9781250237279

1250237270

9781250270535

1250270537

9781250237286

1250237289

"A gripping contemporary novel that examines the American dream through the lens of two families living side by side in an idyllic neighborhood, and the one summer that changes their lives irrevocably"-- Provided by publisher.

Oak Knoll, a tight-knit North Carolina neighborhood. Professor of forestry and ecology Valerie Alston-Holt is raising her bright and talented biracial son, Xavier, who is headed to college in the fall. Then the Whitmans buy the property next door. They are a family with new money and a secretly troubled teenage daughter. They raze the house and trees next door to build themselves a showplace. The two families quickly find themselves at odds: first, over an historic oak tree in Valerie's yard, and soon after, the blossoming romance between their two teenagers. What does it mean to be a good neighbor? -- adapted from jacket.

Neighbors > Fiction.

Neighborhoods > Fiction.

Women teachers > Fiction.

Racially-mixed families > Fiction.

Interracial dating > Fiction.

North Carolina > Fiction.