Good Neighbors
Fiction
Atria Books
February 2, 2021
Hardcover
304
Purchased
Welcome to Maple Street, a picture-perfect slice of suburban Long Island, its residents bound by their children, their work, and their illusion of safety in a rapidly changing world.
Arlo Wilde, a gruff has-been rock star who’s got nothing to show for his fame but track marks, is always two steps behind the other dads. His wife, beautiful ex-pageant queen Gertie, feels socially ostracized and adrift. Spunky preteen Julie curses like a sailor and her kid brother Larry is called “Robot Boy” by the kids on the block.
Their next-door neighbor and Maple Street’s Queen Bee, Rhea Schroeder—a lonely community college professor repressing her own dark past—welcomes Gertie and family into the fold. Then, during one spritzer-fueled summer evening, the new best friends share too much, too soon.
As tensions mount, a sinkhole opens in a nearby park, and Rhea’s daughter Shelly falls inside. The search for Shelly brings a shocking accusation against the Wildes that spins out of control. Suddenly, it is one mom’s word against the other’s in a court of public opinion that can end only in blood.
A riveting and ruthless portrayal of American suburbia, Good Neighbors excavates the perils and betrayals of motherhood and friendships and the dangerous clash between social hierarchy, childhood trauma, and fear.
My review:
If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you know that I am a sucker for every dysfunctional family story I can get my hands on. Holy guacamole, this is not only about dysfunctional families (note the plural), but an entire dysfunctional neighborhood! The setting is a bit into the future (2027) in a suburban neighborhood where global warming is showing its effects in a big way, with temperatures in the 120's daily and sink holes opening that contain toxic chemicals. But that is just the stage for this novel, the real crux of it is the new neighbors who move in that are not the "typical Long Island suburbanites". When the new neighbors are accused of a crime, the prejudices of the neighborhood are in full view for the reader. We get to know the backstories of several of these neighbors, and they are a harbinger of how messed up things get. But, for how damaged a lot of the adults are, it's the children who offer the best hope for the future, as they come together to save the reputation of one of their own. There is such a sense of foreboding throughout the novel as interspersed within we get excerpts from a book (published in 2043) that foretells a tragic ending. I tore through this book to find out what, and who, was left once it reached its glorious climax!
I can't say enough about this dark look at suburbia, and how we alienate those "not like us". My best description would be that this book is like Big Little Lies on steroids! If you love dysfunctional people stories, you need to get your hands on this one pronto!
