The Book:
Welcome to the Neighborhood by Lisa Roe
Published April 5th 2022 by Sourcebooks Casablanca
Date read: March 14, 2022
The Characters:
Ginny and her daughter Harri
Buy it on Bookshop.org | Amazon
The Plot (from Goodreads):
After years of struggling to make ends meet, Queens single mom Ginny falls for sweet, divorced Jeff, and relishes the idea of moving with her quirky eleven-year-old daughter Harri to his home in an upscale New Jersey suburb. Though she’s never been impressed by material things, she is thrilled that getting a second chance at love comes with the added bonus of finally giving Harri everything she never could before.
And then she meets the neighbors.
Ginny is quickly thrust into the complicated realities of a neighborhood defined by the ever-shifting alliances of PTA moms, Real Housewife contenders, and their mean-girl daughters. When the neighbors’ secrets, back-stabbing, and bad behavior take a devastating toll on her daughter and new marriage, Ginny must decide what really matters—and protect it at all costs.
The Review:
Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca for a gifted copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I love me a good mommy drama!
When Ginny leaves Queens for a New Jersey suburb, she’s in for a rude awakening when it comes to PiTA PTA moms.
This is a popular trope–see The Truth and Other Hidden Things, the Class Mom series, Abbi Waxman’s books, etc. I find myself very drawn to it despite not being a mother. It’s almost like the “cool girl” stereotype all grown up: “I’m not an uptight helicopter mom, I’m a cool mom”. I don’t necessarily want to be the “not like other moms” mom, but I see myself in these women in that I don’t wear makeup, I hate spending money on clothes and status symbols, and I would never tell a kid they needed to lose weight.
What I especially liked about Welcome To The Neighborhood was that it tackled a lot of important subjects without being too heavy. It addresses body shaming, bullying, diet culture, and sexual harassment, but still manages to be rather lighthearted and funny.
I liked Ginny–she was the sort of character I could easily see myself being friends with. Her relationship with Harri was exactly what I would want for myself and my child someday.
If you’re a parent of a young teenager (especially a girl), you’ll definitely want to pick this one up.
Audio Review: I really enjoyed the narration, and thought the voice actor did a great job of bringing this story to life. I would certainly listen to more of her work!
Follow me on Bloglovin’!
