The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Fowler, Therese Anne. A Good Neighborhood. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2020.

Valerie Aston-Holt is a black woman who works as an ecology professor. She lives in Oak Knoll, a neighborhood in North Carolina. She has a small house and a large backyard, filled with plants and an 80-foot oak tree she loves. She lives with her son Xavier, whose white father Tom died when he was a baby. Xavier is 18 years old and is a classical guitarist who will leave for the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in the fall.

New neighbors move into the lot adjoining their backyard, the rich, white Whitmans. Xavier introduces himself to Valerie Whitman, the teenage daughter of the family. Valerie already dislikes Brad Whitman (Valerie's stepfather) due to him epitomizing the gentrification of the neighborhood, and his cutting of trees to build his mansion and pool. Juniper, Brad’s 17-year-old stepdaughter, and Xavier admire each other.

The Whitmans have a housewarming party. Guests admire the photo of Juniper and Brad at her chastity Ball when she was 14, where she took a purity vow. Brad and his wife Julia are proud of the vow. They are very controlling and forbid her dating. Xavier and Juniper kiss in the backyard.

Valerie realizes her large oak is dying, due to Brad building the pool too close to it. She contacts an environmental lawyer, who makes a claim to Brad and the builders for $500,000 in damages.

Juniper asks for a car to drive to her new job at the grocery store Fresh Market (where Xavier also works). Brad buys her a car, on the promise she will also work for him part-time.

Valerie tells Xavier about the lawsuit. He is upset, revealing that he likes Juniper and that this will prevent their relationship. Valerie tells Xavier not to get involved with Juniper, because her family is too white and their participation in the purity vow shows their damaging and antiquated values.

Juniper and Xavier are working the same day and get off early. They get milkshakes and kiss, deciding to get to know each other.

The narrators reveal that Brad lusts after Juniper, and that she saw desire in his eyes at her purity vow. He kissed her months ago when he thought she was asleep. Juniper was awake, but said nothing.

Juniper and Xavier continue seeing each other in secret, falling in love.

The Whitmans go to their beach house. Brad flips his daughters in the water, Juniper noticing he has an erection when flipping her. His desire horrifies her, but she is unsure of whether to talk about it, thinking of her church’s teachings that men cannot control their desires.

Brad is served Valerie’s lawsuit at work when Juniper is there. Juniper goes to meet Xavier and tells him about Brad’s anger and the vile things he said about Valerie. She says she is on Valerie’s side and will not let the lawsuit come between them. They make plans for Juniper to graduate early and come to San Francisco.

Valerie sees Xavier and Juniper kissing, but decides he must make his own decisions.

Juniper tells Julia she is going for a run. She meets Xavier at the park, where they decided they would have sex for the first time in one of the park’s cabins. Brad finds Juniper’s phone and decides to return it to her. He walks in on Juniper and Xavier having sex and attacks Xavier, who flees. He calls the police, saying Xavier raped Juniper.

The police make Juniper go to the hospital, despite her saying it was not rape. Brad claims she was manipulated by Xavier and is confused. At the hospital, the nurses tell her that rape victims are often traumatized so they cannot accept their own rape when she tries to say it was consensual.

The police arrest Xavier with charges of kidnapping, assault, and rape of a minor.

Xavier’s lawyer says that he has no hope of being found innocent at trial, due to being black with charges against a white girl. The DA is not having Juniper testify. Xavier has not heard from her as the Whitmans sent her to her grandparent’s cabin, cut off from technology. She has no idea about the criminal charges.

Xavier loses his college admission and scholarship. The media villainizes Xavier. After he makes bail, he leaves his house and is attacked by white men. The attack shatters bones and tendons in his hand, the doctors saying he will never play professional guitar.

Brad knows Xavier did not rape Juniper, but lied to the DA. Brad wants to make Valerie suffer and then offer to drop the charges if she drops the tree lawsuit.

Valerie receives a call from her lawyer telling her Brad’s offer, which he says is extortion. Valerie does not care, saying she will agree if Xavier will be free.

Brad calls the DA who says criminal charges cannot be dropped at Brad’s whims, for his own benefit for the tree lawsuit.

Xavier’s lawyer tells him Brad’s promise fell through and the charges are not dropped, and that Xavier should plea for a lesser charge. Xavier does not tell Valerie.

Juniper sneaks out to a library and finds the articles about Xavier. Horrified, she calls the DA to say it was not rape. The DA thinks Brad incentivized her to say that and refuses to believe her. She calls Julia and tells her Brad did something bad, that Xavier is innocent and she is through letting everyone control her.

While Juniper calls Julia, Xavier buys a gun. He kills himself, leaving a video for Valerie on his phone saying he loves her and wants her to share his story to prevent this happening to another person.

Julia divorces Brad. Juniper and her friends share Xavier’s story on the internet and Brad goes bankrupt. Juniper decides to study politics and become a defense attorney. Valerie moves to a farm and receives a large settlement from the tree lawsuit, which her lawyer did not drop. She plants oak trees for Xavier.