A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler is set in an upscale suburb in North Carolina. Brad, a prominent white businessman with a seventeen year-old-stepdaughter, Juniper, and a relatively young wife he married out of poverty, builds a huge house next door to Valerie, a widowed black woman and her mixed-race eighteen year-old-son and classical guitar prodigy, Xavier. It’s a peaceful, gentle neighborhood, or so it seems, but conflict begins to stir. Notwithstanding Juniper’s church-sponsored vow of purity and Xavier’s dedication to his music above relationships, the kids fall for each other. Valerie files suit against Brad and his builder over an ancient tree that Brad’s improperly-permitted construction is killing. The author develops characters the reader cares about as she unfolds the events, and plot and character both drive the reader forward to find out what will happen. Issues of race, class, privilege, and environmental responsibility permeate the novel, but it’s the story and the characters that make this tragic tale such a satisfying read. Here’s what Kirkus Reviews says:
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/therese-anne-fowler/a-good-neighborhood/
