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A review by niaforrester
The Perfect Neighbors by Sarah Pekkanen
5.0
**HONEST REVIEW IN EXCHANGE FOR AN ARC FROM THE PUBLISHER**
This author's name isn't new to me, but this is the first book of hers I've ever read. This is ensemble fiction at its best. Four women, distinct, different and very well developed as individual characters. They are neighbors and friends, living in Newport Cove, one of the 20 Safest Communities in America. But privately, they're all facing challenges in their lives and families.
Susan is superwoman on the outside, but inwardly suffering from the loss of her marriage, which she fears, was her own fault. Kellie is a career-woman again after years of being "only" a wife and mother, and suddenly there is someone in her life that reminds her she is also a woman. Gigi's husband is on the campaign trail, pursuing a seat in Congress, while she's left to figure out how to deal with their difficult teen daughter on her own. And Tessa is hiding an explosive secret, something that makes it necessary to keep her new friends at arms' length, no matter how much she may want to do otherwise.
Every story was interesting enough to stand on its own, but Sarah Pekkanen held them all together with impeccable pacing, character-development and plot. I related to all of the women in some way. To Gigi's worry about her daughter growing apart from her, to Kellie's desire to be seen for herself and not just as the manager of her family, to Tessa's fear for her children, and most of all to Susan's realization that in trying to be superwoman, she may just have lost some of what's most important to her.
Sarah Pekkanen's writing is so clean, you don't even feel like you're reading. And it's peppered with humor, poignancy, and just about every other emotion known to man. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Women's fiction at its best.
This author's name isn't new to me, but this is the first book of hers I've ever read. This is ensemble fiction at its best. Four women, distinct, different and very well developed as individual characters. They are neighbors and friends, living in Newport Cove, one of the 20 Safest Communities in America. But privately, they're all facing challenges in their lives and families.
Susan is superwoman on the outside, but inwardly suffering from the loss of her marriage, which she fears, was her own fault. Kellie is a career-woman again after years of being "only" a wife and mother, and suddenly there is someone in her life that reminds her she is also a woman. Gigi's husband is on the campaign trail, pursuing a seat in Congress, while she's left to figure out how to deal with their difficult teen daughter on her own. And Tessa is hiding an explosive secret, something that makes it necessary to keep her new friends at arms' length, no matter how much she may want to do otherwise.
Every story was interesting enough to stand on its own, but Sarah Pekkanen held them all together with impeccable pacing, character-development and plot. I related to all of the women in some way. To Gigi's worry about her daughter growing apart from her, to Kellie's desire to be seen for herself and not just as the manager of her family, to Tessa's fear for her children, and most of all to Susan's realization that in trying to be superwoman, she may just have lost some of what's most important to her.
Sarah Pekkanen's writing is so clean, you don't even feel like you're reading. And it's peppered with humor, poignancy, and just about every other emotion known to man. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Women's fiction at its best.