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A review by mbkarapcik
Good Neighbors by Sarah Langan
4.0
A washed-up rock star and his "oddball and unpolished" family, the Wildes, move to an upscale Long Island neighborhood from Brooklyn (and not the trendy area) and try to fit in with the supposedly "normal", upwardly mobile families on Maple Street. At first, they're not necessarily blending in but getting by.
Circumstances start changing, though, when the matriarch of the block, Rhea Schroeder, stops talking to Mrs. Gertie Wilde whom she welcomed to the neighborhood after revealing too much of her inner thoughts. This trickles down to the group of kids who shun and bully the children despite being friends with them before this time.
After a sinkhole opens up in the park across the street, and a terrible accident occurs, fingers start pointing, and an all-out war ensues. It's the absolute worst set of circumstances you can imagine in an idyllic neighborhood from the hostile environment to the spreading of tar from the sinkhole. It's a mess in more ways than one.
With this many characters, you'd think you may get lost in the shuffle, but they're very distinctive. The author did an excellent job in making them identifiable and including a handy neighborhood chart and map to give you an extra resource.
I just pointed this book out to my book club because it's frothing with topics that could be discussed in that type of setting. The events get more dire and disturbing as the rumors pile up like dirt from the sinkhole. You'll be flipping the pages because you cannot imagine how much worse it could get. It's enjoyable, but it's a hard look at how people treat others, and it's not a happy novel. Some of the characters will infuriate you!
Interspersed through the tale, you find articles about the entire incident and soundbites from those that lived there. This adds to the story and shows--like today--how news stories and rumors can alter a story from truth and fact to fiction and hearsay. Although a juicy novel, it has plenty of social commentary to chew on about society as a whole. Some may find it dark, but it really makes you think. And you may catch how a certain sci-fi series episode inspired this entire story.
Circumstances start changing, though, when the matriarch of the block, Rhea Schroeder, stops talking to Mrs. Gertie Wilde whom she welcomed to the neighborhood after revealing too much of her inner thoughts. This trickles down to the group of kids who shun and bully the children despite being friends with them before this time.
After a sinkhole opens up in the park across the street, and a terrible accident occurs, fingers start pointing, and an all-out war ensues. It's the absolute worst set of circumstances you can imagine in an idyllic neighborhood from the hostile environment to the spreading of tar from the sinkhole. It's a mess in more ways than one.
With this many characters, you'd think you may get lost in the shuffle, but they're very distinctive. The author did an excellent job in making them identifiable and including a handy neighborhood chart and map to give you an extra resource.
I just pointed this book out to my book club because it's frothing with topics that could be discussed in that type of setting. The events get more dire and disturbing as the rumors pile up like dirt from the sinkhole. You'll be flipping the pages because you cannot imagine how much worse it could get. It's enjoyable, but it's a hard look at how people treat others, and it's not a happy novel. Some of the characters will infuriate you!
Interspersed through the tale, you find articles about the entire incident and soundbites from those that lived there. This adds to the story and shows--like today--how news stories and rumors can alter a story from truth and fact to fiction and hearsay. Although a juicy novel, it has plenty of social commentary to chew on about society as a whole. Some may find it dark, but it really makes you think. And you may catch how a certain sci-fi series episode inspired this entire story.