About this item

"Therese Anne Fowler has taken the ingredients of racism, justice, and conservative religion and has concocted a feast of a read: compelling, heartbreaking, and inevitable. I finished A Good Neighborhood in a single sitting. Yes, its that good." --Jodi Picoult, #1New York Times bestselling author of Small Great Thingsand A Spark of LightA gripping contemporary novel that examines the American dream through the lens of two families living side by side in an idyllic neighborhood, over the course of one summer that changes their lives irrevocably, from the New York Times bestselling author of Z and A Well-Behaved Woman.In Oak Knoll, a verdant, tight-knit North Carolina neighborhood, professor of forestry and ecology Valerie Alston-Holt is raising her bright and talented biracial son. Xavier is headed to college in the fall, and after years of single parenting, Valerie is facing the prospect of an empty nest. All is well until the Whitmans move in next door--an apparently traditional family with new money, ambition, and a secretly troubled teenaged daughter.Thanks to his thriving local business, Brad Whitman is something of a celebrity around town, and hes made a small fortune on his customer service and charm, while his wife, Julia, escaped her trailer park upbringing for the security of marriage and homemaking. Their new house is more than she ever imagined for herself, and who wouldnt want to live in Oak Knoll?But with little in common except a property line, these two very different families quickly find themselves at odds: first, over an historic oak tree in Valeries yard, and soon after, the blossoming romance between their two teenagers. Told in multiple points of view, A Good Neighborhood asks big questions about life in America today -- what does it mean to be a good neighbor? How do we live alongside each other when we dont see eye to eye? -- as it explores the effects of class, race, and heartrending star-crossed love in a story thats as provocative as it is powerful.Praise for A Good Neighborhood: "Riveting...Fowler empathetically conjures nuanced characters we wont soon forget, expertly weaves together their stories, and imbues the plot with a sense of inevitability and urgency. In the end, she offers an opportunity for catharsis as well as a heartfelt, hopeful call to action. Traversing topics of love, race, and class, this emotionally complex novel speaks to--and may reverberate beyond--our troubled times."--Kirkus (starred review)



About the Author

Therese Anne Fowler

Therese Anne Fowler is the NYT and USA Today bestselling author of Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald (adapted for television by Amazon Studios as Z: The Beginning of Everything starring Christina Ricci) , A Well-Behaved Woman, and A Good Neighborhood. She is married to author John Kessel.



Read Next Recommendation

Report incorrect product information.