The Block Party: A Novel

This was an interesting one! I got big ‘desperate housewives’ vibes which is honestly such an intriguing concept - The wealthy, “perfect” neighborhood is not quite what it seems. I ultimately really enjoyed this storyline and I was thoroughly shocked for so many of the outcomes we end up with. The thing that bothered me the most is the point of view switch. going back and forth from a primarily third person perspective to first person chapters was just not my favorite. It was just a lot of bouncing around that I didn’t really love trying to keep up with. What I did like about it though was getting Lettie’s side of the story. Alex is obviously our main character so getting her daughter’s perspective added an additional side to all the mysteries. There’s a lot of twists and turns but seeing them come together was really cool. Overall, a fun read!

Lot’s of twists and turns!

The Block Party is a domestic thriller about a murder during the annual Memorial Day party on bougie Alton Lane. If Desperate Housewives was a book, this would be it! So many characters, so much dysfunction, so unbelievable! Fortunately, there are only 2 narrators: Alex, nosy neighbor & divorce mediator and Lettie, Alex's daughter and high school senior who is passionate about saving the earth & other causes. They are both way too involved in neighbors and friends' lives.

The narrative begins with this year's block party; setting the scene for what is about to happen. Then it goes back to one year earlier and we are introduced to all the neighbors and the events leading up to this year's block party. Lots of drama, secrets, and revenge revolve around the 5 families living on the upscale street. None of the characters are particularly likeable. This was an over-the-top plot-like reading a soap opera. See Desperate Housewives comment.

Good airplane read.

Plot is slow and characters are not very memorable.