Reviews with content warning for Racism - A Good Neighborhood

This book was incredibly well written. The author told a story that made me feel big feelings.

My heart is shattered and honestly I was sick to my stomach reading a lot of this book because of the horrible actions that took place. This book made you truly think about race, inappropriate sexual desires, parental manipulation, and much more.

This book was not at all what I thought I was getting myself into. I anticipated a neighborly dispute and a Romeo and Juliet story of forbidden love. This book represents so much more than that and is truly a slap in the face of what life can be like.

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aciarlo's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I knew the ending was going to be tragic based on the warning from the very beginning of the story, but I didn't know what to expect! It kept me on the edge and I really like the social justice issues as a major theme. Overall, an excellent read.

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rallin's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A timely novel on class, racism and relationships. I could not look away although at times I wanted to. It is well written and a compelling tale. I liked the ‘neighbourhood’ commentary and perspective on the characters. I think this book will stay with me for some time.

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jficele's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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applesaucecreachur's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

Where to start?

A Good Neighborhood's best quality was its characters. First of all, the narration style was fascinating. I've never read a story told quite like this and I ate it up. As for specific characters, Juniper was full of flaws and virtues,

Brad and his relationship with both Juniper and her mother

was something I loved to hate, Lily was adorable, and Xavier and his mother Valerie were just perfect.

They were too perfect. For a story that on more than one occasion

flung the N-word at its Black characters

, told the terrors of modern-day racism from a Black woman and her biracial son's perspective, and covered such horrors as

hate crimes and a young man's suicide by the penal system

, it had a very clear audience: White people. White like the book's author. Of course Xavier had to be a star citizen and half-white to boot – How was a white audience to believe

his purity of character otherwise?

I don't know that white authors shouldn't write from the perspective of non-white protagonists. I do know that this story of racism coming from a white woman was far too stiff, far too orchestrated to be believable as the true Black experience. Are fictional stories of anti-Black racism in the U.S. valuable? Absolutely. But their telling is best reserved for those who have experienced it, and who are willing to use their creativity to share it with the world. This book did move me because like I said, the author is excellent at developing (most) of her characters. I just wouldn't put this title on a list of... well, any required reading, really.

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lexie_edmunds's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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