Sign up for our newsletters! But the recent arrival of a new family has rocked Maple Street's careful balance. The Wildes Arlo, a former rock star; Gertie, his pregnant beauty queen wife; and their two children, Julia and Larry do not reek of the same privileged upbringing of their neighbors, nor do they keep an especially tidy or trendy home.
When we meet the Wildes, they have just been very obviously left uninvited to a neighborhood block party. But when they arrive, something is clearly amiss: no one will make eye contact with them, Rhea is aloof and cold, and even the kids have trouble joining their friends.
In the blink of an eye, all 72 citizens of Maple Street regroup and play their roles as good neighbors, but an eerie chill hangs over the festivities. And then the sinkhole opens. But to see one this big on Long Island is as shocking as it is devastating, and though there is only one fatality a German shepherd the residents are understandably stressed. Once again choosing to see the silver lining, Gertie hopes that the catastrophe will bond her and her neighbors together as they try to rebuild against a common enemy.
But menace skulks beneath the surface of this exclusive enclave, making its residents prone to outrage. Their weird kids cuss like sailors. By the time the story opens, the Wildes are outcasts. The search for Shelly brings a shocking accusation against the Wildes. 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.
Hope you enjoyed book club questions for Good Neighbors! Here are some more recommendations along with links to book club questions. From the bestselling author of Everything I Never Told You , a riveting novel that traces the intertwined fates of the picture-perfect Richardson family and the enigmatic mother and daughter who upend their lives.
In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned—from the layout of the winding roads, to the colors of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.
Enter Mia Warren—an enigmatic artist and single mother—who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenaged daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past and a disregard for the status quo that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.
When old family friends of the Richardsons attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town—and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides. But her obsession will come at unexpected and devastating costs. The Review: Let me just say that this book is absolutely horrifying in the best way. Set slightly in the future, it makes the reader realize just how quickly the world can change.
Could this be where we are headed, both socially and environmentally? These characters were so well written. None of the adults were likable, and most of the children were horrible too. Everyone was too concerned with being on the popular side of the argument to realize the harm it was doing.
But they were real and familiar—no glossy heroes here. Everyone is flawed, and you might be uncomfortable to recognize yourself in some of their actions.
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