This book was very well written. It was actually written differently than any other book I've read, which I found intriguing. I loved Juniper, the main character. She was a smart, well read, rich, white girl who falls in love with the bi-racial boy next door. I kind of knew where this was going, but it made me think, all of this started with a tree? A dispute about a tree. Now that's good writing. It kept me interested and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the drama unravel.

A Good Neighborhood is a powerful novel about a slow-motion train wreck between two suburban families that nobody can look away from. It begins when the Whitmans, a white family whose father, Brad, is a wealthy air conditioning salesman, moves into Oak Knoll, an upwardly mobile North Carolina neighborhood. Their new neighbor Valerie Holt-Alston, a black environmentalist and professor, isn't fond of how many beautiful old-growth trees the Whitmans' contractors took down to make room for their big new house. She fears for the large, historical oak tree in her own yard. However, her 18-year-old son Xavier is far more interested in the Juniper in the Whitman's yard--Juniper being an attractive, quiet 17-year-old girl. Summer is about to become extremely interesting in this neighborhood.

Therese Anne Fowler makes an interesting decision to have an unnamed neighbor, claiming to speak for most Oak Knoll residents, narrate most of the story. This makes for a foreboding atmosphere: "We should have guessed....we had no idea...we wondered about..." Vignettes from the Holt-Alston and Whitman households are interspersed throughout.

While the plot is a bit predictable, the action moves fast, and the reader is found hoping they are not actually seeing what's coming. The characters are highly realistic and mostly sympathetic. Fowler has clearly done her research. This is a thoroughly modern novel that discusses large issues in a small setting and will give any American reader much to consider.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book was a gem. Beautiful and engaging writing, dynamic characters, realistic handling of hard and prevalent themes. My cup of tea. It’s nice to find a story that manages to be suspenseful without over dramatic and this book was that.

Heartbreaking, inspiring, and resounding, you’ll carry this book with you long after its through. Definitely recommend.

I have never given a book one star, but I almost did with this one. What saved this book was what I hope were the authors intentions with it, but even if I’m being generous 2 stars is the best I could possibly give it.

The “we” reminded me of the way The Virgin Suicides was written and it rubbed me the wrong way. It made it feel like the book was saying “it isn’t my fault—I’m just telling it as it looked from the outside.” It was very voyeuristic and irresponsible, and honestly, for lack of a better word, just icky.

Maybe I’m biased as someone who was sexually assaulted as a teen. Maybe as a woman I don’t think a man who acts on his disgusting unwanted impulses to his teenage stepdaughter ever deserves to have a point of view in a book. Whatever the reason, nothing about this book sat right with me and I am saddened that so many people have overlooked these things in their love of the book.

My other big issue with this book were that the characters were largely stereotypes and one-dimensional. This a book that could have really delved into class and systemic racism but instead it came off as gimmicky and felt like trauma porn.

The only purpose of this one could be to start a conversation, but all this one did was anger me, and not in any useful dialogue-starting way. I really wish this book had lived up to its potential but I can’t say I recommend it at all.

At the very beginning of A Good Neighborhood, the narrator reveals that there will be a tragic ending to the book. Having the every present tragedy lurking around every corner was not a great fit for the time I was reading the book. During the era of COVID-19 and self isolation, I struggled to continue reading what was sure to be difficult. I could not attach to any of the characters as there was no one to root for. Fowler is a good writer, but for me at this time, this book was too difficult to read.

Wow. Just wow. 5 stars.

What's really interesting about this book is that my feelings were all over the map at any given point while reading it. I was fortunate enough to buddy read this with my friend, Nicole, and if you have a friend (or two), or a book club and you are looking for a good book to discuss - this is it.

The book is broken up into three parts, which was great because they were very clear stopping points to absorb what you just read and think about what might be coming. I would also recommend that you know as little about the book as possible. Going in with as clean of a slate as possible was immensely helpful and satisfying as far as the reading experience goes. As each page went by, another layer was peeled away revealing what lied beneath. For this alone, it was MARVELOUSLY paced, timed, planned - whatever you want to say. The payoff for all the waiting was HUGE and immensely "satisfying". I don't think I can think of one thing that was left open, which is a rarity these days. When do you ever get the chance at complete closure?

With Part I, I thought this is...different and intriguing. Clearly we are building a foundation for something. I liked the narrator as the voice of the "neighborhood at large". I thought this was a clever plot device. It kind of let you absorb the story, but then you had a little birdy on your shoulder whispering things that would help you gain further perspective.

With Part II, the story started to reveal itself a little more and by the end of the section I could feel my posture becoming more erect and my brain synapses firing much more rapidly. Again, pacing here was perfect. The narration was starting to irritate me a little and seemed almost controlling at times. I felt I was losing my ability to decide on my own what was going to happen because the book kept leading you right where it wanted you to go. My ability to think freely about the characters and what I thought was going to happen felt manipulated.

Part III was magnificent. Beyond brilliant. That's all I'm going to say so I don't ruin anything for anyone who might not have read it. I just sat there and looked out the window for a few minutes after it was over to absorb everything and let the tears fall. I was so grateful to the author for writing an author's note and placing it in the beginning of the book.

I could not be more thankful for the reading experience that was this book. It was such a moving experience and does all the things a true, 5 star read should. It made me mad as hell, uncomfortable, think introspectively and encouraged discussion. It was...the total package.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and Therese Ann Fowler for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review. I am forever changed because of this reading experience and I intend on putting this book in front of as many people as I can. I only wish I would have read it sooner.

Review Date: 04/19/2020
Publication Date: 03/10/2020

This is a book that stays with you. The story line is not a new one. It has been retold many times. but never with the gift Therese Anne Fowler has given it.

I love the comments about the trees and was devastated when I had to get two trees in my own yard cut down because they were dead and about to fall on our house.

I felt there was a lot lacking in this one if I’m honest. I found myself putting this one down often. I enjoyed the writing and narrative but the characters fell flat for me, they didn’t feel as believable as I think they needed to be. I think if they were more dimensional I would of enjoyed it more. As the story unfolded I felt conflicted, there were times it almost felt like it had a forced agenda and others it felt like it was holding back. Overall the plot and the themes being addressed failed to come off authentically and it just didn’t work for me.

I had heard great things about this book and wanted to know what all the fuss was about and the beauty about this book and the story is the way it builds both characters and events. I started off expecting one thing and I ended up with something totally different. Race, religion, patriarchy, the environment, wealth, and of course neighborhoods and what they mean, are all topics that get tossed into this book, almost playfully and you start with a smile and slowly the smile gets washed off your face, your heart starts pacing and you end up using expletives out aloud.
This book explores what can be possible when you are black and have lived in a neighborhood for 18 years and you get a brand new neighbor who's white and your backyards abut each other. That's how it starts at least.
I loved the read and I'm super glad to have picked it for my book club. I know it's going to provide many points for some excellent discussion.

2.5 stars, rounded up.

I love a good neighborhood domestic drama (a la Little Fires Everywhere, Big Little Lies, etc.) so I admit that I absolutely flew through this one, but after letting it sit with me, decided that I ultimately had a lot of complaints with it.

A lot of people seem to have found it slow. I did not. I thought the pacing of the book was fine for the majority of it (I love a good slow burn) but the last 1/4th of it felt super rushed. My biggest complaint with the book though is that (aside from Valerie) I found all of the characters to be completely one-dimensional. I actually thought the conflict involving the tree was interesting, but the story morphed into one that clearly wanted to tackle the ramifications of racism, but didn't seem to know how. And while that is certainly a topic that is both timely and incredibly important, it felt forced and superficial in this particular story.

I blew through it - the drama held my attention, but there just wasn't enough substance there for it to accomplish what it was trying to accomplish.

This story was very disjointed. It was difficult to get into and dragged on forever, and then, in the last third of the book, it felt like a completely different author was doing the writing. I didn't develop any connection with the characters and the whole thing was a bit disappointing because it has been getting such good reviews. *Advance copy provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

I started and stopped this book about 6 times over the last 6 months.
I just can't get into it. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with the book, the writing seems fine, there seems to be a foundation for a lot of drama to come. Unfortunately, it hasn't captivated me. I haven't wanted to keep reading.

And when I pick the book back up I have to start at the beginning because I've forgotten what happened in those first few chapters.

I don't think it is fair to have to assign a star rating because I haven't finished the book.
There should be a DNF button.

Lots of character build and plot development. I was into the story during the first half, but once Part II hit, the story took a turn that I couldn’t get behind. From that point, everything annoyed and frustrated me. I was cringing so bad. Also, Brad wins the award for the most unlikeable character EVER.

This was a well written, compelling book. It was a story that needed to be told, but honestly, it was hard to read. I will be thinking about this book for a long time.

All in all, I dont think this was quite for me. I appreciated that the author tried to take on big topics like race and class relations, but I'm not sure that it was done well. There wasn't a lot to like about the story in terms of redeeming characters or an uplifting message. It made me uncomfortable, and not in a way that fosters personal growth. It just made me nervous and had me wondering where the author was going to go. I didn't love the 'neighborhood' as a narrator- though that's just a style preference. Overall, if a white author wants to write a story about an experience that a group of people they do not belong to have, it's got to hit the right tone. And this didnt get there.

A Good Neighborhood started off slow but ended with a bang! Therese Anne Fowler has written a very relevant story that left me with a book hangover. This would be a perfect book club pick!

This book is a real challenge to review. On the one hand, it was a plot I found interesting, and it took a compelling twist that kept me engaged after I was ready to decide the book was too slow for me. On the other hand, there were aspects of that twist that made it difficult to keep reading. I really don’t think you can combine spoiler alerts with trigger warnings successfully. So I won’t do that, but will say that if you get to a point where it’s too uncomfortable to keep reading, that you should do what you need to do to process that, even if that means a DNF. I did finish, and I don’t regret it, but I also understand why others might choose differently.

So many hot button issues packed into a well crafted plot that is very much of our times. While I might not have chosen that intensity level right now, given all the other stress the world is now throwing our way, I can certainly appreciate the skill it took to get there. Hopefully the next Fowler book I read won’t be so intense.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It had my heart reeling for the people involved. I hated it and I loved it. This touched on some very real issues, and I really liked the way Fowler portrayed everything with her writing style!

I was able to read this book thanks to NetGalley. Wow. It definitely will leave an impression on me for a very long time. It is extremely well written with unique perspectives. It tackles very difficult yet important social societal issues and broke my heart. I will absolutely be recommending it to all of my book clubs and family and friends. Thanks again to NetGalley.

This novel offered a compelling and thought-provoking story. The characters were well developed and the author deftly navigating presenting their different perspectives. Recommended..