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- Early in the novel, Juniper considers: "What,
she wondered, made a neighborhood good? To her parents, good
seemed to mean there were mainly other people like themselves." What
do you think makes a "good" neighborhood, and is Oak Knoll one of
them? As new houses are built in older, existing neighborhoods, do
you think that changes the feel and culture of a place?
- Do you view the Whitman family as
genuinely Christian, or is religion primarily a tool for Julia and
Brad? Can both things be true at the same time?
- For Valerie, "tending her plants was her therapy." In
what aspects of the natural world does Valerie take comfort in? What
does Valerie’s dying oak tree come to represent for her? With that
in mind, do you think her lawsuit was reasonable?
- Race can be a sensitive topic, and it features prominently in A
Good Neighborhood. How comfortable do you feel talking about
race, and do you think this novel changed your perspective on the
role that race plays in the United States?
- Of her new neighbors, Valerie acknowledges: "I basically
judged them from the second the chain saws started, and that bothers
me. I try to give everyone a chance, or how can I complain when
people pre-judge me?" What assumptions do these two families
make about each other? Which of these assumptions do you consider to
be racist or classist?
- Almost immediately, we are told, "Later this summer when the
funeral takes place, the media will speculate boldly on who’s to
blame. They’ll challenge attendees to say on camera whose side
they’re on." How does knowing that a tragedy lies ahead affect
your reading experience?
- Who should shoulder the blame for the chain of aggression
between these neighbors? What actions could have been taken by
either family to tame the tension?
- The Greek chorus makes the reader a part of the story, and in
some ways complicit in the action. How did that affect your reading?
Who did you think the "We" was in the book’s narration?
- Of music, Xavier says: "Classical was the one that made him
feel beautiful, and he needed that feeling to help him get through
all the emotional noise in the world." What kind of "emotional
noise" does Xavier face, and did this phrase resonate with you? How
does music shape Xavier’s sense of self?
- "As our resident English professor would remind us, place,
especially in stories of the South, is as much a character as any
human, and inseparable from—in this case even necessary to—the
plot."
The novel takes place in North Carolina. How does this
setting inform the story? How do the ghosts of history impact the
characters in the book?
- "How many nights in the past few years had Valerie waited up for
her son, praying that he and his friends not be stopped by the
police?"
In what ways are both Juniper and Xavier taught to
protect themselves? How do each of them handle the socio-cultural
limitations that are put on their bodies?
- Consider Juniper’s early life, when Julia was down on her luck.
How do those experiences shape what is expected of Juniper, and the
choices she makes (including purity vows, employment options)? What
kinds of messages does she receive about the kind of woman she
should become?
- "As far as Juniper could see, Julia was all-in for all of it.
Between Blakely and New Hope, she was making certain her daughters
were groomed into angels-on-earth." In what ways did you view
Julia as Brad’s victim or his accomplice?
- Did you recognize your adolescent self in Xavier and Juniper?
How is the love experienced by these teens different from more
mature versions?
- "She wanted her daughter to value herself more than she, Julia,
had done as a teen, wanted her to see chastity as the thing that
made her the boss of her fate."
What did you think about this notion that a
woman’s "purity" is her "super power"?
- The book club in the novel recently read and discussed Vladimir
Nabokov’s Lolita. How does that classic novel echo or
amplify the action in A Good Neighborhood?
- What scenes with Brad did you find especially upsetting to read?
How does Brad justify his desires and urges? Were there moments
where you felt sympathetic to him, or understood where he was coming
from?
- Did you think Juniper was manipulated by her family and the
police into reporting the "crime"? In what ways is her truth
distorted by those in authority?
- "If you are a black person in the United States, you live each
day with the knowledge that this scene or one very much like it may
be in your future. You needn’t have done anything illegal or have
broken any rule."
Did this statement resonate with you? What
other injustices does the author explore in this book? Did you find
you further explored your own opinions on these hot button issues,
or develop different empathies along the way?
- How does the media coverage and news cycle contribute to
Xavier’s fate? What are your thoughts on the novel’s conclusion and
Xavier’s choice? Do you think that justice was ultimately served?
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