Peter Hedges scores with his new book, The Heights, about Tim and Kate Welch, parents who live in the upscale neighborhood on Tim’s salary as a teacher at the fictional “Montague Academy.”

When his wife gets a good job in Manhattan Tim is able to quit his teaching job become a stay at home dad and finish his dissertation.

The trouble starts when Anna Brody, a mysterious, alluring and fabulously rich mother buys the biggest house in the nabe and the Welches are forced to grapple  with issues of friendship, fidelity, parenting, money, envy and the ties that bind.

In this breezy, intelligent third novel by Hedges, who also wrote the book and film, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?, the author uses humor, smarts, good plotting and excellent observations of the Brooklyn Heights life to tell his human tale. He creates believable characters that are interesting, quirky and complex.

Most importantly, he sketches an insiders view of the upper crust world of Brooklyn Heights complete with references to the 100-year-old Brooklyn Heights Association, familiar locattions, cafes with (sometimes but not always) fictional names, and people you can truly imagine at the Promenade Playground.

One of my favorite scenes comes after Anna’s daughter is injured in a playground accident:

“Earlier that night Sophie Brody-Ashworth tripped over/slipped off/fell headfirst from the top of the circular slide at Pierrepont Playground. Her mother, Anna, saw the whole thing happen/dind’t see a thing, wasn’t even at the playground. Sophie’s injury was just a scarpe/a deep cut/a nasty gash that exposed her skull bone…

Hedges is a pro when it comes to telling good stories. In addition to writing Gilbert Grape, he directed Pieces of April (a film I loved), Dan in Love and About a Boy.

It great to have a talent like this writing about the neighborhood life in Brooklyn.