Summary

The White Elephant looms large over the quaint suburban town of Willard Park: an ornate, newly constructed behemoth of a home, it soars over the neighborhood, dwarfing the houses that surround it. When owner Nick Cox cuts down Allison and Ted Miller’s precious red maple – in an effort to make his unsightly property more appealing to buyers – their once-serene town becomes a battleground.

While tensions between Ted and Nick escalate, other dysfunctions abound: Allison finds herself compulsively drawn to the man who is threatening to upend her quietly organized life. A lawyer with a pot habit and a serious midlife crisis skirts his responsibilities. And in a quest for popularity, a teenage girl gets caught up in a not-so-harmless prank. Newcomers and longtime residents alike begin to clash in conflicting pursuits of the American Dream, with trees mysteriously uprooted, fingers pointed, and lines drawn.

Why I chose to read this book
After reading crime novels, sometimes you just need a light fluffy story and this seemed like the perfect fit. Suburban life drama, dysfunctional families, and neighborhood disputes; this was exactly what I needed to entertain myself. Also I really love the cover art, it drew me in!

Thoughts & Opinions

This was a fun little read. It’s a short book and I’d recommend not taking too much time reading it, or at least try not to space out your reading sessions. We are introduced to many characters; three couples along with their kids, and a slew of side characters, so you might have difficulty remembering who is who like I did. It took me a while to nail down which kid belonged to which couple. I would often pause to think and remind myself of each character’s family dynamics. 

The story in White Elephant transpires in Willard Park, a charming neighborhood where everyone knows everyone. Idyllic, with a strong sense of community, it sounds like the perfect place to plant some roots and enjoy the serenity. But what happens when an ambitious developer moves into the neighborhood and wants to obliterate the very purpose of Willard Park? One house at a time, Nick Cox is destroying the neighborhood’s quaintness the residents fell in love with. 

Tree-obsessed Ted Miller will not stand to see his beloved Willard Park torn apart. In this humorous and dark portrait of American suburbia, you’ll witness the rising tensions between neighbors, the war between old versus new, and small versus big. Secrets, lies, betrayals, and dysfunctional families are being exposed on a bulletin board at the local café, adding more fuel to the fire.