Scan barcode
A review by pamshenanigans
Good Neighbors by Sarah Langan
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
These thoughts will also be shared on my Youtube channel! Subscribe to my channel: Pam's Shenanigans!
"Welcome to Maple Street, a picture-perfect slice of suburban Long Island, its residents bound by its children, their work, and their illusion of safety in a rapidly changing world.
But menace skulks beneath the surface of this exclusive enclave, making its residents prone to outrage. When the Wilde family moves in, they trigger their neighbor's worst fears."
Good Neighbors is in my 2021 most anticipated releases and I'm glad I was not disappointed at all. I think what I love the most about this book is that there was a good balance of mystery and family drama that was able to reel me in and keep me interested.
The story revolves around this suburban town of middle-class families that are "too good" for their new neighbors, the Wilde family. Just because the Wilde family doesn't fit their cookie-cutter standard of what a Maple Street family looks like, almost everyone condemned and ostracized the family and threw baseless and horrendous accusations hidden under a mask of pretense and ugliness.
Things turn even more ugly when the Queen Bee's daughter accidentally fell down the town's sinkhole. There was an extremely frustrating clash between protecting your family, your sanity, and your public image in the middle of the court of public opinion where everyone keeps a watchful and judgmental eye on you.
The power of destruction that filtered and inaccurate gossip has is such a pertinent and recurring theme in this book. And you'll have to get ready to be ENRAGED and FRUSTRATED and ANNOYED by almost every character in this book. Some had redeeming character developments, but some you'll just hate more and more.
I think the only thing that was missing for me is how the resolution on the child abuse part wasn't given enough justice. I just wished it was more IN YOUR FACE that that character WRONGFULLY accused an innocent family.
But I think the beauty of the last few chapters is that no matter how IN YOUR FACE the facts were, there will always be people defending the offender, which was prevalent in the newspaper snippets and book excerpts that were included in the story.
Trigger/Content Warnings: child abuse, ableism, homophobia, wrongful accusation of rape/molestation, physical assault, mentions of rape, mentions of pedophilia, death
"Welcome to Maple Street, a picture-perfect slice of suburban Long Island, its residents bound by its children, their work, and their illusion of safety in a rapidly changing world.
But menace skulks beneath the surface of this exclusive enclave, making its residents prone to outrage. When the Wilde family moves in, they trigger their neighbor's worst fears."
Good Neighbors is in my 2021 most anticipated releases and I'm glad I was not disappointed at all. I think what I love the most about this book is that there was a good balance of mystery and family drama that was able to reel me in and keep me interested.
The story revolves around this suburban town of middle-class families that are "too good" for their new neighbors, the Wilde family. Just because the Wilde family doesn't fit their cookie-cutter standard of what a Maple Street family looks like, almost everyone condemned and ostracized the family and threw baseless and horrendous accusations hidden under a mask of pretense and ugliness.
Things turn even more ugly when the Queen Bee's daughter accidentally fell down the town's sinkhole. There was an extremely frustrating clash between protecting your family, your sanity, and your public image in the middle of the court of public opinion where everyone keeps a watchful and judgmental eye on you.
The power of destruction that filtered and inaccurate gossip has is such a pertinent and recurring theme in this book. And you'll have to get ready to be ENRAGED and FRUSTRATED and ANNOYED by almost every character in this book. Some had redeeming character developments, but some you'll just hate more and more.
I think the only thing that was missing for me is how the resolution on the child abuse part wasn't given enough justice. I just wished it was more IN YOUR FACE that that character WRONGFULLY accused an innocent family.
But I think the beauty of the last few chapters is that no matter how IN YOUR FACE the facts were, there will always be people defending the offender, which was prevalent in the newspaper snippets and book excerpts that were included in the story.
Trigger/Content Warnings: child abuse, ableism, homophobia, wrongful accusation of rape/molestation, physical assault, mentions of rape, mentions of pedophilia, death
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Child death
Moderate: Ableism and Physical abuse