Thank you to NetGalley!!!

This is my first time reading a novel by Therese Anne Fowler. I think she did a really great job!!! I actually really enjoyed it. I felt like she nailed it on the head about whats going on in our day and age right now and but it wasn't negative it was still enjoyable!!

I want to start by saying that once I picked it up, I essentially finished it in two days. It was compelling, engrossing, and provocative. It touches on race, class, the criminal justice system and elicited all sorts of responses from me – anger, sadness, but I don’t know if Fowler managed to completely pull this one off. It had the ingredients of being a poignant novel that is just so needed right now but pieces of it fell short for me. Spoilers/thoughts below:

The message
The message is/was/will always be important so overall I’m glad this was written and receiving good press so far. Anyone who read this novel and is surprised should stop it. This is not surprising, and important for everyone to understand that this is not just fiction. So I’m glad Fowler has written this piece. Now for the nitpicking…

Point of view/narration
I think the point of view and narration we got was a cop. Instead of getting an emotional and powerful first hand perspective into a story about race we got a detached narrator that almost felt mythical or like it was a story telling that took away from the impactful message. It made the characters not feel real enough for what the subject was about, that then made the ending feel contrived and unrealistic – even though it very much is not unrealistic. More on that later.

Race:
This obviously was a story about race, the injustices suffered by POC, our broken criminal system, the division of our country, the south. I say obviously, because Fowler calls these things out directly. In many ways her message about race is clear: people are still racist today, if you’re black or a person of color the criminal justice system is unfair to you. But some of the characters’ actions sent a different message and I was unclear on what Fowler was getting at.
Some example: Valerie – she was an educated black woman living in the south with a good job, family and for what we saw accepted by friends (she ran book club, after all). This paints a picture of a well-adjusted black woman in the south despite her husband dying indirectly due to a racist altercation with his family member. Because of her widowed husband, she tells her son not to date white women – says bad things will happen… and then bad things happen. I couldn’t help but feel that while the story tries to depict real life scenarios and tragedies this was a hard one for me to swallow, especially as I am in an interracial relationship myself.

Creepy stepfather wanting to sleep with his stepdaughter plotline:
This whole plotline wasn’t entirely well fleshed out (or maybe that was the intent?) I felt like it was clear that Brad had the hots for his stepdaughter and would’ve acted thinking she reciprocated. What was less clear was if Juniper did reciprocate. There were some throwaway lines where she seemed uncertain herself? Or things that were never really addressed like “what matters is that Brad believed his love for Juniper, inappropriate and complicated though it might be, was real, and that Juniper, with his encouragement, soon confess she felt the same way toward him.” Did that ever happen? Did I miss that? Or otherwise it seems like the narrator telling the story knew about all these complicated feelings and it all came out but the reader wasn’t privy to that. I don’t really know how much this added to the book outside of making it creepy because up until Brad started having gross thoughts about his stepdaughter he seemed like an ok father, encouraging her to go to college and have a career, wanting her to take on the family business, providing her with a car. I think I almost would’ve preferred Brad to be more outwardly racist. It almost felt like Fowler was protecting the image of the white man who ended up leading to Xavier’s demise. Like yes, he was the reason Xavier ended up arrested/reason he killed himself but also look at all the good things he did, and then as an afterthought was like oh but he was creepy. A way to justify that he was a bad guy in the story. You don’t have to be a lowkey creeper to be racist. You can lead a normal life and also be a racist.

The characters
Again, I’m not sure if it was the narration and point of view, but because we weren’t really privy to the characters thoughts and motivations they seemed a bit one dimensional. I didn’t really like any of the characters, except maybe Lily. They were all flawed, and I’m fine with that, but the way they were presented we just saw Julia as somewhat callous and over bearing – then thrown in were random facts about her hardships, rape, experiences with men that were meant to make us feel something, but what that was I never really felt. Understanding? Sympathy? Same for Valerie – the Uncle tidbit didn’t really resonate how much she was afflicted because it was almost a throwaway plot device to build tension on the is Juniper going to be raped by her stepdad or not storyline. I also disliked Juniper wholly to be as naïve as she was. Her reaction to finally finding out that Xavier was imprisoned seemed like it wasn’t real, again diminished by point of view. Also, I was grossed out by the end line of Juniper was going to kill herself but then instead went to an ivy league school to go “fight for justice”. And when I say grossed out, I mean that if the message intended by the author here was for you to be grossed out then I applaud Fowler for that. Because we all should very much be appalled by the fact that this girl, responsible in her own ways, for what happened to Xavier should not have a happily ever after, and yet that is what happens in America today. Those responsible rarely if ever get their true just desserts, and that shouldn’t be a surprise, and it should ever not be disgusting

The ending
The ending felt really off to me. I understand that Xavier felt desperation, condemned, and cornered, and that this is something that happens every day to the thousands who are profiled, marginalized, and unfairly coerced into pleading guilty when they may not be and feel like they have no other choices. This is a reality, and I want to state that I 100% understand that. So in that sense it makes sense that Fowler ended the book this way, however I feel that Xavier was painted to be far more complex throughout the book to just come to this final decision, so I think my issue is more with the abruptness that I felt – we didn’t get to feel what he felt and I think this was my larger issue that I hated the narration/third point of view perspective we got. I would have rather felt every fear, and hear every thought of the character than have it read to me from some omniscient narrator.

This is certainly not Mister Roger's Neighborhood. It touches quite a bit on these days. But, it seemed almost too much was going on. It was a very slow read, at times I had to let it sit and come back. It seemed to slowly pick up about 70%. In my opinion, it seemed to be trying too hard for too long.
Thanks, NetGalley for the advance copy too review.

This was a good and timely book that focuses on the complexities of modern society and modern relationships. It takes on conservative religion and sexual abuse
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

I love Fowler’s historical fiction and was excited to get my hands on A Good Neighborhood. I have mixed feelings after finishing... Something about this came off as trying too hard and I felt like the sections from the neighborhood’s perspective went off on a few too many tangents. The first half was slow and eventually I was skimming to get through. The second half of the book was depressingly realistic. I wouldn’t say I enjoyed this necessarily but I would still recommend it...

This is a timely and heart wrenching novel focused on the complexities (and underbelly) of the world we live in. I loved that the author included "the neighborhood" as a character and a narrator. Covers a lot of ground on a lot of topics (race, wealth, justice system, conservative religion, sexual abuse, first love) but in a way that makes sense and does not feel scattered. Really enjoyed this...highly recommended. Thank you NetGalley and publishers for providing an advance copy for review.

Hmmm... It's strange to say I really liked this book and yet didn't like the ending.. I don't know how I would have ended it, but it would not have been like this. The writing style was comfortable, the likable people were likable and the other was easy to not like anything about him.

Subject matter of how hard it is to be black in a white world was something I hadn't looked at from this point of view before and it was tough to see how some people treat others based on skin color or nationality.

I liked how the environment was almost another character in this story and concern for the environment was nicely handled. I wish all builders would read this before clear cutting the land.

Well written, believable and easy to read in spite of the subject matter. I'm glad I read it and will look for others by this author.

Thank you NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Therese Anne Fowler and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

This is my first time reading a novel by Therese Anne Fowler, and I really enjoyed it. What happens in this story is so common in our society nowadays, and the way she wrote it was just fantastic. I absolutely HATED Brad's character, and I wish things had played out differently for Xander.

A great book. Definitely one of my top 10 for the year so far.

#AGoodNeighbor #NetGalley
Shocking! Upsetting! At a loss for words! Can’t remember a book leaving me actually shaking!
The author of A Good Neighbor, Therese Anne Fowler, uses an omniscient narrator as the story unfolds. A prominent wealthy white family with two daughters moves next door to a widowed black mother and her biracial son. “White is white, black is black, biracial is still black.” You can envision trouble and conflict coming. And then, the big beautiful old tree near the edge of the property appears to be dying from excavation from the swimming pool the new neighbors put in.
This friendly neighborhood will never be the same again!

I am giving this book 2 stars although it was well written and I liked the narrative style. I began by enjoying it but then I felt the author was preaching to me. The plot was filled with digressions and I use that word because there were moving parts that I thought were not pertinent. This is a tragic tale and I have no doubt sceneries, as described with racial profiling, exists. I am annoyed that many reviewers referred to “our times” referencing racial divide in this country and one even specifically mentioned President Trump. This was really a turn off. I will not get political here but really, must we blame the present Administration for everything? I could elaborate more but this is not the platform. Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

I’m not sure if it was clever or crazy to tell this story in a Greek chorus. In some ways it made the lesson impactful but in others it lessened the direct investment and connection to the central characters. The story arc was a slow burn and I’m fine with that but it was the hard to believe naïveté of Juniper in this day and age that forced this into three stars. I will give credit where credit is due; the ominous escalation of Brad’s shift I’m feelings toward Juniper were ver well written.

I received an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was very interesting for the first 3/4 but I have to say that ending just got so maudlin and unnecessary. It’s a shame, because I really enjoyed this authors other books and she seems to have a strong voice for young girls of privilege trying to stand up to those who would stifle them but it doesn’t work so well in these times and with this struggle. 3 overall

Unlike the other reviewers it took me a few weeks to finish this book at a painstakingly slow pace. The overall story is interesting especially in this day and age but I didn’t like any of the characters and felt the writing dragged on.

This book was an interesting look at modern contemporary issues. Juniper and Valerie are wonderful characters. I will be interested to see what others think of this book. I did not like the male characters. Still a fan of Fowler’s other brilliant works!

I loved this book from the first page! Ms. Fowler tackled a difficult, but very timely situation and wrote about it with sensitivity and thoughtfulness. The characters are complex and she made me care about them and the things they do. I rejoiced with them, worried and stressed about them, and talked to them through the pages. I found myself thinking bout them and their situation even when I wasn't actively reading! I know this book would spark and excellent discussion for a book club and I am definitely recommend it to the women in the one I lead.

Departing from her portrayals of strong, historical women, Therese Anne Fowler has achieved a new level of greatness with A Good Neighborhood! Strong characters leap from the pages as they fight for individual identities and a place to belong in a society that never quite gets it right. Society where bigotry, inhumanity and lies run rampant and no one is above stooping to the lowest level. The style in which this is written celeverly draws the reader into the story. It is as if Ms Fowler anticipates the questions and comments a reader might pose and responds appropriately. An absolutely wonderful read start to finish

Wow, wow, wow!!! A tale of two very different families that had me speed reading. I dreaded the ending but knew it was inevitable.

This would be a great book for book clubs. It would make for a very passionate and deep discussion.

This compelling story did seem like something that could happen which makes it scarier. Young lives ruined over money and lust. I liked the characters in pieces, but as whole persons, most were not likeable.
I wasn't a fan of the narrator who popped up at times during the story. I think that part was unnecessary.

A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler. The author's style of narration was grating in that I wanted to just read about the Juniper and Xavier and their families and not a commentary/lecture on the past or coming events. The story itself was strong. Realistically portrayed the tensions and heartbreak and dynamics between the two families. Not a HEA ending but a thought provoking one.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

First let me say, this book is so well written. I am a big fan of Therese Ann Fowler’s other works because of how she can tell a story. The story telling and Greek Chorus narration style in this book was the best part of the book for me. ⁠
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The plot was a bit flat for me, it was pretty predictable. Which is fine because it isn’t meant to be a thriller. Maybe it’s just me but I think it’s weird when white people write a story based in racism and how it feels from a minority character’s point of view. It didn’t feel as authentic as in other books. ⁠
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3.5 stars. ⁠