A turf war between neighbors leads to a small-town crisis in this hilarious, addictive, and sharply observant debut novel The White Elephant looms large over the quaint suburban town of Willard Park: a gaudy, 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 Millers' precious red maple--in an effort to make his unsightly property more appealing...

"From the New York Times bestselling author of Flight Patterns comes a stunning new novel about a young single mother who discovers that the nature of friendship is never what it seems.... Recently divorced, Merilee Talbot Dunlap moves with her two children to the Atlanta suburb of Sweet Apple, Georgia. It's not her first time starting over, but her efforts at a new beginning aren't helped by an anonymous local blog that dishes about the scandalous...

"The Olander family embodies the modern American Dream in a globalized world. Jaya, the cultured daughter of an Indian diplomat and Keith, an ambitious banker from middle-class Philadelphia, meet in a London pub in 1988 and make a life together in suburban California. Their strong marriage is built on shared beliefs and love for their two children: headstrong teenager Karina and young son Prem, the light of their home. But love and prosperity cannot...

"Marty seems to do no wrong. Trent can't seem to get things right. When they are thrown together by tragedy, they find their futures may be defined by more than just their good intentions. Stonesmere is an English seaside suburb, defined by poignant traditions passed from generation to generation. Marty is a golden girl here, albeit one who quietly chafes against the legacy of her father's accomplishments and the care of her saintly mother - an outsider...

Upon moving to a new house, young Caroline and her parents encourage wildflowers to grow and birds and animals to stay in their yard, which soon has the whole suburban street living up to its name.

"'This is a very difficult letter to write. I hope you will not hate us too much. . . My son broke into your home recently while you were out.' In a quiet, leafy suburb in upstate New York, a teenager has been sneaking into houses--and into the owners' computers as well--learning their secrets, and maybe sharing some of them, too. Who is he, and what might he have uncovered? After two anonymous letters are received, whispers start to circulate, and...

"For decades the suburbs have been where art happens "despite": despite the conformity, the emptiness, the sameness. The familiar story is one of gems formed under pressure, creative transcendence fueled by suburban resentment. But what if the suburb has actually been an incubator for distinctly American art, as positively and as surely as in any other cultural hothouse? Mixing personal experience, cultural reportage, and history while rejecting clichés...

"A NICE, NORMAL HOUSE ... Linda has lived in a quiet neighborhood ever since fleeing the dark events of her childhood in Wales. Now she sits in her kitchen, wondering if this is all there is--pushing the vacuum around and cooking fish sticks for supper is a far cry from the glamorous lifestyle she sees in the glossy catalogues coming through the mail slot addressed to the previous occupant, Rebecca. A NICE, NORMAL HUSBAND? Terry isn't perfect--he...