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Joanne Serling
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Good Neighbors: A Novel Kindle Edition

by Joanne Serling (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.5 3.5 out of 5 stars 342 ratings
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A searing portrait of suburbia, friendship, and family strained by a devotion to false appearances.

In an idyllic suburb, four young families quickly form a neighborhood clique, their friendships based on little more than the ages of their children and a shared sense of camaraderie. When one of the couples, Paige and Gene Edwards, adopt a four-year-old girl from Russia, the group's loyalty and morality is soon called into question. Are the Edwards unkind to their new daughter? Or is she a difficult child with hidden destructive tendencies?

As the seams of the group friendship slowly unravel, neighbor Nicole Westerhof finds herself drawn further into the life of the adopted girl, forcing Nicole to re-examine the deceptive nature of her own family ties, and her complicity in the events unfolding around her.
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  1. Print length
    257 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Twelve
  5. Publication date
    February 6, 2018
  6. File size
    1568 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
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  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"I haven't been captivated by a story like this in so long. The tension, the complexity, the obsession over status; how one hopes to be seen by others versus how one fears one is seen...GOOD NEIGHBORS is a stunning, shocking, entertaining, and thought-provoking look at humanity. I want everyone to read this book."―p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center; font: 12.0px Arial}Julia Fierro, author of The Gypsy Moth Mother and Cutting Teeth

"Riveting...GOOD NEIGHBORS exposes the dark underbelly of seemingly perfect families and friendships in this compulsively paced suburban thriller."―p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center; font: 12.0px Arial}Bethany Ball, author of What To Do About The Solomons

"GOOD NEIGHBORS is a novel for everyone who's ever wondered what's really behind the smiling cohesion of other people's holiday cards and Facebook posts. Perhaps its highest achievement is to make us laugh, think, and tremble at the same time."―p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center; font: 12.0px Arial}Pamela Erens, author of Eleven Hours, The Virgins and The Understory

"[An] ice-pick of a debut novel...elegant but savage...GOOD NEIGHBORS is first-rate suburbs-fiction. A steely writing performance, the kind that will leave readers watchful for another novel from this author."―Open Letters Review

"While many novels have tackled the subject of suburban secrets and unease, [GOOD NEIGHBORS] excels in particular at exploring the bonds among families. "―Publishers Weekly

"[Serling] writes with verve and frequent insight... A spicy stew of suburban discontent."―Kirkus

About the Author

Joanne Serling's fiction has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and has appeared in the New Ohio Review and North American Review. She is a graduate of Cornell University and studied and taught fiction at The Writers Studio in New York City. She lives outside of New York with her husband and children and is at work on her second book.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B072JT5CYP
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Twelve; 1st edition (February 6, 2018)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 6, 2018
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1568 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 257 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.5 3.5 out of 5 stars 342 ratings

About the author

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Joanne Serling

Joanne Serling

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Joanne Serling’s fiction has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and has appeared in New Ohio Review and North American Review. She is a graduate of Cornell University and studied and taught fiction at The Writers Studio in New York City. She lives outside of New York with her husband and children and is at work on her second book.

Customer reviews

3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5 out of 5
342 global ratings
Living in NYC & Brooklyn in many apts over the ...
5 Stars
Living in NYC & Brooklyn in many apts over the ...
Living in NYC & Brooklyn in many apts over the years, this book makes you wonder what really goes on behind your neighbor’s doors you rarely see open. A must read if you want to see outside your bubble of rainbow and bunnies.
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Top reviews from the United States

FB
3.0 out of 5 stars Just ok
Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2018
Verified Purchase
A fairly enjoyable read, but the story was built on a very simple premise and lacked character development. If the overall theme is bare-boned, then the characters should be rich and complex in nature.
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Lisa Miller
4.0 out of 5 stars Absorbing
Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2018
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This book held my interest throughout. The characters were quite well developed and there was suspense throughout. A little surprised by the ending.
One person found this helpful
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Susan
5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant debut: do not miss out!
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2018
Verified Purchase
I read GOOD NEIGHBORS cover-to-cover overnight. Promising myself that I would go to sleep after one more chapter, I could not stop. Joanne Serling perfectly describes a period in my life when my husband and I were members of a neighborhood clique. This book is the fictionalization of a sociological study of the tribe mentality found in many neighborhoods, particularly newly built areas where people arrive at the same time.

The four families in GOOD NEIGHBORS are inseparable - or are they? Is their friendship based only on proximity and the children? The chemistry changes after Paige and Gene Edwards adopt a four-year-old Russian girl. Even before the child arrives in the United States, the other neighbors are questioning the adoption itself and even the name chosen by the Edwards for their new daughter. I can hear behind-the-back chatter: “Who names a Russian girl Winifred? Thank goodness they plan to call her Winnie.” Would things have turned out differently if she were called Olga, I wonder.

Winnie is an unusual little girl, and the story’s narrator, Nicole Westerhof, takes a special interest in her. During their interactions, Nicole becomes concerned about Winnie’s life with Paige, Gene and brother Cameron. At the same time, she is dealing with a troubled sister and mother. When her husband lends no support on either subject, Nicole struggles with revealing her thoughts to the neighbors. As she vacillates, the anti-Edwards whispering campaign has begun, and the camaraderie begins to deteriorate.

I love Nicole! One side of her is superficial; just like me, she first notices everyone’s attire in minute detail and mentally criticizes those who are inappropriately dressed. On the other hand, she is deeply introspective and a well grounded wife and mother. Her concern for Winnie is touching and believable. Despite her frustration with her sister and mother, she loves them.

Paige could have been my former neighbor. She lives in the perfect house with the nicest yard. She throws the best dinner parties, thanks to her live-in nanny/cook/maid. She is the social doyenne of the group. She cannot cope with an imperfect child. Her life begins to unravel.

Joanne Serling not only develops believable characters, but she writes terrific dialogue. What a great discussion GOOD NEIGHBORS would engender at a book club! I look forward to more from this writer.
13 people found this helpful
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1nonlyjen
2.0 out of 5 stars Horrible stilted style
Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2018
Verified Purchase
I forced myself to finish this book, even though I wanted to give up on it numerous times due to the horrible stilted writing style. This author begins entirely too many sentences with the word "Which...", and while she may have been aiming for a casual, conversational style, it quickly became tiresome and gave the entire book a sloppy, juvenile feel. She also uses entirely too many exclamation points.
The story itself was somewhat compelling, but I did not find any of the characters likeable and the quickly wrapped-up ending was a big disappointment. There are so many other wonderful books on my reading list, and I'm rather sorry I wasted time and money on this one.
One person found this helpful
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SASA
3.0 out of 5 stars Extremely self involved women
Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2018
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This book was a page turner because I wanted to know what became of the Russian adoptee. But I disliked all of the other characters to the extent I could not relate not even tell their odious personalities apart. The self involvement and obsession with appearances and order was so off putting. No one seemed to have any depth of intelligence. I did appreciate though that some things weren't tied up with a ribbon. The main character (spoiler alert) never resolved her relationship with her sister or mother. And she didn't really try; just threw money at the problem and pretended to care. A daughter/sister who cared would use her copious money and time off to visit.
Also, the author uses too many sentence fragments and weird, stilted dialogue.
3 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2018
Verified Purchase
It left me wanting to know more but still content with how it ended in a sense. I'm still puzzled.
2 people found this helpful
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Gregg
5.0 out of 5 stars brilliant debut fiction
Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2018
Verified Purchase
Right from the Prologue I was hooked. Featuring a group of suburban neighbors, “The weight of the secrets pressing us deeper and closer together,” desperately involved in one another’s lives, Good Neighbors is compelling and addicting. Serling manages to keep a full cast of characters both memorable and recognizable. Narrated by an honest, complex and fallible woman, the story is told in chapters that lead tantalizingly one to the next, so before you know it, you’ve permanently camped out in the most comfortable chair in your living room with no plans to get up. Serling captures her characters in perfect descriptions that combine the best mixture of empathy and bite. Good Neighbors is poignant, suspenseful and damning all at once. I highly recommend this debut novel which addresses head-on the conundrums and compromises of being both parent and human.
4 people found this helpful
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consumer356864
1.0 out of 5 stars Horrible Book
Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2019
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This book sounded like it would be good, but unfortunately, it was really, really bad. The storyline was practically non- existent. Nothing to keep me interested. I almost abandoned it several times, because it was so boring. I didn’t like the author’s writing style. It seemed very “simple”, and unprofessional. I also really hated the ending. The whole book was just so stupid- so bad- and a total waste of time & money. One of the worst books I’ve ever read.
2 people found this helpful
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