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arielleloretta's review against another edition
2.0
I would have given this book four stars because it did keep me reading, but the end was awful. No closure at all after dragging the reader through a really depressing story full of characters you pretty much can't like.
tarshka's review against another edition
I got about an hour in, but I didn't care much what happened to anyone, wasn't interested in finding out what happened with the woman who moved to the place to escape her past, so I gave up. The narrator was alright though.
lriopel's review against another edition
2.0
I really liked the first Leah Stewart book I read, The Myth of You and Me, and I have read two more now, and I haven't liked either of them as much. Some good writing, but the characters were difficult to like, and I really disliked the reader on the audio book. Her voice worked ok for the old woman character, but it was really wrong for the younger characters, and the way she read the childrens' voices was AWFUL. I might have enjoyed the book more if I hadn't been perpetually irritated with the voice.
mmc6661's review against another edition
3.0
A decent story but I kept thinking that there was something more to it and then there was but still didn't pan out to be what I expected. A story about 2 neighbors, one old and the other single with a young son, and the secrets they harbor.
joyousreads132's review against another edition
3.0
Although it took me a while to get into the swing of reading this book, The New Neighbor turned out to be one of those novels that had an uncanny ability to drive you crazy. Primarily because it was a very closed-book that didn’t show its true colours until towards the end. Reading this book felt like I had an itch buried subcutaneously that was hard to scratch.
The story follows two women at two opposing points of their lives. One is a 90-year-old woman who’d practically lived like a hermit all her life; and the other, a single parent looking for a fresh start with her son. In more ways than one, they are an unlikely pair. However, through their interactions, a fragile dynamic will be formed. In the nexus of their relationship is a mutual curiosity that would somehow assuage them of their guilt; a way to face the past. But were they really guilty? Or were they victims of their own circumstances? That’s the crux of this book, and Leah Stewart did a tremendous job in flaying her characters in such a way that would appeal to her empathy-deficient readers.
Admittedly, my issue with this book was that I thought the author forgave them easily, made excuses for them, even. The ending, in particular left a lot to be desired. No one was punished. No one repented simply because the characters were made to feel like they were within their rights. I supposed they were right. But in doing so, the story lacked the emotional pull required to feel satiated. I wasn’t enraged. At the end of the novel, all I felt was an “unfeeling” relief that it was over.
The story follows two women at two opposing points of their lives. One is a 90-year-old woman who’d practically lived like a hermit all her life; and the other, a single parent looking for a fresh start with her son. In more ways than one, they are an unlikely pair. However, through their interactions, a fragile dynamic will be formed. In the nexus of their relationship is a mutual curiosity that would somehow assuage them of their guilt; a way to face the past. But were they really guilty? Or were they victims of their own circumstances? That’s the crux of this book, and Leah Stewart did a tremendous job in flaying her characters in such a way that would appeal to her empathy-deficient readers.
Admittedly, my issue with this book was that I thought the author forgave them easily, made excuses for them, even. The ending, in particular left a lot to be desired. No one was punished. No one repented simply because the characters were made to feel like they were within their rights. I supposed they were right. But in doing so, the story lacked the emotional pull required to feel satiated. I wasn’t enraged. At the end of the novel, all I felt was an “unfeeling” relief that it was over.
ambscray's review against another edition
4.0
“We do bad things and yet think of ourselves as good. Fundamentally good, you see, despite a slipup or two. Other people, though. When they do a bad thing, we tend to think they're bad.”
I started this book on a whim and at first it didn't really catch my attention very well. At one point I even forgot I was reading it and started on a completely separate book only to pick it back up a few months later. I'm extremely glad I finished it though because it got so much more interesting. I received the ebook for free courtesy of Jellybooks as a research project they were doing so I didn't have knowledge of it prior to reading it and therefore wasn't sure what to expect; and it did a great job at keeping me guessing throughout.
Rating: 4/5
It almost got a full five but I had to cut a point off because it started to feel a little bit rushed toward the end. Other than that I have no real complaints.
Things I didn't like:
As mentioned above, things began to feel rushed toward the end of the book. It seemed like the author was crunched for time or possibly even just really ready to wrap it all up.
Things I did like:
I chose the quote I did because the best part of this book for me was that none of the characters were "good." They all had decent qualities but they were also all flawed, a few more than others but it was so real and I loved that. They were all "morally ambiguous," as Milo would say.
I'm usually iffy about books that have dialogue for young children but this one didn't seem awkward or unrealistic. Milo, Ben, and young Jennifer all had distinct voices and all said things I can imagine a child saying.
The portrayals of characters, their development, and the concept of things hardly ever being what they seem like on the outside. I really enjoyed that this book showed how flawed and messy love can be when in the beginning it's nothing but ignorant bliss. I enjoyed every single character even when I got annoyed with them.
In other words...
This book covered an array of things from love to war, from old age to the innocence of childhood. In some moments it was intense, in others sad, and in others it was very sweet. All in all it was a great read and I would definitely recommend it to anyone 16 and up. I'll definitely be buying a hard copy in the near future.
rda1025's review against another edition
5.0
This was a very good book!!!!! A nosy neighbor who solves a mystery about the young lady and her kid who move in across the pond!!!!
thain's review against another edition
4.0
An elderly woman living in a Tennessee mountaintop cabin is surprised when a single mother moves in across the pond and is determined to learn the young woman's secrets. Psychological intrigue between two individuals who, on the surface, could not appear more different, but who actually have a great deal in common.
readingundertheradar's review against another edition
4.0
I found this in the library and was intrigued by the flap copy, and I'm so glad I went home with it. A 2015 release, it sort of falls in that "unreliable white female main character thriller" category but there is much more at play here with the counter story of ninety-one-year-old Margaret, her life, and their unfolding relationship.