What a pleasure I have today to be sharing my review for Good Neighbours by Sarah Langan as part of the blog tour. Massive thanks to Titan Books for the opportunity.
About the book
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. But when the Wilde family moves in, they trigger their neighbours’ worst fears. Arlo and Gertie and their weird kids don’t fit with the way Maple Street sees itself. As tensions mount, a sinkhole opens in a nearby park, and neighbourhood Queen Bee Rhea’s daughter Shelly falls inside. The search for Shelly brings a shocking accusation against the Wildes. Suddenly, it is one mother’s word against the other’s in a court of public opinion that can end only in blood.
A riveting and ruthless portrayal of suburbia, Good Neighbours excavates the perils and betrayals of motherhood and friendships and the dangerous clash between social hierarchy, childhood trauma, and fear.
My thoughts
Maple Street is an idyllic place where community is at its heart. Families get together, the children play together, everyone looks out for each other, that’s what it looks like from the outside anyway.
The Wilde’s have moved into Maple Street, they’re not your typical suburban family, Dad Arlo is an ex-musician, ex-drug user who smokes, has tattoos, Mum Gertie is a former beauty Queen with a disturbing past, Julia is a wild child and Larry is just different. They don’t fit in and as the book opens we get to see how this family has an impact on queen bee Rhea Schroeder and how that ricochets through the rest of the neighbourhood.
I sat absolutely riveted to this story, as the reader we get to see it all and so we know what’s real and what isn’t which had me so infuriated at times. The down right nastiness that occurs had my heckles rising so many times but I just couldn’t put it down.
It’s true that if some people tell the same lie over and over again that they end up years down the line believing it actually happened, some people end up going along with a lie to be on the right side of the fight even though they know it’s wrong and in Maple Street this has detrimental effects for many of the residents especially their children.
It’s really difficult to put into words how good this book is without giving anything away, it’s one of those books where the tension builds and builds and you NEED to keep reading, you NEED to find out what happens next but you’re scared to turn the pages, it’s very, very addictive.
Good Neighbours is a tense, unnerving story that has me very pleased I don’t have any neighbours. It’s definitely a book I urge you to go and buy, it’s fantastic.
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