It’s a 3.5 star read for me. A Good Neighborhood has a compelling story that kept me compulsively reading over the course of several days.
Valerie and her son, Xavier, have lived in their North Carolina home for his entire life. Their personal lives have undergone significant changes over those 18 years and so has the neighborhood. They’ve seen the original homes sold and many torn down and replaced by much more upscale (and bigger) houses. The book begins as new owners, Brad and Julia (and daughters Juniper and Lily) move into their McMansion, right next door to Valerie and Xavier.
The story that unfolds is interesting and the author spends a lot of time helping us to get to know the main characters (both a pro and a con). Everyone seems lovely (well...except for the obligatory mean girls in high school), but we know this can’t be their whole story and the truth is gradually revealed.
In particular, we learn about the multiple sides of Brad - the good guy very public face of Whitman HVAC, but also learn there’s another side or two. One of the details revealed very early in the book is that he only hires white HVAC technicians, because that’s what his customers feel comfortable with. There are other clues - but they would be spoilers!
It’s not a book without problems. There’s an unidentified narrator, who’s never revealed but is most likely a neighbor/neighbors. The narrator voice comes and goes and, for me, was a bit distracting (especially when editorializing). And it also took a really long time to get to the heart of the story.
The last 1/3 of the book is a whirlwind and left me thinking still about justice, and the good and bad sides of people in this world.
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read A Good Neighborhood in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of A Good Neighborhood. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t get into the novel. I didn’t enjoy the way it was written either.

When doing ARC reviews, I refrain from looking the author up until after I've finished the book, so I don't let myself become biased. In this case, I knew I recognized Therese Anne Fowler's name, but forgot that she had written two books I thoroughly enjoyed, Z and A Well Behaved Woman. In A Good Neighborhood, I think Fowler has really come into her own as a writer; her authorial voice is confident and she sets the scene and leads us through it at her own pace. Fowler takes her time in the first 3/4 of the book, really building out the world and setting the stage for what is to come. It's sometimes a bit slow moving, but she handles the exposition with beautiful language and expertly maintains an underlying tension, so you're waiting for the other shoe to drop at any moment-- and oh, boy, when it does. My goodness. The last quarter of the book grabs you by the throat and refuses to let go. I felt physically ill at times, almost unable to go on because the scenario is so upsetting, but it's so compelling, I couldn't stop.
Though I liked the historical protagonists of her other books better, the characters here come off the page as if they were your own neighbors, removed by neither by time nor status. I was skeptical that this would be propagandistic, given the propensity of books that tackle racism, bigotry, and injustice to shove their political agendas down readers' throats, but never once did I feel like there was an attack being levied or a strong political bent. Rather, race is used as more of a way of exploring Valerie's identity; her experiences, her fears for her child, etc. She isn't an outcast in the community (in fact, she's a major part of the fabric of Oak Knoll), and there aren't an abundance of overtly racist situations. To me, the novel was just as much about what it is to be a woman in the world as it was about race. Instead of being divisive, it is thought-provoking, which will undoubtedly make it an extremely popular book club read.

I really enjoyed this book set in my state of NC. I felt the author did a great job of drawing me into the story.I will definitely order this book for the library. Good Book.

Loved this book. It follows two families that are very different and coincide with issues from today. Couldn’t stop reading and it was a quick and intriguing story about “a good neighborhood”

Oak Knoll, NC is a good neighborhood. It's the type of community where neighbors greet each other on the street and hold book club discussions. It's the place where Valerie has raised her biracial son, Xavier, without too much worry. Things slowly start to change when the Whitman family moves into town. Situated behind Valerie's home, the Whitmans' house doesn't quite fit in with the others. Brad Whitman, a local celebrity of sorts, has a successful HVAC business and wants something to show for all his hard work. He drives a car that costs more than some people's mortgage, he's built a mansion, and he cleared his backyard for a beautiful in-ground pool with a patio. Brad knows people in high places, so some of the clearing of the property wasn't exactly done by the book. When Valerie's beloved oak tree starts dying as a result of root damage, one could not begin to imagine the series of subsequent events.

This book was so many things, but the two words that come to mind immediately are eye-opening and heartbreaking. As I made my way towards the end of this book, I mentally pleaded with the author to take the story in any other direction. It's difficult as a reader to see bad things happen to lovable characters, but understandable at the same time. A Good Neighborhood was a mere glimpse into the struggles that people deal with due to the color of their skin.

Okay, so this one doesn’t come out until February, but it’s worth putting on your radar today. Especially for those of you who loved ASK, AGAIN YES, LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE, and WHITE ELEPHANT. The story revolves around two families and next door neighbors: Valerie Alston-Holt, an African American ecology professor, and her mixed-race high school son Xavier; and the Whitman family, the rich new neighbors who have moved in next door much to Valerie’s dismay (she’s concerned their new mega mansion is endangering a tree on her property). Without spoiling much, as most of these stories go, a small incident between the two families escalates beyond their control and irrevocably changes their lives. The book is incredibly well-written, thoughtful and powerful. It explores themes such as race, class, power dynamics, and love in new and interesting ways. And while you can see where the plot is headed very quickly, it only serves to ratchet up drama and tension as things slowly spiral out of control, leading to a heartbreaking yet thought-provoking ending.
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It will for sure be a book people will be talking about in 2020, so now’s the time to add this one to your #tbr. Thanks to my friends at @stmartinspress for the advanced copy!

I felt this book started out a bit slow but then picked up and you couldn't put it down. Some parts made me so angry/heartbroken. It is sad because this situation still can happen in so many parts of our nation, racism is still out there and affecting so many young innocent kids.

A very well developed story addressing a very tough topic.

The story line was good, but it moved too slow. I was half-way through the book and there was still no plot twist to keep me interested. I was annoyed with the fact that the neighbor wanted to sue a family over a tree, I understand that the husband, Brad, was shifty in his work, but to sue a family over an old tree seemed trivial to me. I also found Juniper's parents (Brad and Julia) annoying with being overly protective of her. I really didn't like any of the characters in the book, so it made it hard to read. I finished it but was not really impressed, just incredibly depressed. Not a good book for me, but I could see it would generated good discussions in a book club. Some compared it to Jodi Picoult's Small Great Things, but there wasn't enough twists and turns like there was in her book.

I loved the way this book was written — like a Greek tragedy. I enjoyed this author’s genre switch. One of the best of the year!

This was a good book, just not a favorite for me. I really don't read much on the politics of race relations, mainly because I am so saturated with the issue on the news and social media. This has caused me to back away from this touchy subject. However, in fairness, Fowler wrote a good story.. I think this book will be a big seller and probably on reading lists for a lot of book clubs. You will be hearing alot about this book next year.

Though this was a fictional story, the book spoke about who people change the environment. The place that we live in has to taken care of. Trees, plants and shrubs do need to survive and we need to help them survive. This was one amazing story with such a meaningful message. I’m glad that I read this book.

I guess I read this at a wrong time as I am just really not into reading about the racial issues. It had me thinking how things could have been different if people just talked to each other regardless of a race issue. That doesn’t happen within each race these days let alone outside.
Decisions we make for our soul benefit can snowball; touching the lives of others and we don’t see it happening.

I have mixed feelings about this one. I started out loving the first part of this book- the way it was narrated, the relationship between Valerie and her son, the controversial topics of race, religion, privilege, etc..... .but as the book went on, so many things felt too outlandish- and it also seemed glaringly obvious that this was a white author attempting to capture the black experience- which just felt kind of inauthentic. The shocking ending also didn’t line up for me- it seemed totally out of character for Xavier based on the way he was represented earlier in the book.
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Overall, I did really enjoy the writing style and the quick pace of this book (I couldn’t put it down!), and will definitely read more from this author- I appreciate what she was trying to tackle with this book and think it was well-intentioned, I just feel that maybe this particular story would be better served by someone who has walked through the world as part of the black experience themselves.

Thank you Netgalley for sending me this arc. I will be reviewing this book in the near future with an honest rating and review.

NO SERIOUS SPOILERS...

“Most of us hide what troubles and confuses us, displaying instead the facets we hope others will approve of, the parts we hope others will like”.

The characters in “A Good Neighbor” are protecting and hiding something. They have their agendas, their opinions, their judgements, their anger, their distrust, and their, plans.

The community and media will speculate and wonder who was to blame for the tragedies that will unfold between the two families who live next-door to each other.

The reader is encouraged to examine our own thoughts: the different issues at hand - looking at circumstances - reasons - ideals - truth -lies -secrets- justifications - what’s right - what’s wrong - what would you do? what do you think the neighbors will do? —what do you agree with? - who do you believe? - who don’t you agree with? - what side are you on? Or —do you see yourself split down the middle, on both sides?

The Whitman family, new to the close-knit
neighborhood in Oak Knoll, North Carolina,
lives next door to the Alston-Holt family.

Most of the houses in the neighborhood are moderately built, including the Alston-Holt family.
The only house that stands out as prestigious among all the other homes in size - - swimming pool and ultra modern amenities is the Whitman’s custom built home.

Single mother, widowed, Valerie Alston-Holt, 48 yrs old, ( a black female Professor of forestry and ecology) and her 18 yr. old son Xavier ( biracial), classical guitar musician, An A-student -senior -in High School, (accepted to the San Francisco Conservatory of music in the fall), both tolerated the builders construction noise for many months before the Whitman family moved in.

Brad and Julia Whitman, a wealthy white family, have two daughters: Juniper, 17, and Lily, 10.

Each of the characters — in both families — (other than perhaps little Lily Whitman), had a full plate of problems. We learn back stories from each of the characters that has us understand where they were coming from... helping us understand the choices that they each made.

It’s easy to make assumptions from stereotypes - but those assumptions will not particularly be the complete picture or true.

Can we compare environmental protection to civil rights? Perhaps not... but Valerie’s passion for trees, (“we need to keep at least seven trees for every human on the planet, or else people are going to start suffocating”), was her life’s purpose.
Had Valerie been alive during the civil rights movement..justice for racial equality might have been her life’s purpose.
But today she felt saving the planet was where her life’s work could make the most difference. Tending her plants was her therapy...
irises, peonies, azaleas, phlox snowdrops, camellias, rhododendrons, clematis, honeysuckle... etc.
If the plant grew in North Carolina, Valerie installed it somewhere on their plot.
Her magnificent oak tree with it’s wide trunk, was more than just a tree of arboreal history. She had a personal, and emotional connection to it.
Her oak tree is what sold she and her husband, Tom, a young white sociology professor, on the house many years ago in the first place.

Oak Knoll had been conceived in the boom years after the second world war with wide streets, sidewalks - and because it was North Carolina it was rich in both trees and small functional 3-bedroom homes- set on spacious tree-filled lots.
Valerie spent many moments pressing her
forhead against its “nubby gray-brown bark and cried while Xavier slept in his crib”.
Xavier - just a baby- was too young to understand that his father, Tom, a white sociology professor, died in a freak accident.

Brad Whitman, late 40’s, owner of the national growing business- an Air-Condition company, ‘Whitman HVAC’ - a man who worked from the ground up - made serious money. He was a local celebrity/ seen in TV commercials and radio.
Normally - an enormous mansion - such as the one he just had built for his family - would be seen in a nearby community, ‘Hillside’. The Whitman’s had once lived in one of those neighborhoods...but Brad knew to get the extravagant ultra modern house he wanted for a mortgage he could afford, building his dream home in Oak Knoll, was more cost effective. He would still be able to drive his BMW, later his Maserati.....
and Julia, 34 years old, who was once a financially struggling single mother with 10 year old Juniper, when they first met, could enjoy her new Lexus.
Juniper and Lily could go to a private school.. which they did.

The house that Brad built was the risk to the nearby trees.
The large oak tree in Valerie‘s backyard was showing distress from the disruption of her trees’ root systems from the way the Whitman’s swimming pool was installed.
Environmental corners had been cut while the Whitman’s house was being built. Not everything was up to code - when installing the swimming pool. Brad Whitman’s connections with a builder-friend allowed him to put his own needs above the integrity of the environment.
His ‘corner-cutting’ would come back to haunt him.

Valerie - planned to sue Brad for the damage to her Oak Tree. Her lawyer was asking for $500,000.
Love thy neighbor vs. justice becomes a fascinating inquiry and debate.

When Julia married Brad, her life was completely turned around...
no longer living in a trailer home - and we wonder - did she marry him for love or money? Maybe both?

Julia wanted her daughters in a private school away from bad influences that had led to so much trouble in her own growing life.
In turn - Julia became overly protective and controlling mother.

Juniper became a chaste Christian girl. She still had urges and temptations, but she was at peace - with her religious values - of not to have sex until marriage. She and Brad attended the purity ball when she was 16. She agreed to not have sex until marriage and Brad agreed to look out for her best interest.

Girls at school teased Juniper... ( JeniPURE). It wasn’t fun being teased by other more sexually liberated girls at school - but Julia was - mostly’ able to hold her head high. She loved books - and was interested in attending college. Possibly to study Biology or zoology. She didn’t have time for boys anyway. ...
Ha... in the same way Xavier didn’t have time for girls... with his studies, work, and music.
But...
Julia and Xavier will get together. Their connection was slowly developing into a substantial authentic mature relationship.
Together they tried to not be influenced by Valerie and Brad’s disputes.... rather discover what was best for them.

Julia was trying to fit into the neighborhood.
She joined the book club which took place on Thursday nights at Valerie’s house. She only had to walk next-door.
Valerie’s friends were all bright professionals in their 40’s and up -
Julia - the youngest - new to the book club - was judged as a bourgeois/ snooty white rich woman....
from the size of her house next-door to the foie gras dish she brought to share.
Nobody her foie gras - because in order to make it, birds were force-feed in order to create a fatty liver. They put tubes down their throat’s.
The women at the book club - more educated - wouldn’t touch Julia’s appetizer.
Julia simply didn’t know about the ducks and geese.
She had no idea - felt horrified-
small - ‘less than’ - less valued - and intimidated. She tossed her foie gras in the trash.
Julia wanted desperately to be part of the sisterhood with Valerie and her friends.
So she opened up and shared of how she grew up-with her mother cleaning homes so they could afford their run down trailer. She also shared that Juniper was the result of a man who raped her.

While Brad Whitman Brad and Valerie Alston-Holt are fighting out their problem -
young love between their kids - Juniper and Xavier are growing.

I can’t express enough how terrific this novel is ....
The issues are gripping. The intimacy of the characters - including the collective community narrative - sheds insightful compassionate details - giving this novel fully evocative power.

“A Good Neighbor”, is totally my type of book...
*Important fiction*!!!
It’s a close inside look at the pressures of racism, justice, legal disputes, conservative religious beliefs, young adult love, parenting, and what it means to be a good neighbor.

Author Meg Waite Clayton described my feelings to a ‘t’......
“A provocative, timely, page turner, about the crucial issues of our time. I gulped it down, and the stunning conclusion left me both heartbroken and hopeful”

HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!

Thank you St. Martin’s Press, Netgalley, and Theresa Anne Fowler!
I’m soooo a new fan!!!!

WOW! This is a book that was hard to put down and definitely left me thinking about it for a long time after I closed the book. A wonderful choice for a book club, I think. A novel of young love, and racial tension in the community in North Carolina Very interesting and certainly very appropriate. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy..

Just when we think that racism has come to an end a book like this one dispels that’s notion. A seemingly story of young love became entangled in bigotry and hate. Perhaps a modern day Romeo and Juliet.?

All I need to see was that people who enjoyed Ask Again Yes would love A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler and I was interested. I like books where I can get fully invested in the characters and this book offers that. Forget everything and let yourself lose track of time while reading, thats my favorite.

Here’s what you need to know about this book (which isn’t out until 2020 and already generating buzz!)

In Oak Knoll, a verdant, tight-knit North Carolina neighborhood, professor of forestry and ecology Valerie Alston-Holt is raising her bright and talented biracial son. Xavier is headed to college in the fall, and after years of single parenting, Valerie is facing the prospect of an empty nest. All is well until the Whitmans move in next door―an apparently traditional family with new money, ambition, and a secretly troubled teenaged daughter.

Thanks to his thriving local business, Brad Whitman is something of a celebrity around town, and he’s made a small fortune on his customer service and charm, while his wife, Julia, escaped her trailer park upbringing for the security of marriage and homemaking. Their new house is more than she ever imagined for herself, and who wouldn’t want to live in Oak Knoll? With little in common except a property line, these two very different families quickly find themselves at odds: first, over an historic oak tree in Valerie’s yard, and soon after, the blossoming romance between their two teenagers.

Told from multiple points of view, A Good Neighborhood asks big questions about life in America today―What does it mean to be a good neighbor? How do we live alongside each other when we don’t see eye to eye?―as it explores the effects of class, race, and heartrending star-crossed love in a story that’s as provocative as it is powerful.

This book will be out on Feb. 4, 2020. Pre-order here.

I wanted to like this book, I really did. This is the first book by this author I have read. I found it more “meh” than what it promised. A new family builds a home and moves in next door to an established neighbor with an older home; the builder damages the roots of a beautiful old tree in her yard, and things go downhill fast. Early on it is implied something sinister will happen later on. I found the main character very preachy and whiny. I felt beaten over the head with her activities. I get it, she is passionate about her causes, yet they felt shoved down my throat. I read for enjoyment, not a lecture. The new neighbor and his family were so stereotyped it felt offensive. I didn’t care for the narration style, switching from narrator to joining the chorus of neighborhood voices. That felt awkward and I don’t think it went over well from a reader’s POV. This book had potential to be a great read, but I think the author tried so hard to be PC it fell flat. Out of all the characters, the son was the only one I found likable. There was no resolution, no happy ending. Overall a rather depressing read. I will try another book from this author to compare, as she seems to be very well liked. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.