Liz Alterman's "The Perfect Neighborhood"

Liz Alterman is the author of a young adult novel, He’ll Be Waiting. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, McSweeney’s, and other outlets. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and three sons where she spends most days microwaving the same cup of coffee and looking up synonyms. When she isn't writing, she's reading.

Here Alterman dreamcasts an adaptation of her new novel, The Perfect Neighborhood:

As The Perfect Neighborhood begins, residents of Oak Hill gossip about their neighbor, actress Allison Langley, who leaves her former rockstar husband in the middle of the night. For a while, her sudden departure becomes the talk of the town. But the gossip comes to an abrupt halt when five-year-old Billy Barnes disappears on his walk home from kindergarten. Is there a predator lurking in the leafy suburb? Or, does the child's abduction have something to do with a longtime rift between his mother and half-brother? Weeks later, three-year-old Amy-Pat Davies vanishes from her backyard. In addition to sharing a zip code, the missing children have another thing in common—their babysitter, Cassidy McLean, who has a secret of her own.

The novel is told from multiple points of view and as I wrote it, I envisioned it unfolding in a similar fashion to series like Big Little Lies or The Undoing or the film adaptation of Little Children—all of which had fantastic casts.

If The Perfect Neighborhood were a film or series, I’d love to see Ginnifer Goodwin star as Rachel Barnes, a real estate agent and the mother of the missing boy, who has made more than a few enemies in town. While I’m dreaming, Bryan Cranston would be perfect as her cold but complicated spouse, Ted, who lost his first wife in a terrible accident. I’d love to cast Timothée Chalamet as Ted’s troubled son, whom Rachel suspects may have something to do with his half-brother’s disappearance.

In the role of Allison Langley, the model and actress who flees her home and husband, I’d love to see Blake Lively. As her husband, Chris, a former rockstar, Lucas Bravo, would bring the requisite charm and the good looks that have won over most of the moms in Oak Hill.

Kiernan Shipka, whom I loved Mad Men, would be wonderful as Cassidy McLean, the honor student and babysitter who shows up late the afternoon Billy goes missing. She's consumed by guilt that's exacerbated by the fact that she can't tell anyone beyond her best friend why she wasn't on time.

After watching Bryce Dallas Howard’s incredible performance in the Black Mirror episode “Nosedive,” I think she’d be perfect as Sarah Davies, the mother of the second child who disappears. Just outside the “cool mom” circle, Sarah is consumed by wanting to be accepted and liked, much like the character Bryce portrayed in "Nosedive."

Needless to say, it would be a dream come true to see the novel brought to life on screen, and in the hands of these incredibly talented actors, I know it would be amazing.

Visit Liz Alterman's website.

Q&A with Liz Alterman.

--Marshal Zeringue