I liked this book so much I actually stretched it out a little bit so I could be involved in it for longer. It's definitely not a feel-good read, but it's finely crafted and I was so involved with the story and each and every character. I'm disappointed that I let it languish on my shelf unread for so long. It's emotionally gripping and very timely, dealing with what happens when a pillar of the community is accused of being a sexual predator. When a lot of us think of sexual predators, we still think of loners... even though we know that's not always the case. The person that you always sensed something a little off about, your hackles going up immediately when you see them. Certainly not a man with a family, money, and a great job. Not someone admired by the whole town. Not a local hero. What happens to that family, that job, that community when someone is accused of something so heinous? Has he been fooling everyone for years, or did he step on someone's toes and is being set up, as he says? That question remains unanswered for most of the book, but the question of did he or didn't he isn't really the main point. The book mostly focuses on how his loved ones deal with the accusation and the possibility that it has truth to it.

George Woodbury wins Teacher of the Year every single year after taking down a gunman roaming the school when his daughter was very young. This happened in front of Sadie, and though she is now a senior and an over-achiever in school, she is still affected by it. There's something a bit more nervous about her, despite her academic success and popularity. Rounding out the family is nurse Joan, loving mother to her two children, and Andrew, who has already left the nest. When George is accused of sexual impropriety by several students, none of them know what to think. They're stunned. Andrew is drawn back to town to support his father, but being around again means facing unhappy memories about his school years. Sadie and Joan don't know how to feel, Sadie seeming unable to deal with it at all and Joan jumping from denial to anger.

This isn't a terribly fast-paced book, and that's appropriate. Cases like this stretch out for a long time, and I feel like it was represented fairly accurately by the author. They aren't resolved in just a week or two. It's mostly a character study, detailing how some very different people in the same family deal with the same thing. It's a really fascinating read and certainly worth a look.

3.5 Stars


George Woodbury a well-respected man in his community Woodbridge for stopping a shooter that was inside the school he was teaching at and his daughter Sadie attended, but years later some of that community don't know what to think of him anymore. On the night of his daughter's 17th birthday, George was arrested for sexual misconduct by some girls at school. George chaperoned on a school ski trip and some of the girls are saying more has happened, but did it really or are they just trying to ruin his name because he has money?

His wife Joan who is an ER nurse is in total shock and unsure what to think or feel, mainly siding with the fact that George could never do such a thing as they have been together a long time and nothing ever seemed off about him to her. Could she be wrong? She sure hopes not but starts attending some meetings with other women who have a loved one in prison for support and in hopes that it would help her come to terms with if George did anything or not. Joan attempts to lean on her sister Clara, but she really is no help as she has told Joan several times he isn't innocent and she needs to move on without him. As for being her sister, I didn't find Clara to be very supportive, but yet at the same time, I can understand why she was being so blunt so to speak. However, I would have liked to see more support in some way since she was the sister.

The story also revolves around Andrew their gay son (which wasn't really something that was talked about by the parents, I guess in a way they choose to ignore it) who is now a lawyer in New York City. The things that George is being accused of, brought up dirt on Andrew and the coach he dated from the high school he was attending at that time. Amongst all the chaos going on, someone from the past shows up at Andrews door with a number to call. Out of curiosity, he calls the number and it changes everything from that point on. Will it break the family more or will it mend everything for them?

Sadie their daughter doesn't know if she should believe what is being said about her dad or if she should just claim it as a prank by some teenage girls that had nothing better to do. In the process of dealing with this mess, she loses her best friend for the most part because her best friends sister is claiming George did something to her so now her family doesn't want her around the Woodbury's. Sadie refuses to see her father in prison for reasons of her own, she ends up moving in with her boyfriend and his family cause she doesn't want to have to deal with any press or things going on at home. In the process of staying with her boyfriend, she develops feelings for the mother's boyfriend Kevin and ends up breaking up with her boyfriend. During all this, she experimented with drugs and started hanging out with the wrong people and her boyfriend tried to warn her, but she didn't seem to want to listen.

Most of the story seems to revolve around Sadie for the most part, which I am not sure why it revolved more around her. I think I would have addressed the fact that the parents didn't seem to have anything to say about their son being gay or the fact of when it came up about his relationship with the Coach came out, I think as a mother I would at least like to know why I wasn't informed about it till it was news to everyone. Overall the story itself is on the verge of truth for things happening all over the world, which is great that this was brought up in a book. My opinion would have been to focus more of the attention overall to everyone and not just mostly Sadie. There were moments where there may have been too much detail, wondering why something even mattered to put in the story or just dull moments but for the most part, the book read smoothly, made sense in most parts and could possibly lead to a book two.

Would like to say thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Zoe Whittall for giving me the chance to read this book and do an honest review! Ms.Wittall I look forward to reading more of your books in the future. As always thanks to everyone that reads my reviews!

The Best Kind of People really pulled me in from the very beginning. The premise was very timely, being that rape culture is very prevalent. I found myself very invested in the characters & wanting to know what was going to happen with them next. I did feel let down by the ending though. It was this big build up & then it didn't really get tied up in the end for me. I was disappointed that there were all these loose ends, especially after being so pulled in through the majority of the book. I would have rated higher had the ending not felt so rushed & open ended.

A study of what happens when a beloved husband, father and teacher is accused of misconduct with underage girls. Not as interesting as it sounds.

I kind of figured out the truth pretty early on. The book isn't so much a 'did he or didn't he?' thriller as it is a reflection on the other people in the accused's orbit and how they react with each other. We get a lot of prose; mundane memories of driving to the corner store to get beer and soda, what they had for dinner after, how the wife missed signs of discord in the marriage early on, how their lives now consist of waiting, waiting, waiting...

This isn't a bad book, just slow moving. Not as bad as watching grass grow. but not as peppy as watching squirrels chase each other around and then up a tree. I enjoyed watching the squirrels more than I enjoyed this book, honestly.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC. I have put off reading this book for a while because of the subject matter. But what made this story so interesting was that it focused on the family members of the accused and not the accused or really the crime. It was an engrossing read. It might have gone on a tad long Especially with the Sadie exploits. But overall I definitely recommend.

This was such an interesting portrait of a family that found itself in an unimaginable situation. I was pulled in by the characters and wanted to find out what happened next. I thought that Joan, the wife of the accused, was a particularly well-written character. This is a hard subject that this book deals with very well.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

In the wake of the #Metoo movement, this book is timely and thought provoking. Definitely takes you to some unexpected thoughts and looking at things in a different light.

I was really hoping I would like it more. I did like it but not a favorite.

I had hoped for more from this book. Honestly, I finished it a few months ago and I don't actually remember much of it, other than an eraser and a young teenage couple. I did enjoy watching the family as it reacted to such a polarizing event; I wanted to read this book because I was interested in examining how I myself might react to the same situation. But many of the characters' actions didn't make sense to me, or didn't seem to mesh with the rest of the story. I suppose sometimes that makes its own sort of sense, though - when Sadie starts acting out and hanging out with a new crowd, as well as pushing her boyfriend away and looking for attention from an older (and unavailable) man, that wildness did make its own sense. Much of how Joan reacted confounded me, though. I did like the cast of characters, though: the society wife, the all-American daughter, the day son from NYC, the critical aunt. And then there was George, who I would have liked to have seen/heard more from. But, I suppose that was the point - not for the reader to ever know whether the alleged incident had ever happened (just like in real life!), but to see the way George's people's world blew up. I do recall liking the ending, although I'd be hard-pressed to say why right now. I think mostly because it felt like Joan finally grew a spine (not that I blame her for her previous indecision, though...). Man - this is why I was so fascinated by the premise of this book: because, WWYD? Right? What a situation to find yourself in.

THE BEST KIND OF PEOPLE by Zoe Whittall is an interesting premise; really relevant in today's society. In a shocking twist of fate George a beloved teacher, father and husband is arrested for sexual assault of students at the school he teaches at in an affluent community in Connecticut.

While awaiting trial we watch his family fall apart, questioning all they thought they knew to be true of George. The family struggles with supporting George's innocence while privately struggling with the possibility of his guilt.

Daughter Sadie was my favorite character; she truly behaved like an adolescent girl might in the same situation.

Though I enjoyed the book I felt the ending was rushed and didn't resolve any of my questions.

I found it quite odd that George is accused of sexual misconduct, but he never gets the opportunity to share his thoughts. As a character with such an interesting setup -- a local hero accused of one of the worst kinds of crimes -- he doesn't get to voice his part of the story at all. He actually experiences the most amount of action in the book, and he's relegated to the background.

In fact, at points George disappears from the story completely. All the other characters end up dealing with the fallout from his actions, and that's really what this book is about. It's a shame, too, that the rest of the book is chock full of cliches -- Sadie is the neglected teen, she becomes infatuated with someone other than her boyfriend, she experiments with drugs; her mother had no idea George lived this duplicitous life; her gay brother is undergoing relationship issues. All the time spent with these characters is in their heads, which, at some point, makes the pace start to drag. There's little action of consequence with any of them.

I wouldn't recommend this book at all.

While this didn't work for me, personally, it's been a very popular book for readers at my branch.

This book was a bit slow for me & too “putdown-able”, I’m afraid. Not a total miss but was hoping for a hit. Will check out more by this author and keep my eyes peeled for future. Thanks for this ARC!

The Best Kind of People started out leading me down one path, then veered left and took me down an entirely different path. That turned me off to it slightly. Also, I feel like the author spent too much time on Sadie's character but not enough on developing George's background story. I also felt like the ending was a bit too contrite. I was expecting George to be convicted and sentenced, Joan moving forward with the divorce, and Sadie and Andrew finally getting some closure. in a way, I think life would have been easier for Joan and the children if this had happened. now this poor family is left trying to put all the pieces back together.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Random House, and the author for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I just couldn't find a way to motivate myself to finish this book, although I have friends I think would like it

As is usual with my association with the NetGalley community, today I'm sharing about a book that I have had the opportunity to read and review that I would have otherwise never heard about.  I had never heard of the book, The Best Kind of People, nor the author, Zoe Whittall.  The cover intrigued me and I was looking forward to reading it without knowing the subject matter contained therein.

George Woodbury is a science professor at a prestigious local prep school in Avalon Hills, Connecticut.  He was a Teacher of the Year recipient, a husband to wife, Joan, who is an emergency room nurse. They've raised their children in this town and he's a pillar of society......

..... and then things change when he is arrested and accused of sexual misconduct with students from his daughter's school. His family is left trying to figure out whether or not they believe he could be guilty of such a crime.  The author goes through each family member's perspective as they await Professor Woodbury's trial, however, readers do not hear the perspective of the victims.

His daughter, Sadie, who is a popular high school senior suddenly becomes a social outcast.  His wife, Joan, bounces from denial and anger as former friends and neighbors cut off their relationships with her. Sadie's brother, Andrew, comes home from New York where is a lawyer so he can help support the family.

The author really lets you come to your own decisions about how our justice system handles these types of cases. It was interesting to see how the author chose to tell this story from the family of the accused. I think this would be a great read for a book club - they'd certainly have quite a discussion on this subject matter!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine Books for providing a digital copy of The Best Kind of People for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

I really enjoyed the premise of this book, but I'm not sure that it's earth-shattering. Consent, rape, and sexual assault are at the forefront of our society's mind right now, so I was interested to read this portrayal of a family dealing with the father's sexual misconduct charges. While I think the book was interesting and enjoyable, it did not live up to my high expectations.

I understand why the author chose not to share anything from George's perspective - she didn't want to focus on what the truth actually was, but rather, how everyone interpreted the information presented to them. So often in high-profile sexual assault cases, we never find out exactly what happened. However, it was difficult for me to decide for most of the case how to feel about George, because there was never any insight from.

As far as the other characters, I had a hard time connecting with many of them throughout the story. I started off liking Sadie, but I had mellowed on her by the end. However, I understood a lot of her actions based on her age. I didn't connect that much with Andrew and his anger issues or Clara. Joan was probably the most likable.

Overall, I am lukewarm on this book. I enjoyed reading it and I really want to know how it all ended up. I was pretty underwhelmbed by the actual end. Oh, and screw Kevin.

This is difficult to review but this one just didn't work for me. I wasn't a big fan of the author's writing but the story initially grabbed me and I was hooked. But as the story continued, while still pretty engaged, I started to feel annoyed by some of the characters and how they were developing. I've never been in her situation (with her father) but the young character, Sadie, just didn't seem authentic. Going from a good girl to someone who has a dealer connection for pot in a matter of days just does not play out authentically.

I also feel the author was trying to make a statement on several politically hot topics right now and ended up putting in too many events and issues to make her point feel anything but contrived. There was a lot going on and I think it would have been more impactful to stay on a more singular track. I felt there were some scenes and storylines that were just fillers (especially teenage sex scenes) and the story would have been better without those added things.

The ending felt way too rushed and abrupt. It would have been interesting (to most, not really to me by this point) to see how the players tried to reconcile the relationships after the trial since so much had gone into how they responded pre-trial. It was all very abrupt and unsatisfying by the end.

Thank you to Ballatine Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"It's not as though I have control over the story that gets played out in the media either," Joan said. "I have to just give up and let the sharks eat me - the cops, the lawyers, the media, the opportunistic, exploitative writers who decide to prey on my daughter. I have not control. And that is the entirety of the life lesson I have learned from this experience. No one as control. At all.

If you can get past the confliction of political emotions on this one, you hear a message that many miss. It is a humanity message of another story. A family that seemed to have it all. Money, nice home, a place in the community but when the story breaks out that the father who is a teacher was having inappropriate behavior with students, the victims we often don't think about are suffering. The wife who didn't know but seems to have it all together. The daughter who is finding her way in life suddenly cannot face the reality that she is now in. The grown son who wants to defend the his father but his own sexuality and views of sex keeps him from knowing true intimacy.

The lives of this family is a mess of emotions, conflicting realities, and the battle to go forward is desiring the truth of the father they know to what he is accused of. How do you reconcile with someone you love? Can you handle the truth?

A Special Thank you to Random House Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post a honest review.

A study in what happens when suddenly your life changes drastically because of a loved one’s actions.