TUESDAY AFTERNOON BOOK CLUB 

Author Jodi Picoult describes  “A Good Neighborhood” by Therese Anne Fowler as 

“as a feast of a read, compelling, heartbreaking and inevitable.”   The Tuesday Afternoon Book described the book in much the same way as they discussed it at their August meeting.   

The book takes place in Oak Knoll, a tight knit North Caroline neighborhood.  Valarie Alston-Holt, a  forestry and ecology professor, is raising a biracial son Xavier, who will soon head to college to study music.  All is well until the Whitmans, Brad and Julie – a white family, buy the house next door.  They raze the house and backyard trees and build themselves a showplace.  Brad Whitman is a local celebrity making TV commercials for his HVAC company.  Julia, who grew up poor, is finally secure as Brad’s wife and mother to 2 daughters in a house she never imagined would be hers.  The families find themselves at odds – first about Valarie’s historic tree and soon after the blossoming romance between Xavier and Julia’s daughter, Juniper.  

“A Good Neighborhood” is a story of modern day suburbia.  What does it mean to be a good neighbor?  The book explores the effects of class, race and teenage love. 

Stop by the LeRoy Public Library to check out this book or a wide variety of great reads for young and old.  Many new books are available and waiting for you.   All you need to bring is your library card!!