It's a beautiful heart breaking story and it's a real page turner. I love the strong female characters and all exact social issues presented along the story. I will definitely recommended this book to family and friends.

I have mixed feelings about this book. Its premise is great, and the important issues it addresses (racial profiling, consent, paedophilia and environmental protection) are important for us to discuss as a society. I found the beginning of the book to be slow which I didn’t find discouraging as the writing flowed nicely and it certainly has a nice eloquence. Yet it took a while for the story to take direction and shape. It wasn’t until the final quarter of the book that the narrative really took off, which meant that the ending felt very much rushed and underwhelming.

I didn’t get the closure from certain characters I was hoping for (mainly Brad and Julia). The fallout and the lasting impact of their actions, whilst explained, seem quickly glazed over and aren’t discussed in depth to offer a satisfactory conclusion and closure as a reader. The depth of a handful of characters, specifically Valerie, Julia and Brad is strong, however one of the core characters of the story, Juniper was neglected throughout several sections of the narrative and in others the depth of her characterisation was exceptional. It was confusing and in those overlooked sections incredibly irritating. I wasn’t surprised by the ending and had guessed the outcome roughly halfway through reading.

There are quite a few facets packed into this narrative and if we were given a book comprising of 500+ pages it may have been slightly more successful in addressing each facet in its entirety, as well as providing us with a conclusion that didn’t feel hurried. However, at 350 pages it seems a few of the storylines lost their trajectory, whilst others seemed completely discarded as Fowler rushed to tie them all together, giving me an ending that felt incomplete and slightly open-ended.

"Because it’s in the telling of a tragedy that we sow the seeds – we hope – of prevention of future sorrows."
Therese Anne Fowler – A Good Neighborhood

And what a tragedy!!! This book tore my heart out and stomped on it….and oh how I loved every word.

A superbly written, character-driven novel; A Good Neighborhood is a masterpiece. A powerful and timely portrait of race, religion, class, wealth and the injustices inherent in the American judicial system. It is a heartwrenching tale of two teenagers, Xavier and Juniper, who fall madly in love; a love that tears a neighborhood apart. A budding romance facing a devastating conclusion.

Love them or hate them, every single character demands an emotional response; each has a story that needs to be told and felt. In what is a stroke of genius, the narrator (a neighbor) tells the backstory of each character; moving between time frames and settings; often jumping in with a little sidenote or opinion of his/her own.

While set in America, this timely novel could easily have been played out in any country, world wide. Exploring themes of social injustice, white privilege, religious conservatism, abuse, power and the environment, A Good Neighborhood is a thought provoking and thoroughly engrossing novel. One that will stay in my heart and mind for a long time to come.