The Neighbors by Hannah Mary McKinnon (Review by Elise Yeakley)
Rating: 4/5*
The Neighbors is a gripping novel that explores the lives of two families and how they are connected with one another, through heartbreak and secrets. Also, as a disclaimer, readers should be aware that there is adult content in this novel (including language and sexual content). With that being said, this book was not what I was expecting, but it sucked me in and made for an interesting read.
You’ll find yourself frustrated with the leading lady of the story, Abby, and how she seems to self-sabotage her life away. At times you’ll feel sympathy for her heart and mind, and for the issues, she has left unresolved from years of emotional abuse from her mother, abandonment from her father, and the death of the only person she truly loved. She never really learned to love herself, and she let herself be unhappy because of it.
I’m not a fan of books where people who are married wish their lives away, particularly about an ex-lover, so I didn’t like that part of the story. However, it ends up being more of a think piece regarding rose-colored glasses in the end, rather than an affair story in and of itself. What seems like a story about chasing the one who got away turns into a story of harsh reality and the dangers of wishing your life away. Everything is not as it seems in this novel; some secrets lie deep beneath the grave.
The Neighbors was very well put together and was told through multiple perspectives—Abby, Abby’s husband, Abby’s daughter, and the husband and wife who live next door. You will be sucked in immediately, and if you find yourself worried that this story is justifying cheating, wait until the end and think about what is happening. There are a few twists that change everything.
Overall, The Neighbors was a riveting read. The book had a little too much sexual content and profanity for my taste personally, but I’m sure many other readers will be fine with that aspect (it is a novel revolving around lovers and affairs, after all). The book itself was well crafted and intriguing, and it was thickly coated with drama, questions, surprises, and one big thought-provoking message at the end that wraps everything up together in a tragic bow.