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Loading... Those People Behind Us: A Novelby Mary Camarillo
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It's the summer of 2017 in Wellington Beach, California, a suburban coastal town increasingly divided by politics, protests, and escalating housing prices--divisions that change the lives of five neighbors. Each character confronts death, betrayal, financial decline, and loneliness as they search for home and community in a neighborhood where no one can agree who belongs. Real estate agent Lisa Kensington juggles her job, her shopaholic husband, a mother who knows how to push her buttons, and teenagers with ideas of their own. Ray Gorman, a haunted Vietnam vet, lives with and cares for his aging mother. Keith Nelson, an ex-con, lives in his car, parked near his parents' house. Sixteen-year-old Josh Kowalski works through the shock of his father's abandonment by slamming on a drum set. Jeannette Larsen, an aerobics teacher numbed by horrific tragedy, turns away from her husband and toward reckless behavior. In the end, they all discover that despite their differences, they are more connected than any of them would have imagined. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyRatingAverage:
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We retired to a city of two square miles with under 12K people. On the surface, it is a friendly place, a suburban community that feels small town. It's also a divided city. One house displayed a huge banner for Trump and next to it a house displayed a huge banner for Biden. One house had a sign supporting police and another Black Lives Matter. The new mayor's Fourth of July float was attacked as a campaign float by the last mayor.
Those People Behind Us peels back the pleasant façade of one community, revealing the hidden fear of change and of 'those people'.
The neighborhood is upscale, Beamers and Teslas in the driveways, driven by white, well-off homeowners. Lisa Kensington is a realtor. She takes pride in the community, always concerned about maintaining its best appearance and keeping it up to exacting standards.
Set in the early days of the Trump presidency, a hate group presents as a service group. Wearing a MAGA hat brings nod and scowls. Those who bring 'outsiders' from another city, of another color, are shocked by snide comments.
Personal tragedy has touched these families: the deaths of a child, an aging parent, a spouse. A young adult feels forced from his family home and is sleeping in his car on the street, raising concerns in the community, especially for Lisa. Marriages are troubled. Teens act out.
With chapters alternating characters, we come to know these people. And we feel for them. Nothing is what it appears to be on the surface. The upstanding citizen turns out to be hateful, the feared are truly caring.
An honest and thoughtful portrayal of American society in divisive times, the novel also offers hope that by finding the humanity in our neighbor we can find common ground and acceptance.
Thanks to the author for an ARC. ( )