Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - A Good Neighborhood

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.

Content Warnings

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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hannah2186's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

2.75

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saramoser's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

TW: Rape, suicide, incest, pedophilia, sexual assault, racial slurs

I had purchased this book randomly for my sister a while back from a used bookstore and she read it, and then recommended that I read it. Honestly, had I known how the book would go, I probably never would’ve recommended someone read it. I was talking about how I wouldn’t feel comfortable recommending this book (while reading it) to many people because of the content, specifically the pedophilia.

While I am not comfortable recommending this book to people, due to the content, except for someone I am extremely close with (due to potential triggers)-, I would say this was a fantastic read-without being overly enthusiastic about the topics- the book was well written and touched on so many topics that are so prevalent in our current society. Between bigotry, sexism, racism, and our environment, this book is spot on and extremely eye opening.

4/5 stars from myself

Content Warnings

caitlinc's review against another edition

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tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

The author of this book comes across as a privileged, straight white woman who thinks she’s heroically doing something good for black people by writing this story.

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cassielaj's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

The writing in this book is stunning and compelling, but the subject matter is really difficult to read sometimes.

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sbmoberg's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

kelly_e's review against another edition

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emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Title: A Good Neighborhood
Author: Therese Anne Fowler
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 4.25
Pub Date: March 10 2020

T H R E E • W O R D S

Tense • Provocative • Thoughtful

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Oak Knoll is a tight-knit community and when a new family, the Whitmans, move in next door to Valerie and her son, Xavier, the two families have very little in common. A dispute over an aging oak tree and a budding romance between two young lovers put these two families at odds. With escalating tension, another incident occurs that will change all of their lives forever. A story packed with secrets and lies, and what it means to be a good neighbor.

💭 T H O U G H T S

I had originally added A Good Neightborhood to my TBR without really knowing too much of what it was about. What I got was a powerful, eye-opening, and redemptive story about a broken system. The book flies along quite quickly and the writing was good. The third party narrator was one of the things I really loved. It gave the book suburban, gossipy neighbor vibes. Exploring the themes of love, family, race, class, power, and privilege, it is packed with drama and touches on the injustices of the 'justice' system. It touches on the theme of ecological welfare, which was a nice addition, but I wish that part of the book had been developed more. Even though it is quick paced, the characters and the story line were slow to develop, casually dropping hints of the tension between the two families. The author does an exceptional job at creating a dislike for step-father Brad and creating a plot I could realistically see happening.

Overall, I thought this to be a solid read that had me thinking about my own judgements and perceptions of people. There is definitely lots of discuss and contemplate here.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• readers who like Little Fires Everywhere or Ask Again, Yes
• fans of domestic dramas
• Desperate Housewives followers

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"We'll start here.

They were just words, the same way this story is just words. Words, thought, are how we humans have been communicating with one another almost since time before time. What has more meaning to humankind than words? Without a call to action, change rarely occurs.

Start here, please, in communion with one another despite our differences, recognizing that without start there is no end."

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