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Arboria Park: A Novel
Stacy Halloran has lived most of her life in 1950s-era housing development Arboria Park. But her beloved neighborhood may not survive much longer.
Despite her parents' entreaties to "stay in the yard where it's safe," the Park is where young Stacy roams in quest of "real life." Through her wanderings, she learns about the area's agricultural history; meets people from backgrounds different than her own; watches her siblings develop interracial and same-sex relationships; helps launch the local punk-rock scene; and finally, settles as a wife and mother. As the neighborhood declines (along with her relationship with her mother), Stacy considers moving on to rescue herself and her daughter. But then a massive highway project threatens the ever-resilient Park--and it's Stacy's task to rally family, friends, and neighbors to save it.
Despite her parents' entreaties to "stay in the yard where it's safe," the Park is where young Stacy roams in quest of "real life." Through her wanderings, she learns about the area's agricultural history; meets people from backgrounds different than her own; watches her siblings develop interracial and same-sex relationships; helps launch the local punk-rock scene; and finally, settles as a wife and mother. As the neighborhood declines (along with her relationship with her mother), Stacy considers moving on to rescue herself and her daughter. But then a massive highway project threatens the ever-resilient Park--and it's Stacy's task to rally family, friends, and neighbors to save it.
- GenresFiction
256 pages, Paperback
Published May 2, 2017
322 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 21, 2018
Stacy grows up in Arboria Park as the youngest of four children in a catholic family. Her parents moved to the housing development in the 50's after World War II and the book follows Stacy as she grows older. Stacy identifies very much with Arboria Park and tries to understand the relationship between where someone lives and who they are through out her childhood. The book goes through the cultural changes as Stacy grows up and covers things like gender, race, and sexuality. We get to experience the generational changes through Autumn and Ruby as well, Stacy's nieces.
The book didn't start off strong when it opened with really young Stacy but as the story progressed into her getting older and then when I got really into it. It was even okay when it switched over into Autumn's point of view but then it felt like it was too long as the author kept going on until the 2000's when . I think the author was trying to tie everything together and use the neighborhood as the common underlying theme but it didn't really work out. The writing was okay and I did like the characters but the plot line was just too much of a mess for me.
The book didn't start off strong when it opened with really young Stacy but as the story progressed into her getting older and then when I got really into it. It was even okay when it switched over into Autumn's point of view but then it felt like it was too long as the author kept going on until the 2000's when . I think the author was trying to tie everything together and use the neighborhood as the common underlying theme but it didn't really work out. The writing was okay and I did like the characters but the plot line was just too much of a mess for me.
June 30, 2017
Stacy Halloran is five and the youngest of four living in Arboria Park, New Jersey. She is the primarily narrator of this story which spans multiple decades. Through Stacy's eyes we observe important cultural changes through the eras. Her quiet family community is not immune as shown through interactions with her family and neighbors.
As a young girl, Stacy was told to stay in her yard where it was considered safe from speeding cars. She often rebels and roams different parts of the neighborhood meeting people from different backgrounds. She figures out that her own family is a bit of an outlier. Her older sister Mary had to get married due to an unplanned pregnancy right after high school. Her parents disagree with one of her brother's lifestyle and they also dislike her other brother’s acting career.
This story shows the gradual changes society has undergone from the ‘50’s to today. These shifts include multiracial relationships, divorce and same sex marriages. This is a debut novel by Kate Tyler Wall.
As a young girl, Stacy was told to stay in her yard where it was considered safe from speeding cars. She often rebels and roams different parts of the neighborhood meeting people from different backgrounds. She figures out that her own family is a bit of an outlier. Her older sister Mary had to get married due to an unplanned pregnancy right after high school. Her parents disagree with one of her brother's lifestyle and they also dislike her other brother’s acting career.
This story shows the gradual changes society has undergone from the ‘50’s to today. These shifts include multiracial relationships, divorce and same sex marriages. This is a debut novel by Kate Tyler Wall.
June 24, 2017
#FirstLine - The moment I learned about the power of place and the world beyond home, I was crouching on the cement curb in front of our house on Arbor Circle.
REVIEW: This book is about what it means to be part of a community. Whether good or bad you play a part in the bigger picture, as do your neighbors, because that is what community is. It is this mix of people within the community that makes it feel like home. A home worth fighting for. With heart and clever characters Wall takes you into the 50's where you will feel part of the era, as well as part of Stacy's family and the community in which she lives. There is something for everyone in this book. It will make you long for days past and cherish every moment moving forward. This was a strong debut from a very promising new writer.
REVIEW: This book is about what it means to be part of a community. Whether good or bad you play a part in the bigger picture, as do your neighbors, because that is what community is. It is this mix of people within the community that makes it feel like home. A home worth fighting for. With heart and clever characters Wall takes you into the 50's where you will feel part of the era, as well as part of Stacy's family and the community in which she lives. There is something for everyone in this book. It will make you long for days past and cherish every moment moving forward. This was a strong debut from a very promising new writer.
June 30, 2017
“The moment I learned about the power of place and the world beyond home, I was crouching on the cement curb in front of our house on Arbor Circle.”
From her earliest memories, all Stacy Halloran wanted was to explore the streets of her neighborhood, Arboria Park. Being able to go farther and farther as she grows older is the highlight of growing up, in her opinion.
“Being the youngest had some perks. The others had been allowed to wander around and nobody had died (not even Matt, the family “daredevil”), so I got the benefit of the doubt.”
Arboria Park follows the life of Stacy as she grows up. It isn’t simply that Stacy wants to expand where she can go, she also wants to know the history of the neighborhood. From walks with her father, she learns about the farmland that their houses were built on.
This book is a walk through her life. We see the neighborhood change as Stacy grows. There is a sense of watching the world progress, as each chapter takes us further into the future, even though we don’t see beyond the scope of the family. The effect is that we see how the world around Stacy and her family changes throughout the decades mainly through how it impacts them.
Wall gives us a rich look at how the decades changed not just physical landscapes but societal norms as well. She does a good job painting the broad spectrum of events and issues relevant to the time without straying too far from the family.
Stacy’s family is very diverse. “‘We’re a family of black sheep,’ Matt said.” Except, the only person in the family who viewed them that way was their mother. Adding in a very old-fashioned and rigid mother was a clever way for Wall to insert dialogue and more negative observations relevant to the time. This is important and necessary because not everyone adapted to these changes. Having the more rigid and negative tones made it more realistic and believable.
Wall uses the Halloran children as ways to explore these changing issues. We deal with premarital sex ending in pregnancy, divorce, interracial marriage with children to follow, and same sex relationships.
“I wish Mom were happy about this being a real family wedding instead of being so judgmental about who’s in the family.”
I liked the use of the Mother in this sense. She was able to voice concerns over the changing nature of the neighborhood, and how she disapproved of her children’s lifestyles and choices. It may be unpopular, but there were (and still are) many parents/grandparents that felt/feel this way. Since the siblings were close-knit, having the mother represent the disapproval was fitting and necessary.
This book is captures the overall feel of each decade, and the social struggles that went with them, without feeling bogged down in a historical lesson. Wall is able to give each sibling an identity that is relevant to their time, and does a nice job showcasing the disapproval that would have gone along with it. You get the very real sense of living in that time as you read.
Young Stacy is probably my favorite part of this book. She is sassy and funny in that innocent way that children are. I love when an author depicts adult situations through a child’s eyes and they just nail it! That happens here, and I laughed multiple times over the pages. Wall brought that little girl to life and she was a joy to read.
As Stacy gets older, her feisty confidence diminishes quite a bit, and while Wall does explore one reason, I did feel like there was an aspect of Stacy that remained unexplained. She drifts through her life, not really knowing what she wants to do, and I never felt like that was explained or resolved. Maybe that was the point.
To me, this book was less about saving the neighborhood, as the synopsis states, and more about life in a complicated family. The neighborhood is the setting, but the real plot is driven by the people living within it.
The Halloran family stays connected to Arboria Park, even when they move out of it. It remains a nostalgic place that reminds them of their childhood and is thought of as their home.
Woven into the book are chapters from the perspective of Autumn and Ruby, Stacy’s nieces. Wall uses these narrative changes as a way to show their own experience in the neighborhood. She also uses them as a way to learn more about Stacy without having to see the events through Stacy’s eyes. We are able to move forward in time, and also add in a more layered story, without losing momentum.
The author also uses music as a way to show change over the years. I enjoyed reading the parts of the book that explored the history of music and how different styles built on others to bloom into new and exciting musical genres. Again, it was done in such a way that it didn’t feel like a history lesson, but still felt rich and interesting.
There are a few pieces I wish the author had spent more time developing. I wish that the struggle to save the neighborhood had more emphasis. It felt like a very minor part of the plot. I also would have liked more with Edith and the farm land. She and the land are referred to throughout the book, but only make a brief appearance.
In all, this is a charming book about family. It is both an examination regarding the family we are born into and the family that we create. In the Halloran family, we see a family that isn’t perfect. They have a mother who cares more about what other people think than anything else. They face heartache, and struggle. Love and loss. We see them grow and find who they are. And throughout it all, they find that family is more than blood and home is more than a house.
Thank you BookSparks for sending me this book as part of their pop-up blog tours!
From her earliest memories, all Stacy Halloran wanted was to explore the streets of her neighborhood, Arboria Park. Being able to go farther and farther as she grows older is the highlight of growing up, in her opinion.
“Being the youngest had some perks. The others had been allowed to wander around and nobody had died (not even Matt, the family “daredevil”), so I got the benefit of the doubt.”
Arboria Park follows the life of Stacy as she grows up. It isn’t simply that Stacy wants to expand where she can go, she also wants to know the history of the neighborhood. From walks with her father, she learns about the farmland that their houses were built on.
This book is a walk through her life. We see the neighborhood change as Stacy grows. There is a sense of watching the world progress, as each chapter takes us further into the future, even though we don’t see beyond the scope of the family. The effect is that we see how the world around Stacy and her family changes throughout the decades mainly through how it impacts them.
Wall gives us a rich look at how the decades changed not just physical landscapes but societal norms as well. She does a good job painting the broad spectrum of events and issues relevant to the time without straying too far from the family.
Stacy’s family is very diverse. “‘We’re a family of black sheep,’ Matt said.” Except, the only person in the family who viewed them that way was their mother. Adding in a very old-fashioned and rigid mother was a clever way for Wall to insert dialogue and more negative observations relevant to the time. This is important and necessary because not everyone adapted to these changes. Having the more rigid and negative tones made it more realistic and believable.
Wall uses the Halloran children as ways to explore these changing issues. We deal with premarital sex ending in pregnancy, divorce, interracial marriage with children to follow, and same sex relationships.
“I wish Mom were happy about this being a real family wedding instead of being so judgmental about who’s in the family.”
I liked the use of the Mother in this sense. She was able to voice concerns over the changing nature of the neighborhood, and how she disapproved of her children’s lifestyles and choices. It may be unpopular, but there were (and still are) many parents/grandparents that felt/feel this way. Since the siblings were close-knit, having the mother represent the disapproval was fitting and necessary.
This book is captures the overall feel of each decade, and the social struggles that went with them, without feeling bogged down in a historical lesson. Wall is able to give each sibling an identity that is relevant to their time, and does a nice job showcasing the disapproval that would have gone along with it. You get the very real sense of living in that time as you read.
Young Stacy is probably my favorite part of this book. She is sassy and funny in that innocent way that children are. I love when an author depicts adult situations through a child’s eyes and they just nail it! That happens here, and I laughed multiple times over the pages. Wall brought that little girl to life and she was a joy to read.
As Stacy gets older, her feisty confidence diminishes quite a bit, and while Wall does explore one reason, I did feel like there was an aspect of Stacy that remained unexplained. She drifts through her life, not really knowing what she wants to do, and I never felt like that was explained or resolved. Maybe that was the point.
To me, this book was less about saving the neighborhood, as the synopsis states, and more about life in a complicated family. The neighborhood is the setting, but the real plot is driven by the people living within it.
The Halloran family stays connected to Arboria Park, even when they move out of it. It remains a nostalgic place that reminds them of their childhood and is thought of as their home.
Woven into the book are chapters from the perspective of Autumn and Ruby, Stacy’s nieces. Wall uses these narrative changes as a way to show their own experience in the neighborhood. She also uses them as a way to learn more about Stacy without having to see the events through Stacy’s eyes. We are able to move forward in time, and also add in a more layered story, without losing momentum.
The author also uses music as a way to show change over the years. I enjoyed reading the parts of the book that explored the history of music and how different styles built on others to bloom into new and exciting musical genres. Again, it was done in such a way that it didn’t feel like a history lesson, but still felt rich and interesting.
There are a few pieces I wish the author had spent more time developing. I wish that the struggle to save the neighborhood had more emphasis. It felt like a very minor part of the plot. I also would have liked more with Edith and the farm land. She and the land are referred to throughout the book, but only make a brief appearance.
In all, this is a charming book about family. It is both an examination regarding the family we are born into and the family that we create. In the Halloran family, we see a family that isn’t perfect. They have a mother who cares more about what other people think than anything else. They face heartache, and struggle. Love and loss. We see them grow and find who they are. And throughout it all, they find that family is more than blood and home is more than a house.
Thank you BookSparks for sending me this book as part of their pop-up blog tours!
June 23, 2017
There was nothing overly dramatic, no major climax within this book. It was a good solid story, about an american family that lived in a housing development from the 1950's-2000's. I loved everything about this book. From the interracial relationships, to the same-sex relationships, to the mention of rock and roll, and rockabilly, punk rock music, to the unwed teen pregnancies, to the mention of the wars. There has always been something fascinating about the 1950's and 1960's to me, so I really enjoyed this book, It was so realistic that I felt I had lived through those times.
I adored every single character, except Stacy's mom, she was so full of hatred and envy of people who had more, that she let it dictate her life, and her opinions of her children. Whom she treated absolutely terrible, and they treated her far better than she deserved. That to me was the roughest thing about this book, was the racism, and bigotry, But back in those years, that was what people were raised to believe.
Thank you BookSparks for allowing me to be a part of your #popupblogtour for #arboriapark This was one enjoyable read, and I am so glad I got to be one of the first to read and review it.
I adored every single character, except Stacy's mom, she was so full of hatred and envy of people who had more, that she let it dictate her life, and her opinions of her children. Whom she treated absolutely terrible, and they treated her far better than she deserved. That to me was the roughest thing about this book, was the racism, and bigotry, But back in those years, that was what people were raised to believe.
Thank you BookSparks for allowing me to be a part of your #popupblogtour for #arboriapark This was one enjoyable read, and I am so glad I got to be one of the first to read and review it.
May 20, 2017
This story about Stacy, her friends and family is about living life. Arboria Park lets the reader know what life was like in our country several decades ago. Stacy was relatively sheltered until she began exploring. This book is enlightening. I enjoyed it and would like to thank Goodreads First Reads for a copy of the book. I recommend it.
Read
April 18, 2017I requested this NetGalley because I was considering listing the book on a bibliography with a theme of housing/gentrification. I have since decided to create my bibliography on a different theme, but I would certainly include Arboria Park if I hadn't changed my mind! I think of gentrification as an urban issue, so it was interesting to see it play out in this suburban setting. While it was occasionally difficult to keep the characters straight (there were a few who didn't seem important enough to warrant names at all), it was nice to see so many diverse identities called out. Personally, I would have enjoyed the book much more if I had some grounding in the punk scene (or even more familiarity with music), but I'd recommend it to a fan of A Visit from the Goon Squad or How to Build a Girl.
May 8, 2017
Stacy Halloran is the youngest of four. When she is a young girl, her older sister, Mary, has to get married at 18. Her sister is pregnant, so her parents force her to marry her boyfriend, though she isn’t sure if she loves him. They move into an area close to their home in Arboria Park, but not as nice. Stacy loves wandering around the neighbourhood and looking at the architecture. When she meets Greg, a boy she really likes, all she does is talk about the houses in Arboria Park. Though her friend thinks it’s strange, it makes Greg fall in love with her. The story follows the perspectives of Stacy, as she grows from a child to an adult, as well as her nieces Autumn and Rosie in their journeys through life in Arboria Park.
I really enjoyed this story. It is setting driven, which is not as common as plot or character driven. The story revolves around the neighbourhood of Arboria Park. Though Stacy is the main focus of the story, it also shows how the neighbourhood grew through the eyes of her nieces Autumn and Rosie. Even though Autumn and Rosie are sisters, there are so many years between them that they’re almost from different generations.
An important part of the story is the way that music influenced the lives of all three women. Stacy and Autumn mark major points in their lives through the music they listened to or created. Music also helps Rosie find her place in the world, by looking at biracial women in rock music.
The character list started out small, with just Stacy’s immediate family: her parents, her sister Mary, and her brothers, Tom and Mark. It slowly branched off into each of the siblings’ families. It was a little complicated with so many characters at the end, but I liked the way that it demonstrated the way a family grows.
This story is a realistic look at how the Halloran family grew with the times, from welcoming people of multiple races into the family, as well as same-sex couples. They also have one family member who doesn’t agree with the way the family has accepted these “different” people because they are not white and heterosexual. I liked this modern look at how families, and neighbourhoods, have changed over time.
I really enjoyed this story. It is setting driven, which is not as common as plot or character driven. The story revolves around the neighbourhood of Arboria Park. Though Stacy is the main focus of the story, it also shows how the neighbourhood grew through the eyes of her nieces Autumn and Rosie. Even though Autumn and Rosie are sisters, there are so many years between them that they’re almost from different generations.
An important part of the story is the way that music influenced the lives of all three women. Stacy and Autumn mark major points in their lives through the music they listened to or created. Music also helps Rosie find her place in the world, by looking at biracial women in rock music.
The character list started out small, with just Stacy’s immediate family: her parents, her sister Mary, and her brothers, Tom and Mark. It slowly branched off into each of the siblings’ families. It was a little complicated with so many characters at the end, but I liked the way that it demonstrated the way a family grows.
This story is a realistic look at how the Halloran family grew with the times, from welcoming people of multiple races into the family, as well as same-sex couples. They also have one family member who doesn’t agree with the way the family has accepted these “different” people because they are not white and heterosexual. I liked this modern look at how families, and neighbourhoods, have changed over time.
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