Book Review: "A Good Neighborhood" by Therese Anne Fowler

After reading Therese Anne Fowler's new novel, A Good Neighborhood, all I can say, in the words of Keanu Reeves in many of his early movies is, “whoa.”

I don’t belong to a book club, but I wish I did after reading this book. It made me sad, it made me angry, it made me think about our world today, and it made me wonder whether or not certain characters’ actions were justified.

In the comfortable North Carolina suburb of Oak Hill, Valerie and her biracial son Xavier have lived since he was a baby. An ecology and forestry professor, Valerie feels more at home among the plants and trees than with people, especially the majestic, historic oak tree at the back of their property. Xavier, studious, friendly, and charming, is just about ready to head across the country for college, where he’ll study classical guitar.

The Whitmans move into the lot behind Valerie and Xavier, building a McMansion, razing all of the trees on their property and infringing upon Valerie’s oak. Brad Whitman, the self-made man with the HVAC empire, who fancies himself a minor celebrity because he appears in his company’s commercials, lives there with his wife, his teenage stepdaughter Juniper, and his daughter Lily.

When Valerie’s tree starts dying, she pursues some legal remedies which anger Brad. And then Juniper and Xavier begin seeing each other secretly, and the discovery of the relationship sets an indelible chain of events into motion.

This book shook me. I wasn’t surprised by anything that happened but I was so irritated/upset by the fact that stuff like this actually happens. Therese Anne Fowler did an excellent job creating a veritable car crash of a novel I couldn’t look away from. I've seen mixed things but I can't help but wonder if some who didn't like the book were put off by the behavior of the characters.

I won’t forget about this one for a long time.