A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler (#23 in 2020)
Thank you to @stmartinspress dod my gifted review copy! Two families:
- Valerie Alston-Holy and her son Xavier: Valerie is a self-proclaimed tree hugger and professor of ecology, super involved in nature, and a single mother to her bi-racial son, Xavier. While race shouldn't matter, Valerie makes every effort to remind her son about how others view him because of the color of his skin.
- Brad Whitman, his wife Julia, their young daughter, and Julia's teenage daughter whom Brad has adopted as his own: The Whitmans are financially well-off and everyone knows it, and if you don't know, Brad will be sure to tell you.
All seems well and good when the Whitmans move next door to the Alston-Holts... until Brad's negligent construction wreaks havoc on Valerie's historic oak tree... and Brad's teenage daughter falls in love with Valerie's son. This is a perfectly structured example of contemporary fiction. It takes place in "present day" and holds some sort of a relatable air with a small-town vibe. The "narrator," a group of individuals, is a busy-body, constantly adding the next layer to the story and showing how each detail further complicates the relationships between and within the two families. I read another book at the start of the year that used a similar “omniscient group narrator.” That other book was such a drag that I couldn’t fully appreciate the technique. Fowler does a phenomenal job using the group to her advantage. The title and narrator lend itself to a gossipy, Stepford-style that reveals the intricacies of this story from multiple angles. 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you to @downtogetthefictionon and @kraysbookclub for choosing yet another great read for #notyomamasbookclub
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