charge. I just can't get over how even though she says the sex was consensual , how so many people would listen to her step dad, Mr. Whitman over her. UGGHHH, I cannot even put into words how frustrating this was.
I have all the thoughts for this book so if anyone wants to chat further about it please let me know! This is a must read for anyone! I wish I could give this book more than ★★★★★.

Here in the middle of March it’s a little hard to believe, but A Good Neighborhood was actually the first book I read in 2020. I was eager to see what Fowler would do with a story so different from her last two, Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald and A Well Behaved Woman, featuring Alva Vanderbilt (my review). I’m happy to say that her contemporary story of an entire neighborhood thrown off balance when a wealthy family moves in started my reading year off right! Much of the book is told in the collective voice of the people living in this neighborhood, and I’m coming to see that I really appreciate that group voice.

“She wanted to keep the peace and continue to be everyone’s favorite neighbor (our words, not hers). She wanted to see whether Julia Whitman might became a friend. The Tree, however, insisted on its own agenda, dropping leaves ever more rapidly as if to challenge Valarie’s integrity and test her commitment.”

It’s a classic story of good meets evil, in this case an African American widow, Valerie, whose beloved oak tree is slowly dying thanks to the enormous new house built on the property just behind her. Of course, Brad, the man who built the house has little concern for the tree or Valerie’s feelings about it. Tension grows as Valerie’s college-bound son, Xavier, and Brad’s innocent step-daughter, Juniper, grow close. The set up was ,honestly, quite usual, and yet I became completely immersed in their stories.

From the start Fowler delivered characters I felt I really knew and cared about. Much of this was accomplished from hearing how the people of the neighborhood felt about these people living amongst them. Collectively they gave great insight and also foreshadowed impending doom. They were my favorite part of A Good Neighborhood. What fell a flat for me was just how extreme Fowler made her characters. I think she could have ended her story in the same way, and still added a little more gray area for some of the characters. I particularly disliked the extremes she went to with Brad and thought the book would have been better if he wasn’t quite THAT bad. Despite those critiques, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with A Good Neighborhood and I hope you will, too!

Note: I received a copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press (via NetGalley) in exchange for my honest review.

Do you ever read a book where you have a giant pit in your stomach the whole time because you just tell something awful is going to happen. That's how I felt throughout this entire book. With that being said, I loved this book. I was sucked into it from the very beginning and read this in 2 sittings. It just left me with that "wow" feeling. It's such a thought-provoking and compelling read. A Good Neighborhood is definitely going to be one of my favorite books for 2020.

A Good Neighborhood is out tomorrow - March 10! I will encourage everyone to read this book!

Sure to be a 2020 best seller! The book brings you in right away and makes you feel like you are a part. The characters are deep and well developed, you want to be their friends. The author hits some hard subjects and handles them with a gentle hand. The book is told from multiple points of view, one admittedly something like a floating head and voice as they don't have a place in the story. This book covers what do you do when you can't get along with your neighbor when you don't agree, different classes, race and a mismatched young love. A thought provoking powerful story.