My name is Roxy Davenport – the epitome of a suburban housewife. For over 25 years, I have based my entire life off the ancient, mental code of ethics passed down from previous generations I secretly nicknamed The Suburbia Handbook.
High school sweethearts must marry and the wife is to stay at home and raise the children while the husband brings home the bacon. All married couples must procreate and raise, at a minimum, two and a half children, preferably staggered in ages by three years. A woman’s job as housewife is to maintain a pleasant, always spotless home for her family. Check. Housewives must service their husband’s needs when the man’s urges overtake him, no matter how tired, sick, in pain, or stressed the wife feels.
For over 20 years, I adhered to the strict rules…until now.
After a series of traumatic events, my life spirals out of control, destroying each and every archaic, foundational rule.
Except Rule Number 11: One must defend their family, no matter what. This rule trumps everything else, even if the defense comes in the form of bodily harm to another!
Suburbia Made Me Do It is a deliciously entertaining dark comedy thriller that intertwines themes of loss, infidelity, sibling rivalry, and satirical housewife drama! The story follows Roxy Davenport, a longtime suburban housewife who’s lived by what she calls “The Suburbia Handbook.” For over 25 years, she followed its archaic rules: marry a high school sweetheart, have 3 kids, maintain a spotless home, and unquestioningly serve your husband. But after her sister’s unexpected death, Roxy’s life unravels upon discovering her husband had multiple affairs. Pushed over the edge by grief and rage, Roxy concocts a plan for revenge against her husband and rewrites her own rules to protect herself and her daughter at any cost—even if it means violence!
The story is told from the 1st-person POV of Roxy, an intelligent, defiant, and emotionally complex protagonist. As she reaches her breaking point after dealing with loss and shocking betrayal, the fractures in her psyche become evident—especially in her unstable inner monologues! From a composed housewife adamant on following rules to maintain a picture-perfect image, she quickly morphs into an unhinged woman hell-bent on revenge at all costs! By the midpoint of the story, she becomes an unreliable narrator—her pain and sarcasm taint her perspective, and her actions become much more unpredictable and entertaining!
The mother-daughter dynamic between Roxy and Carol is central to the story and becomes increasingly apparent towards the end. Their relationship also gives readers some emotional grounding amidst all the satire and chaos. The side characters in the story, including Roxy’s cheating husband and mean-spirited sister, are mostly plot device characters—they only appear in scenes that escalate the suspense and drama, further reinforcing Roxy’s need for reinvention and vengeance. Roxy’s dysfunctional relationship with her sister is very juvenile at times, especially when their arguments escalate into physical altercations. There’s a deeper layer to their unhealthy relationship that gets revealed later on and, although it is exaggerated for entertainment value, is quite relatable and has some heartfelt moments!
Roxy opens the novel by outlining her lifelong adherence to “The Suburbia Handbook”—an unwritten, culturally imposed guide for “good” wives and mothers. Initially, Roxy clings to the rules because they give her a sense of order and identity. In reality she’s a suburban ghost of a woman who has sacrificed her dreams for an unhappy marriage & motherhood. When Roxy’s world begins to collapse, the rules start to unravel—and so does her blind adherence to them. At the same time, her moral compass begins to blur, leading her to acts of revenge and murder! She attempts to justify her morally grey (and illegal) actions by reclaiming rule number eleven: “Protect your family at all costs”—these scenes are equally absurdly hilarious and frightening! Her radical transformation showcases the emotional arc of a woman who has been “pushed too far” and emphasizes the dangers of suppressed female anger—all in a very satirical and highly exaggerated manner!
The pacing in this book is relentless, with plot events cascading one after another—Roxy’s loss of her sister, the exposed betrayal by her husband, her scheming, revenge, divorce, and subsequent sibling drama that becomes violent! The suburban clichés feel a bit overdone early on, but they fade into the background when the suspense and domestic drama take over. The story has a twist ending that many readers won’t see coming and which adds another thought-provoking layer to the story—so get popcorn ready because you’re in for a wild ride!
Overall, Suburbia Made Me Do It is an addictive dark comedy that uses suburban tropes to examine grief, betrayal, and personal reinvention. It’s a book that will keep readers engaged throughout and constantly wondering what delicious satirical drama is ahead. Readers who love unhinged FMCs, radical emotional arcs, popcorn thrillers, and dark comedies about suburban life should add this book to their immediate reading list!
Narrator Performance
The audiobook of Suburbia Made Me Do It is a hilarious, addictive listen voiced by talented narrator Andrea Emmes, who received an AudioFile Earphones Award for this performance!
Emmes fully embodies protagonist Roxy with a smooth, cynical voice that captures the character’s intelligence and emotional complexity. As Roxy journeys through grief from losing her sister to rage from her husband’s infidelities to gritty determination when planning her revenge, EMMES gives listeners ALL THE FEELS with her multi-dimensional portrayal of Roxy that includes a perfect mix of sarcasm, exhaustion, and dry rage—by the end the performance is reminiscent of a brilliant stage act. In particular, Roxy’s inner monologues that showcase an increasingly unhinged character hell-bent on revenge are filled with dramatic flair and are extremely entertaining!
Emmes’s pacing of the performance is especially effective—when Roxy is speaking to the audience, via her inner monologues, and relaying information about her past, reflecting on “The Suburbia Handbook,” or sharing feelings about others, the pacing is methodical and compelling—allowing listeners to absorb every detail and feel connected to Roxy (and even feel empathy for her—especially at the end). In contrast, during the intense scenes between Roxy and her husband and sister, Emmes’s vocal range and pacing are amplified for dramatic effect, keeping listeners on edge and hanging on to every word! So much of the story relies on black comedy and satire, and comedic timing is crucial—and Emmes delivers! The combined performance is a masterclass in tone, pacing, and voice acting skills that is rightly recognized with an AudioFile Earphones Award!
Emmes also brings humor and personality to each character, making supporting characters, from her cheating husband to her vindictive sister, easily distinguishable and convincing. In the mother-daughter scenes between Roxy & Carol, Emmes softens her tone just enough to show genuine warmth, hinting at Roxy’s protective instincts without being overly melodramatic.
Overall, this fast-paced, crisp-sounding audio production coupled with Emmes’s dynamic, immensely entertaining performance makes this audiobook an unstoppable listen! It’s a must-listen for audiobook listeners who enjoy dark comedy, bingeable popcorn thrillers, highly dramatic performances, and unhinged FMCs! If you haven’t listened to Andrea Emmes’s narration before, this is the perfect audiobook to get acquainted with her impressive voice acting skills and perfect comedic timing—and you’ll definitely want to check out her backlog of titles that span so many genres!
Narrator Performance
The audiobook of Suburbia Made Me Do It is a hilarious, addictive listen voiced by talented narrator Andrea Emmes, who received an AudioFile Earphones Award for this performance!
Emmes fully embodies protagonist Roxy with a smooth, cynical voice that captures the character’s intelligence and emotional complexity. As Roxy journeys through grief from losing her sister to rage from her husband’s infidelities to gritty determination when planning her revenge, EMMES gives listeners ALL THE FEELS with her multi-dimensional portrayal of Roxy that includes a perfect mix of sarcasm, exhaustion, and dry rage—by the end the performance is reminiscent of a brilliant stage act. In particular, Roxy’s inner monologues that showcase an increasingly unhinged character hell-bent on revenge are filled with dramatic flair and are extremely entertaining!
Emmes’s pacing of the performance is especially effective—when Roxy is speaking to the audience, via her inner monologues, and relaying information about her past, reflecting on “The Suburbia Handbook,” or sharing feelings about others, the pacing is methodical and compelling—allowing listeners to absorb every detail and feel connected to Roxy (and even feel empathy for her—especially at the end). In contrast, during the intense scenes between Roxy and her husband and sister, Emmes’s vocal range and pacing are amplified for dramatic effect, keeping listeners on edge and hanging on to every word! So much of the story relies on black comedy and satire, and comedic timing is crucial—and Emmes delivers! The combined performance is a masterclass in tone, pacing, and voice acting skills that is rightly recognized with an AudioFile Earphones Award!
Emmes also brings humor and personality to each character, making supporting characters, from her cheating husband to her vindictive sister, easily distinguishable and convincing. In the mother-daughter scenes between Roxy & Carol, Emmes softens her tone just enough to show genuine warmth, hinting at Roxy’s protective instincts without being overly melodramatic.
Overall, this fast-paced, crisp-sounding audio production coupled with Emmes’s dynamic, immensely entertaining performance makes this audiobook an unstoppable listen! It’s a must-listen for audiobook listeners who enjoy dark comedy, bingeable popcorn thrillers, highly dramatic performances, and unhinged FMCs! If you haven’t listened to Andrea Emmes’s narration before, this is the perfect audiobook to get acquainted with her impressive voice acting skills and perfect comedic timing—and you’ll definitely want to check out her backlog of titles that span so many genres!
The audiobook of Suburbia Made Me Do It is a hilarious, addictive listen voiced by talented narrator Andrea Emmes, who received an AudioFile Earphones Award for this performance!
Emmes fully embodies protagonist Roxy with a smooth, cynical voice that captures the character’s intelligence and emotional complexity. As Roxy journeys through grief from losing her sister to rage from her husband’s infidelities to gritty determination when planning her revenge, EMMES gives listeners ALL THE FEELS with her multi-dimensional portrayal of Roxy that includes a perfect mix of sarcasm, exhaustion, and dry rage—by the end the performance is reminiscent of a brilliant stage act. In particular, Roxy’s inner monologues that showcase an increasingly unhinged character hell-bent on revenge are filled with dramatic flair and are extremely entertaining!
Emmes’s pacing of the performance is especially effective—when Roxy is speaking to the audience, via her inner monologues, and relaying information about her past, reflecting on “The Suburbia Handbook,” or sharing feelings about others, the pacing is methodical and compelling—allowing listeners to absorb every detail and feel connected to Roxy (and even feel empathy for her—especially at the end). In contrast, during the intense scenes between Roxy and her husband and sister, Emmes’s vocal range and pacing are amplified for dramatic effect, keeping listeners on edge and hanging on to every word! So much of the story relies on black comedy and satire, and comedic timing is crucial—and Emmes delivers! The combined performance is a masterclass in tone, pacing, and voice acting skills that is rightly recognized with an AudioFile Earphones Award!
Emmes also brings humor and personality to each character, making supporting characters, from her cheating husband to her vindictive sister, easily distinguishable and convincing. In the mother-daughter scenes between Roxy & Carol, Emmes softens her tone just enough to show genuine warmth, hinting at Roxy’s protective instincts without being overly melodramatic.
Overall, this fast-paced, crisp-sounding audio production coupled with Emmes’s dynamic, immensely entertaining performance makes this audiobook an unstoppable listen! It’s a must-listen for audiobook listeners who enjoy dark comedy, bingeable popcorn thrillers, highly dramatic performances, and unhinged FMCs! If you haven’t listened to Andrea Emmes’s narration before, this is the perfect audiobook to get acquainted with her impressive voice acting skills and perfect comedic timing—and you’ll definitely want to check out her backlog of titles that span so many genres!
