This was fine. The writing was excellent and the plot propelling. I definitely had to know what happened. The characters were disgusting - of the “can’t look away” variety. Despite these positive attributes, there was something missing - or maybe the opposite in that nothing was missing from this story in an absurd, over-the-top kind of way.

Hugging my neighbors...

Shortest Summary Ever: There’s a group of neighbors on Long Island. A queen bee named Rhea. A giant sink hole. A child falls in. And the neighbors lose their minds.

Thoughts: Half way it’s becoming like a what if... what if you were literally in a world of THE world’s worst neighbors, in a neighborhood that’s literally and figuratively being swallowed by blackness and depravity. It’s almost a warning call of epically deranged proportions to helicopter parents today and how they’re so convinced that everything “out there” is damaging their kids when the truth is they’re the ones who are truly purveyors of destruction . The kids are starting to remind me of characters from Lord of the flies - some of them are just plain cruel and evil while others just want to survive. Then you meet their parents and you understand all about rotten apples falling from evil trees.

I’ve had Neighbor problems - some loud music... some annoying peccadillos. I’d like to go back now and hug each of those neighbors and buy them all a beer.

Genre: Contemporary Fiction/

Recommend to: It’s different and weird - lots of metaphors, a bit more thinking-high-brow than a traditional quick mystery.

Not recommended to: if you’re not in the mood for a dark novel

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Atria Books for my advanced copy in exchange for my always-honest review and for making my neighbors look like biblical angels.

Good Neighbors is a dark psychological thriller about a neighborhood and the secrets behind closed doors as a sinkhole opens up and changes everything. The format is unique and perfect for the story. The events of the sinkhole happen in the summer of 2027 and there are a lot of mixed media such as interviews, news articles, excerpts from true crime books, and more interwoven throughout. The writing is vivid, truly painting a picture with the scorching summer heat. Sarah Langan will definitely be on my radar for the future. Good Neighbors is sure to be THE book of 2021. Highly recommended!

**4.5-stars**

Welcome to Maple Street. Located in a Long Island suburb, it's a setting we all know. That picturesque cookie-cutter neighborhood where all the kids play together and everyone knows each other's business; bad and good.

The Wilde family is new to Maple Street and it's clear from the start that they don't necessarily fit in. Arlo, the man of the house, is a has-been rocker who, gasp, has tattoos. His wife, Gertie, is an ex-beauty queen who dresses trashy and speaks with an accent. As sweet as she is, anyone can see she's a hot mess. Then there's the kids. Julie, the preteen daughter, stole a pack a cigarettes when they first got to the neighborhood and showed the other children how to smoke. The little boy, Larry, carries around a doll!

When the Queen Bee of Maple Street, Rhea Schroeder, seems to take Gertie under her wing, the rest of the neighbors chill a bit. If the Wildes are good enough for Rhea, they must be good enough for them. Seemingly out of nowhere, however, Rhea begins to snub Gertie and her family.

The main confrontation occurs at a block party and during this very party, a sinkhole opens up in the neighborhood park, sending residents scurrying to the safety of their respective homes. It's utter chaos. The tension continues to mount on the street in the days that follow.

Rhea's daughter, Shelly, who has been told not to talk to Julie Wilde any longer, defies her Mom and confesses a dark secret to Julie. This dramatic conversation ends with Shelly falling into the sinkhole; lost to its dark depths. Some crazy accusations are thrown around after this event and the target is, unsurprisingly, Arlo Wilde. Thus creating a boogie man to focus their anger and fear at. The infamous other.

Reading Good Neighbors was like peeling back the layers of a very quirky onion. I was so impressed with this!

The Wilde family, by moving to Maple Street, were hoping to provide potential upward mobility for their children. They had the best of intentions and although not perfect, were good people doing their best. The reaction of the neighbors to them was absolutely fascinating and in a depressing way, 100% realistic.

Langan incorporated a lot of mixed media aspects into the telling of this story, which I loved! I always think that is a fun way to add energy into a storyline. It is set in the not too distant future and the sinkhole, as well as a few other details, were clearly caused by climate issues. I liked how that was a backdrop, but none of the characters acknowledged it. So, like I said, real.

I also really enjoyed the group of kids in the neighborhood, coined the rat pack. Sure, they weren't perfect. There were some real assholes in the bunch, but when things were at rock bottom, they were the ones that banded together, showed some courage and solved a problem. All while their parents hid behind their closed doors and gossip channels.

Additionally, I really enjoyed the unconventional narrative style. It felt like a season of Desperate Housewives if it were directed by Wes Anderson; and yes, at least one of the Wilson brothers would have been in it.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Atria Books, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. I really enjoyed my time with it.

It's actually one of those books, that the longer I sit with it, the more I appreciate it.

Good Neighbors is very dark, a little surreal, and incredibly entertaining. It makes sense that, heretofore, Langan has been known as a writer of horror, and this tale definitely straddles the line between suspenseful and downright disturbing. Langan is a pro at pacing her tale of a suburban neighborhood in the grips of a catastrophic clash of salacious gossip, mistrust and climate change disaster. She uses a variety of mechanisms to propel the reader thru the story, including news articles and academic analyses and deftly manages a number of points of view that feel real and crucial to the story. Langan delivers to readers something more than they are expecting from a domestic thriller and this reader is delighted.

The main reason I chose this book was because it was compared to Little Fires Everywhere, which I really enjoyed. In my mind, the only true comparison was that both books were about neighbourhoods.

This book is also touted as a psychological thriller. To me, it was just too psycho

I realize that my opinion does not fit in with the majority, but, this was not the book for me. I could not develop empathy for any of the characters. It was too dark and violent. There was a futuristic element which did not appeal to me.

I need to go to one of my oft used sayings: not every book is for every reader. And, this one was not for me. But, I do know there are readers out there who will find it a good read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an Advance Readers Copy

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher Simon and Schuster through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is well written and the characters are described well. It has mental health representation. But it wasn't my cup of tea it might be for someone else though it just didn't keep my interest. TRIGGER WARNING CHILD ABUSE DEPRESSION. This book has mental health representation which is good. I enjoyed Julia's character. Overall this book is well written and I can't wait to read a different book by this author. It will be in stores on February 2, for A$42.99 (AUD).

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This may be the most wonderfully sick and twisted book I have ever read. I often found myself sitting on my couch with my jaw agape at what I was reading. The best part is that, although these seem like unrealistic circumstances, I can undoubtedly see how mom rage and mob mentalities end up like this. Four stars only because some of it made me sick (which meant I really got the message!).

DNF. I really wanted to like this book, but it didn't make the mark. There were too many characters to keep up with, too many time frames and I couldn't get past the futuristic element, something I'm really not into personally.

A twist on a modern day lord of the flies but with parental involvement? A sinkhole develops in a typically normal dysfunctional neighborhood and to the surprise of all the neighbors surrounding, turns everyone against a family who has moved into a place they expect to be "normal". One of the stars of the neighborhood kid gang falls into the sinkhole and everything goes downhill from there. Betrayal, threatening behavior and even violence of characters of all ages fills the pages. Lots of good and unexpected prose to a story unlike most.

I came into this book expecting it to be like The Gifted School by Bruce Holsinger - a multi-perspective, minor scandal-filled book about wealthy, ambitious families who are shaken up by the appearance of something new and special in their insular community. On the surface, Good Neighbors is very similar to that.

But when you start to read this book and get to know the characters, what you get is, in my opinion, a modern-day take on The Crucible - the famous play about a town that burns itself down (almost quite literally) from hysteria, gossip, fear, and the evil intentions of one perverse woman. The perverse woman in question is Rhea Schroeder, a truly messed-up mother of four, married to a man she hates, living a staid, stale life that's about to push her over the edge. Rhea is on the verge of a breakdown. She's had a darkness haunt her since she was a young adult - something she calls "the murk" - and has been able to tamp it down for a while, but now it's threatening to come back up and not go away.

When a new family moves into Rhea's neighborhood - the picture-perfect row of single-family houses on Maple Street - Rhea immediately takes a liking to the mother of the family, frazzled realtor Gertie Wilde. She can sense that Gertie is not like the rest of the moms on the block—she's damaged and comes from a troubled background, Gertie's daughter taught the kids on the block to smoke Parliaments, her husband is some washed up alcoholic rockstar, and their house is never clean. Rhea entices Gertie into her life with promises of Malbec and normal suburban barbecues, and they soon become friends. But when Rhea thinks it's safe to tell Gertie about "the murk," Gertie withdraws. She doesn't have anything comforting to say about the darkness inside Rhea, and she begins to extricate herself from their friendship. Rhea feels burned. She won't let Gertie and her family go on living peacefully on Maple Street.

When a sinkhole suddenly opens up in Maple Street's park during a barbecue, it creates the perfect conditions of fear, insularity, and xenophobia that Rhea needs to expel the Wildes from the neighborhood once and for all.

I found this book a bit frustrating to read, in the same way that the Crucible was. As the sane reader who knows basically all of the facts, you feel like banging your head against the wall every time some child's unfounded rumor leads to dire consequences, or when these seemingly upstanding Long Island moms and dads have their own nefarious agenda that they hide from the cops. Few characters' decision-making is driven by logic and truth - instead, the pursuit of justice for one character becomes a witch hunt against a family who looks a little different from the rest of the suburban clique. And what makes it even more frustrating is that all of this hysteria simply comes from the ill will of one messed up woman who felt slighted by her friend. Rhea, go to therapy!

I did like the way the story was told. The actual events take place in 2027, but you learn more about the "Maple Street Massacre" and its aftermath through excerpts from fictional true crime books and interviews with survivors published a few years later. I found that to be a creative way of revealing different components of the story and describing the fear and uncertainty that Maple Street's resident still had about the whole situation, even years later.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC via Netgalley!

Ok, this is sort of a polarizing review, but I really didn't like this book. I found it completely and totally boring. I slopped through it, because it's one of the most anticipated books of the year, and because I was so looking forward to it. However, I couldn't connect at all, with ANY of the characters, or the storyline. I found my mind drifting most of the time and really wanted the story to be over. There was one aspect that was a saving grace that I did find interesting, but it didn't happen until almost 1/3 of the way into the story. Overall, this wasn't for me. However, given that so many people really do love it. And that everyone is saying how timely it is, I think before the year ends, I'm going to try and reread it. Sometimes we just need to give a book a second chance.

2/5 Stars

Good Neighbors by Sarah Langan was a wild ride! It takes place on Maple Street, a perfect little neighborhood on Long Island, in the year 2027. When Arlo and Gertie Wilde (a former rocker and his tattoed, skimpy clothes wearing wife) and their children move there things take a turn for the worse. A sinkhole opens up in the park on 4th of July at a party for the neighborhood and a child falls in, a party in which the Wilde's weren't invited. They showed up anyways. So of course the sinkhole and the child who falls in is all blamed on them. This is a dark book with a lot of characters. It was hard at first to keep up with all of them. This book is a great example of how a mob mentality works and causes people to commit violence. I enjoyed all the quirky characters. The Wildes were a very interesting family. I will read other books by this author for sure! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Maple Street is not like any street you've ever lived on. This story takes you through the neighbors dark past, how a sink hole changed their entire summer, and the resilience of children. The mystery and unfolding of this story was done so beautifully. This was a book I didn't want to put down because I had to know what the crazy neighbors did next. A definite must read.

A sink hole opens up in the back of a neighborhood on Long Island, and it brings out the absolute worst in people. Neighbor goes against neighbor and lines are drawn, and secrets and lies threaten the livelihood of several families.

This is a tough one for me to review! You all know authors are my super heros and I would never come on and totally blast a book, but this was not for me. I think I’ll share a liked/didn’t work for me list, so you can decide if it’s your speed!

WHAT WORKED:
✔️Unique story telling devise- there are news articles and interviews woven into the story, so we get glimpses of what took place and where the characters are at now
✔️Was compared to Shirley Jackson, and I definitely saw that.
✔️The group of kids, the “Rat Pack”, were interesting and I ended up appreciating their role in what went down. Gave me serious “Losers Club” vibes from IT.
✔️Interesting commentary on class and perception

WHAT DIDN’T WORK FOR ME:
✖️This is incredibly dark and unexpectedly violent. It was almost surreal in that way.
✖️So. Many. Characters.
✖️Lots of triggers, DM me for specifics.
✖️Reading made me uncomfortable and angry, and I don't think I "got" what the point of it all was.

I will say the Goodreads reviews are good and I seem to be in the minority. So take it all with a grain of salt! 😉

I really enjoyed reading this book! With a story told from multiple points of view (a favorite of mine) it's so easy to fall into this book and get sucked into the lives of the characters. This was well written with characters that were interesting and full of depth.

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions*

By all counts, Good Neighbors should have been right up my alley - multiple perspectives, domestic drama & set on Long Island - where I grew up. Unfortunately, something in this one just never grabbed me at all - I’m not sure if it was all the unlikeable characters, but I was never really hooked. I persevered because I had read so many good reviews, but this just wasn’t a fit for me.

This book paints an all too possible picture of what the future could look like. With all the hatred we've seen in the world lately, it's not a huge leap to imagine this kind of scenario. I felt sorry for the Wilde family - just doing their best to fit in with what they felt was a neighborhood 'above them'. Unfortunately, all the neighbors felt the same - that the Wildes just didn't belong. Would the neighbors have been so quick to believe accusations if they'd been made against one of 'their own'?

Gertie, Arlo, and all the children were the real victims in this story. (and I found myself feeling most sorry for the innocent dog. I hate it when animals are hurt or killed in books and almost didn't keep reading) Most of the adults managed to convince themselves they were right even as they manipulated their own children into telling lies. How sad.

This isn't a feel-good book by any means, but it's one to ponder and hope isn't a reflection of our future.

The Wildes are the newest family on Maple Street, a quiet crescent-shaped street on Long Island that faces a large park. The families on Maple Street are a fairly close-knit group, complete with block parties and the children roving through the backyards together in the summer. In the summer of 2027, tensions are running high due to a collapsing economy and worsening environmental conditions, and when a sinkhole opens up in the park during the Fourth of July block picnic, things get out of control and the Wildes get blamed for it all. By the end of the summer an entire family will be dead.

Apparently, what happens on Maple Street captures the public's attention, and by 20 years later all the surviving participants will have been interviewed numerous times, books will have been written, and there will even be an interactive Broadway play based on the events of that summer. But what actually happens on Maple Street?

The later analysis and interviews that are included lead the reader to believe that there is some confusion about who is to blame for what happened, but the comtemporary narrative makes things fairly clear. It comes down to mental illness. As a result, debating responsibility was less interesting than watching the reactions of the residents of Maple Street. This is a modern-day Crucible, with sexual abuse replacing witchcraft. Peer pressure and mob mentality are undisguised, but what was most interesting to me was how some people doubled down on their accusations, even in the face of actual evidence to the contrary. It was fascinating.

Langan's writing is very vivid, evoking the heat and the smells of that summer (although apparently many things smells like candy apples) as well as the actions of the characters. My only complaint about this book is that there are far too many neighbors, and I couldn't distinguish among them. In terms of bringing the mob to life, this is very effective, but in terms of establishing individual motivation it is, of necessity, less effective. Unfortunately, not having a sense of many of the characters as individuals took away from the story for me. Still, this is a powerful book, and an important one, in a world where "truth" seems less and less concrete.

Hold on to your hats friends because the book I am sharing today is one of the most original, wild, shocking, and terrifyingly realistic books I have EVER read. I am going to go out on a limb and say this will be one the best books of 2021!

A picturesque community in the suburbs....ya know white picket fences, manicured lawns, a park close by...that is Maple Street. It all seems idyllic to the Wildes when they move in. Hoping for the American Dream and all that. Arlo Wilde is a washed up rock star with a hit record and a lot of tattoos. His wife Gertie isn’t like the other moms, she had a terrible upbringing and she is beautiful, busty and proud to show it off. Their kids, Julia and Larry are just different. They moved here from an apartment in the Bronx so of course they sound and appear foreign to the other kids on Maple Street!

The ring leader on Maple Street is Rhea Schroeder and she plays the people of Maple Street like a fiddle. Oddly, Rhea accepts the Wilde family, takes them under her wing so to speak. BUT, one wrong move, reaction, not saying the right thing to Rhea lands Gertie on the outs with Rhea, unsure about what exactly she did to upset her.

During a 4th of July block party the tension in the neighborhood rapidly increases. A sinkhole opens up in the park nearby. Life on Maple Street when from block parties and happy suburbia to hell in a matter of minutes. When Rhea’s daughter Julia falls into the sinkhole, well that’s when the madness explodes. Shocking accusations are made, loyalties, marriages, and friendships are tested and life on Maple Street turns deadly.

When I finished the book last night, all I could think was WOW, (insert cuss words here). I was literally mind blown by the originality of the story. It’s a terrifying look at gossip and mob mentality, with complex characters and writing that just flowed. The author used mixed media like newspaper articles, interviews, etc. to add more of what people were thinking throughout the story and the fascination with it after everything occurred. I loved those parts, if only to think to myself, ‘why are you an idiot?’ I have to say these adults behaved so badly in this book, it made me uncomfortable. The book is filled with secrets, lies, manipulations, and shocking suspense that culminates in many lost lives. It is intense.

Add this one to your TBR, order it now. It published today. After you read it. I want to talk about it because there is so much to unpack here.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ + 1000 more because 🤯🤯🤯

Thank you to @atria {partner} for my advanced copy of the book to review. @sarahlangen I need you to send me all your books, and I just want to talk about this book everywhere with you!!! LOVED IT!!!!!