Reading Recommendations: In The Neighborhood
Hello readers! A new month means a new batch of recommendations. April’s theme is stories about neighborhoods! Each of these novels focus on tight-knit communities and neighborhoods that rise to challenge in times of need. I hope you enjoy these book picks!
The Parker Inheritance
The letter waits in a book, in a box, in an attic, in an old house in Lambert, South Carolina. It’s waiting for Candice Miller.
When Candice finds the letter, she isn’t sure she should read it. It’s addressed to her grandmother, after all, who left Lambert in a cloud of shame. But the letter describes a young woman named Siobhan Washington. An injustice that happened decades ago. A mystery enfolding the letter-writer. And the fortune that awaits the person who solves the puzzle. Grandma tried and failed. But now Candice has another chance.
So with the help of Brandon Jones, the quiet boy across the street, she begins to decipher the clues in the letter. The challenge will lead them deep into Lambert’s history, full of ugly deeds, forgotten heroes, and one great love; and deeper into their own families, with their own unspoken secrets. Can they find the fortune and fulfill the letter’s promise before the summer ends?
The Parker Inheritance is rich with history inspired by real people, places, and events (set in a tight-knit neighborhood). I appreciated how the novel seamlessly shifts from the past to the present which helps the readers connect the dots (of the mystery). It was such an immersive reading experience and Johnson’s writing is detailed giving the novel a heavy dose of realism. It’s a novel that opens a larger discussion about American history and a reckoning with our past.
The Rival Bid
She’ll fight for what she wants…even if she has to make a deal with the devil.
Camilla Anthony painstakingly restores older Chicagoland homes to their former glory. So when the opportunity arises to acquire an abandoned block of homes and a school in her neighborhood of Southlake Park, she’s ready to take on the challenge. But she’ll need the help of her former crush and frequent real estate rival.
Mekkai Arrington builds luxury homes in urban communities. Increasingly, he and preservationist Camilla Anthony clash over gentrification. But when Kai reluctantly agrees to participate in a charity bachelor auction, Camilla vies for him and wins. She proposes an alliance that will benefit both of their companies while salvaging a historic neighborhood in their childhood community. But will the fiery passion that erupts between them during their beach getaway blow up their deal?
A cute friends/enemies to lovers mashup about two rival home builders who reunite from their childhood years. When Camilla and Mekkai meet again old feelings and crushes are brought back to light. They try to reconcile for the greater good of their neighborhood as the changes have led to people leaving the community. I appreciated how the balance of discussing series topics such as gentrification (and bringing awareness to it) while also is a romance about reconnecting.
Brownstone
Almudena has always wondered about the dad she never met.
Now, with her white mother headed on a once-in-a-lifetime trip without her, she’s left alone with her Guatemalan father for an entire summer. Xavier seems happy to see her, but he expects her to live in (and help fix up) his old, broken-down brownstone. And all along, she must navigate the language barrier of his rapid-fire Spanish—which she doesn’t speak.
As Almudena tries to adjust to this new reality, she gets to know the residents of Xavier’s Latin American neighborhood. Each member of the community has their own joys and heartbreaks as well as their own strong opinions on how this young Latina should talk, dress, and behave. Some can’t understand why she doesn’t know where she comes from. Others think she’s “not brown enough” to fit in.
But time is running out for Almudena and Xavier to get to know each other, and the key to their connection may ultimately lie in bringing all these different elements together. Fixing a broken building is one thing, but turning these stubborn individuals into a found family might take more than this one summer.
This was such a beautiful graphic novel, inside and out. It took me on a rollercoaster ride of emotions in the best way. I smiled, laughed, and even cried as the story struck a deep chord within me. I loved how the illustrations spoke for themselves even with the dialogue as readers get to meet the beloved residents of the neighborhood and their colorful personalities. Though they struggle with an ever-changing neighborhood they still have immense love for each other and the place they call home. Watching them come together in times of need was utterly heartwarming. Especially when they accept Almudena with open arms and give her the support she needs to thrive in this new environment.
Like Home
Chinelo, or Nelo as her best friend Kate calls her, is all about her neighborhood Ginger East. She loves its chill vibe, ride-or-die sense of community, and her memories of growing up there. Ginger East isn’t what it used to be, though. After a deadly incident at the local arcade, all her closest friends moved away, except for Kate. But as long as they have each other, Nelo’s good.
Only, Kate’s parents’ corner store is vandalized, leaving Nelo shaken to her core. The police and the media are quick to point fingers, and soon more of the outside world descends on Ginger East with promises to “fix” it. Suddenly, Nelo finds herself in the middle of a drama unfolding on a national scale.
Worse yet, Kate is acting strange. She’s pushing Nelo away at the exact moment they need each other most. Nelo’s entire world is morphing into something she hates, and she must figure out how to get things back on track or risk losing everything—and everyone—she loves.
Like Home follows the story of Chinelo who lives in Ginger East, a tight knit neighborhood full of a vibrant community. Even though the neighborhood is fallen on hard times she loves the people, even though a lot has changed over the years. When friends move away, box stores open up, and rent increases she realizes the neighborhood is slowly being stripped at its core. In between all of the neighborhood changes this story at its core is about growing up and life’s obstacles. Change is inevitable, but Chinelo sees how the changes are negatively affecting every one and decides to stand up and do something about it.
You Can Go Your Own Way
Adam Stillwater is in over his head. At least, that’s what his best friend would say. And his mom. And the guy who runs the hardware store down the street. But this pinball arcade is the only piece of his dad that Adam has left, and he’s determined to protect it from Philadelphia’s newest tech mogul, who wants to turn it into another one of his cold, lifeless gaming cafés.
Whitney Mitchell doesn’t know how she got here. Her parents split up. She lost all her friends. Her boyfriend dumped her. And now she’s spending her senior year running social media for her dad’s chain of super successful gaming cafés—which mostly consists of trading insults with that decrepit old pinball arcade across town.
But when a huge snowstorm hits, Adam and Whitney suddenly find themselves trapped inside the arcade. Cut off from their families, their worlds, and their responsibilities, the tension between them seems to melt away, leaving something else in its place. But what happens when the storm stops?
The banter between friends and family and the realistic characters make up a contemporary story that you can really get behind. I also enjoyed the references to gaming culture embedded in the novel. I think that this novel was very soothing and cozy. There’s a strong sense of community that in the Old City neighborhood in Philly where the story was set. Readers get to see how these businesses come together not only for the festival but in times of need. The main characters felt very real and even when they make some decisions that are frustrating because they’re meddling in affairs they still are characters you can root for.
t concludes this month’s batch of reading recommendations! What stories about neighborhoods do you recommend or enjoy? Comment your recommendations below.
