The Best Kind of People by Zoe Whittall

The Best Kind of People

by Zoe Whittall

A local schoolteacher is arrested, leaving his family to wrestle with the possibility of his guilt, in this exquisite novel about loyalty, truth, and happiness.

The Woodburys cherish life in the affluent, bucolic suburb of Avalon Hills, Connecticut. George is a beloved science teacher at the local prep school, a hero who once thwarted a gunman, and his wife, Joan, is a hardworking ER nurse. They have brought up their children in this thriving town of wooded yards and sprawling lakes.

Then one night a police car pulls up to the Woodbury home and George is charged with sexual misconduct with students from his daughter’s school. As he sits in prison awaiting trial and claiming innocence, Joan vaults between denial and rage as friends and neighbors turn cold. Their daughter, seventeen-year-old Sadie, is a popular high school senior who becomes a social outcast—and finds refuge in an unexpected place. Her brother, Andrew, a lawyer in New York, returns home to support the family, only to confront unhappy memories from his past. A writer tries to exploit their story, while an unlikely men’s rights activist group attempts to recruit Sadie for their cause.

Provocative and unforgettable, The Best Kind of People reveals the cracks along the seams of even the most perfect lives and the unraveling of an American family.

GILLER PRIZE FINALIST • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK POST
 
“A compelling exploration of the ways a crime implicates all of us.”—Kaitlyn Greenidge, author of We Love You, Charlie Freeman
 
“I am obsessed with this book.”—Samantha Irby, author of We Are Never Meeting in Real Life
 
“In our post–Harvey Weinstein world [this book] feels more timely and urgent than ever. . . . It draws an elegant line between rape culture, patriarchy, and privilege.”—Claire Cameron, The Millions
 
“Every character is fully rounded, flawed, and achingly human. It puts me in mind of a twenty-first-century Ordinary People.”—Kate Harding, author of Asking for It
 
“Sure to provoke debate and send book discussion groups into overtime.”—Library Journal (starred review)
 
“A powerful page-turner.”—Cosmopolitan

Reviewed by chymerra on

3 of 5 stars

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I was intrigued by the plot of The Best Kind of People. This book was looking at the aftermath of when a teacher is accused of sexual assault on a student. When I mean aftermath, I mean how the family is affected by everything that happened and how they cope with it. So, I was a little disappointed when the book didn’t live up to my internal hype of it.

I could not connect with any of the characters after my initial feeling bad for them. There was a disconnect with Sadie, Andrew, and Joan with me. They didn’t seem to ring true as I read the book. Sadie’s descent into smoking pot and stealing drugs was a little too much for me. What also was a little too much was Andrew’s reactions to his hometown. To sum it up: He loved to hate the town and the people in it. And then there is Joan. For someone who kept saying that she didn’t look down on people, she sure looked down on everyone in the book. She was very judgy and she drove me nuts. Her reactions to different relationships nailed it for me.

What I did like, and I wish more emphasis was put on it, was George and what he did. The author did a great job keeping you on your toes. Did George do it or was he being set up? There wasn’t a concrete answer. You were forced to make your own decision based on the facts that the author let leak during the story. It was great.

The author also did a great job portraying a family that was blindsided by what happened. The effect of George and his arrest almost dismantled his family. Sadie got the worst of it…seeing that she was in the same school as her accusers. She went from being a popular well-liked girl to a social pariah within a day. Andrew, whose relationship was already on shaky ground, started developing awful anger and relationship issues. Joan was having issues coming to term with what George did and had no clue how to act or what to do. The author also did a great job of showing how they recovered or didn’t recover, from what happened.

The end of the book was not a happy one which was ok with me. Not all endings have to be happy. There were still issues that needed to be resolved and you are left wondering “Did he do it?”

My Summary of The Best Kind of People: 3 stars

The Best Kind of People started off with a bang and then stalled out before ending on a weak note. While I liked that I was kept on my toes about George, I felt that there was a disconnect with his family and that is what brought the book down a star for me.

Will I reread: Maybe

Will I recommend to family and friends: Maybe

Age range: Adult

Why: Sexual situations, drug use

I would like to thank Zoe Whittall, NetGalley, Random House and Ballantine Books for allowing me to review The Best Kind of People

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 8 August, 2017: Finished reading
  • 8 August, 2017: Reviewed