I am always rather wary of issue-driven novels which can be too concerned with moralistic polemicising to breathe real life into the characters. However, this is not the case here as the author has presented a balanced and non-judgemental account of how the pursuance of any ideology to extremes will likely end in tears. The era covered starts with that of my generation, so it is a jolt to realise this is classed as historical fiction, but I enjoyed the trip down a memory lane with much of the same scenery, landmarks and pitfalls.

3.5 for this one, I’ll round it up.
Daniella and Eve meet when they start college and are paired as roommates at Belmont in Roanoke, Virginia 1962.
They become the best of friends and end up becoming involved in the social issues of the time, Eve.. becoming extremely radical.

This is a multigenerational story, you will also see the coming up years of their own daughters.
It covers thirty years of American history, from Kennedy’s Camelot through the Vietnam War and racial issues, etc.

The subject matter I always like reading about because I was born in 1958, and lived through much of these times as a child but wasn’t completely aware of everything going on in the world since I was so young.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for the ARC!

I don't know that I've read anything of this author before. I did see many positive reviews of her writing though. At first, I questioned this writing as it was rather dull, and I thought amateurish. However, it didn't take long to Ms. White to fully flesh out her characters and then I really enjoyed her writing. I don't want to write about any spoilers, but this book is about two very different women that meet as new roommates in college. It spans many years, and there is a lot of the book set in the 60's and America's political climate. What I found most interesting is like the title of the book suggests. We get involved sometimes in some thinking, some trend, some beliefs, that may lead to "fighting" for justice, polarizing sometimes radicalized thinking. Does this mean we are not "good" people? Does this have ramifications for future generations? I think the author does do a wonderful job of tackling with these characters the issue of racism. This would do well as perhaps a book club choice. Good discussion.

Beautifully written characters who drew me right in from first to last page an author whose books I will be devouring .#netgalley #Atriabooks

A title like this suggest a serious morality play. It’s clever and ironic and sets you up to expect more than what you get. What you get isn’t inconsiderable, mind you, it’s two lives followed from early years to advanced middle age as two friends Eve and Daniella navigate the turbulent political waters of America from the early 1960s until the early 1990s. Three significant tumultuous decades, during which Eve and Daniella undergo various changes as they become variously engaged with the sociopolitics of the times. Eve starts out as a very mild and sheltered character, but as the weaker of the two, soon becomes radicalized and wastes years on that scene before getting her act together. Daniella as a more moderate character, finds a much more sustainable personal balance. The two drift apart only to eventually come back together on a more equally shared plane while raising their daughters. So you get to observe not just one, but two sets of young women coming of age, differently enough to inspire all sorts of nature/nurture considerations. It’s an interesting concept, but all these questions of morality and social consciousness and personal involvement consistently get wrapped up too neatly for all their inherent complexity. It’s almost as if the author set out to write a very serious heavy novel, but always wanted it to be nice. And nice just isn’t the right adjective for proper literature. If this was a tv drama show, it would be something on the major network where it can maintain a certain level of lightness and quaintness as oppose to a premium network where there is way more morally gray territory. Basically, yeah, it’s too quaint for the complexity of its subjects and themes. And, frankly, too estrogeny too. This is definitely women’s fiction, though it wasn’t sold as such. The reviews on Goodreads alone are a proof of that. And actually the reviews are very favorable, so I’m possibly in the minority on this. But for me, was a decent read, but left a lot to be desired. The cover's great, though. Such a genius take on duality. Thanks Netgalley.

A brilliantly written story of two white women who are best friends at Belmont college, but find themselves in the midst of the struggles of that era (which have, sadly, lasted to modern day), about race, religion and gender inequality. When Eva attempts to make things fair for a black housemaid forced to live in the basement of their college dorm, it backfires spectacularly. Then, Daniella attempts to get into a sorority with her friend but is turned away because her father is Jewish. These two events are just a taste of what is to come for the women as the next thirty years find them taking drastically different paths through a world full of cultural injustices, war and political unrest.

The moral of WE ARE ALL GOOD PEOPLE HERE is that our actions can set into motion unfathomable subsequent actions that may end up haunting us years after they first took place.

A wonderful read, perfect to pick up in the dog days of summer when this comes out. Thanks, Atria and Netgalley for the early read!

Eve and Daniella come from very different backgrounds but click immediately when assigned a room together at college in 1962. Times are fun and silly; life is good. Then Eve begins noticing the glaring inequity of the treatment of their housemaid, who is basically in servitude. She thinks she’s helping by complaining, but her plan sadly backfires. Things don’t get much better. As their days go by, they both become more aware of numerous prejudices surrounding them. Switching colleges together as an attempt to make a statement and find greener pastures, they learn that life is unfair across the board. Each branch out and respond to the challenges of inequality with extremely polar solutions.
What follows over the next 30 years are the rewards and repercussions of each of their actions. They soon learn, the hard way, that the past will not stay in the past and everything must come around.
Susan Rebecca White awakens the ‘60's again with her descriptive details of clothing, attitudes, songs, and memories, good and bad. This novel is a reflection for anyone who was young in the ’60's and would be captivating to anyone too young to appreciate the turmoil of the past. I think this book comes at a good time. As the youth today suffer from PTSD, identity crisis, and the struggles of living on your own, it’s a nice reminder that things could be much worse.
(I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks so much to Atria Books and NetGalley for making it available.)

“We Are All Good People Here” started out really good, but by Chapter 8 it lost me. While well written, I thought it tried to right too many social evils – anti-Semitism, Civil Rights Movement, Vietnam War. With the divisiveness in today’s society I just was not interested in reading about the radicalism of the 60s. I had no idea the book was going to go as deep into that culture as it does. I loved the friendship between Daniella and Eve who were not afraid to challenge the mistreatment of the “have-nots”. But their stories frequently stalled for long periods. Overall, this book just was not for me.

Wow! I don’t have all my thoughts together on this book, and feel that I won’t for some time. Daniella and Eve are written so beautifully and carefully that the important subject matter each woman faces is handled so profoundly and delicately. Do you do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do? What happens when doing the right thing doesn’t work the way you want it to? As their friendship evolves and they both have daughters, you see their daughters struggle with the same questions but in different circumstances. Well written, an important read.

Meh. I just didn't really get into this one. The two main characters in their youth and early adulthood lacked depth for me and there was a lot of issues going on at different times and many of them didn't seem to pan out later in the book. Living in Atlanta, I knew lots of the references name-dropped throughout the book, but I wonder if you don't know the city, were these place names descriptive enough to set a scene?

We Are All Good People Here has a great premise-- the backdrop, two drastically different women, and the promise of radicalism. I was intrigued by the synopsis and the cover art. Rarely do I go for a book primarily for its cover, but here we are. The book is well written, but I think I was expecting something a bit more salacious, or else with a bit more pace to it. I found myself really enjoying the story of Eve and Daniella at points, but then it sort of dragged on, and I didn't feel enough of a connection between the two characters to keep me invested in their story. I think the book might resonate better with an older readership-- maybe it makes more sense for the Book Club audience, as it just wasn't as edgy as I would've expected, based on the cover and blurb. It felt more historical than not, and for me, it didn't click. I wanted something more along the lines of Therese Anne Fowler's Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, which felt firmly rooted in the time, but also created a heroine who felt a bit more modern than the protagonists here. Perhaps the cover art that I loved so much is actually a bit misleading, as it sets you up for a younger-feeling story, in my opinion. Nevertheless, I do think this book will be well liked by the target demographic, and deservedly so, as White is a solid writer.

This is a fantastic book. Right from the start I was completely engaged with the main characters, Eve and Daniella, and the style of the novel. I was a bit worried about the author’s handling of some of the themes, as a lot of the book hinges on the characters’ awakening to the injustices of racism in the US and particularly the south, as it is always dangerous territory for a white author to start writing about the experiences of black people, but Susan Rebecca White does a good job of centering these experiences while not speaking for a marginalized group of which she is not a part. The themes are well developed and strong, the female characters are as well, and I truly enjoyed it from start to finish. I will definitely be recommending this novel to others when it is out in August.

As always, thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for the ARC!

Review posted to Goodreads 4/26 and Instagram 4/29.

This is the first book I have read by this author & it won't be my last.

I won't post any spoilers but I will say, this is a book that grew with each page.

Started out with what I thought was light fare- 2 young women start college together both from very different backgrounds, you know this story, right? Wrong....this was 1962, civil rights, Vietnam, women starting to question who they were & then we place this story in the south.

Daniella & Eve become close friends & stick by each other but over the years they drift apart, taking 2 very different paths in how they want to deal with the wrong in the world & how they can each go about making it a better place.


Thanks to Atria Books & NetGalley for an advance copy of this book, all opinions are my own
There's some deep & dark situations during a very radical time.



Their lives come together again & well, I can't tell too much!!

I really liked this book, loved the way the author set up these characters.

We Are All Good People Here is a twisty family drama during the 1960s to the 1980s that follows two women through successes and disappointments in a turbulent period in our county’s history. We follow them as they mature into adulthood and as they bend and reshape during motherhood. It showcases female courage, inner strength and difficult choices. This a deeply moving, unforgettable book. I highly recommend it. My thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for an advance copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book brought me back to my own coming of age, dealing with the large issues and the changing society. Daniella and Eve come of age during this time of roiling racial issues. So much of the culture reminds me of those years and the author had a fine touch in bringing it to life.

Yet, with all the positives, the book never totally engaged me. Some of the situations were simply too staged. So, this was an enjoyable novel, it lacked the spark that could have lit it for me.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

The story of 2 close-as-sisters friends whose lives intersect as teenagers and college students despite their political and socioeconomic differences. After the 2 women become adults, marriage and children and jobs change them, even as the world around them goes through turmoil. Later their daughters become close friends and the mothers find their common bonds once more.

I loved most of this book - really Eve and Daniella were wonderful characters and I adored how they changed over the years. I found their relationship to be very genuine. Their children, however, were not nearly as interesting and I found myself skimming through the final chapters, which I hated to do because I had been reading the first chapters so closely. Perhaps it was the time periods each pair was set in? Or more likely, it was just me, as I am far closer in age to the mothers than their daughters.

Wonderful historical details from the 60s through the 80s.

Thanks to Netgalley for the arc to review.

We Are All Good People Here was a quick read, because I wanted to know what happened to all of the characters. This is an excellent book, well-written and so interesting.

What a brilliantly original novel!

In 1962, paired as roommates, Daniella and Eve meet as college freshman and become fast and forever friends. We Are All Good People Here spans 30(ish) years and follows the woman through triumphs and tribulations during some tumultuous and intense years socially, racially and politically in our countries history. As their lives take very different turns will the loyalty and friendship be able to stay intact?

First of all, take another look at the ingenious book cover!!! I was half way through We Are All Good People Here before I realized that it was two women and not just one— seriously, could be my favorite cover ever! Ok, now about the storyline—simply put, it was absolutely fantastic! I was completely consumed with Daniella and Eve’s (and their daughter’s) lives and the domino effect their choices had (years and years later). We Are All Good People Here is a solid 5 star novel that would make an incredible book club selection! Even though I just finished, I can already tell that I am going to have a difficult time getting these characters off of my mind (which is always a sign of an epic novel)!

We Are All Good People Here is my first book by Susan Rebecca White, but I have such an author crush! I adored this book. There are so many books coming out right now that are focusing on Second Wave feminism, and I am here for it.

Friends Eva and Daniella come from different backgrounds, but they become as close as sisters during their initial college year at Belmont and then beyond. We get to see their evolution into adulthood and then how motherhood will cause them to bend and reshape. Their values are tested and refined in the fire. While it is a fictional tale, it grapples with themes of racism and injustice in a way that feels like the reader is taking a step back into history.

The character development is top-notch, and the myriad stories that intertwine are engrossing. This is definitely one I will be recommending.

The publication date is 8/6/2019. Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and Atria Books for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

No spoilers about the storytelling - specifics about the wonderful storytelling....
More about how I felt....plenty to give a flavor of what readers are in store to read.
I LOVED IT!!!!

Belmont
Roanoke, Virginia 1962

I was excited to read Susan Rebecca White’s novel - the minute I read the blurb. The eye-catching book cover didn’t hurt to pique my interest either...
but when I ‘knew’ for sure that I was in great hands by a new author -to me- was when I read this - only 2% into this novel:
“Oh, I’m so excited to meet you! I don’t mean to be such a *spaz*, but I’ve been looking forward to this moment all summer!

Wow....Rebecca Susan White took me back about 50 years. For some of us old farts - we remember using the term, “you spaz”....
nothing politically correct about the slang word...
So, I don’t mean to be a ‘spaz’, either...when I say...
this novel kept getting better...and better....
Daniella wore “a kelly-green sleeveless shirtdress and a pair of Keds printed with watermelon halves”.
“KELLY-GREEN”... a “SHIRTDRESS”.... and “KEDS”......
My goodness ... did the author find these clothes in my old teenage closet?
Daniella’s shoulder-length blond hair was *teased* ...
*flipped* at the ends... and of course a *barrette*.
Oh my! I feel like I’m 16 years old, again ... smiling down memory land before the internet.
This book is MUCH MORE than Hersheys chocolate over vanilla ice cream, vanilla wafers, hot cocoa, tweed dresses, Peter Pan collars, Capri pants, cashmere sweater sets, and saddle oxfords......
AMERICAN HISTORY WAS CHANGING.....

My heart, mind, and soul were activated.... reawakening feelings in me that had been dormant.
I mostly just want to say ‘amen’ to this luminous book as a calling to us all.....

The memories kept on flooding - page after page. As Bob Dylan’ sang to the world......changin’....in American History.....
Susan Rebecca White captures visuals, smells, sounds, language, (BUMMER...SEXIST PIG, DIG IT?), music, hygiene, style, families, education, injustice, racism, discrimination, black inequality, casualties of war, Vietnam, smoking joints, long hair, hippies, McGovern buttons, spanning history from when President Kennedy’s assassination to president Bill Clinton.

I felt the anger - sick over violence - sadness - and the confusion of the characters resistance to change - ( especially the privileged).....The lies of the bourgeoisie were disturbing.
I felt like I WAS IN MISSISSIPPI during the civil rights movement.
The right to vote came.....( with worries)....
....We look at morality, political choices, love, sex, free love, friendship, marriages, babies, divorce, deaths, and struggles of the times through the most wonderful intimate storytelling imaginable: stunningly brilliant!!!!!
I actually cried from so much pride and enjoyment. Literally my entire body felt the impact.

I couldn’t resist.... I downloading Bob Dylan’s 1964 hit release to “The Times They are changin”. With little tears in my eyes - I listened.

For my generation.... Life was never more confusing, chaotic, and politically brutal
than this period of history.
Feeling of Melancholy.....

A message I took away - equally true today....
“Change would not happen without women who held power in the workforce”.

Thank you Atria Books, Netgalley, and Susan Rebecca White