Good Neighbors - A Bleak Look into Suburbia
Good Neighbors is a fast-paced novel that encapsulates a much darker side of American suburbia. It is well-written. It introduces the reader to a neighbourhood in Garden City where appearances are the only things that matter. It is an extreme example of peoples’ need to keep up with the Joneses, but it knows how to hit home with familiar situations that make for unsettling relatability.
We are introduced to all the families in this neighbourhood, but mostly follow the actions and behaviours of the Wildes and the Schroeders. They are polar opposites: the Wildes are new to the neighbourhood and clearly ‘trashier’ than anyone else there. The Schroeders are more educated, affluent. They share a commonality in that they both harbour a great deal of darkness from past negative experiences as well as present occurrences. We get to see what happens to them when their children become friends, fall in and out of friendship, and experience their bleak reality together. Just when you think that seeing within the minds of these two families is enough, you get to see just how complacent and sheep-like the rest of the neighbours are too and what lies they tell themselves to get through their days. It is a good look at how easily people can turn on one another with a little negative influence. What people are willing to do to live in a made-up reality instead of facing their traumatic issues head-on. Who people are willing to hurt, including themselves.
The book is half a look inside the minds of the main characters and another half watching the neighbours interact. It is disconcerting to make connections to your own daily life with the happenings within these pages, and I’m sorry to say I’ve seen some of it first-hand. However, I do believe that is the point. The gossipy, two-faced, suppressed behaviour of these people are commonplace and should be noted and avoided. The real horror here is the mental state of the neighbours and how it might relate to you, the reader’s own mental state upon engaging with this book.
I read this book quickly and easily. It is an edge of your seat kind of read. I enjoyed that I sometimes felt like I was reading a soap opera that goes very dark, like a guilty pleasure. The characters, how different and unique their mindsets and behaviours were, were well-done. The way the children were written felt very accurate, touching, and painful. I loved this book.
A big thank you for the ARC via Netgalley!
Don’t want to miss anything on the site? Sign up for our newsletter HERE
Want more spooky reads? Just search below.
