Reviewed by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, MyShelf.com
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A Classic in the Making?

Addie Goode May be Literature's
New Feel Goode Holden Caulfield

"The Greater Goode" is a Feel Goode novel. It is told in the first person like "Catcher in the Rye." The protagonist has an identifiable voice-wry humor, intelligent, youthful-much like Holden Caulfield's. One might also see similarities to Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird."

Does all this mean "The Greater Goode" is a copycat? Definitely not. This is a Feel Goode book, remember? One that is suitable for anyone over, say, age 10. The language is not problematic for youth, nor is the message. On the other hand, the book is well enough plotted, the characters well enough drawn for any adult.

Does this then mean that Amy Schor Ferris's book is destined to be a classic? Maybe. Of course, whether or not a book becomes a classic is not wholly determined by its timelessness or its quality. If the universe is having a just day, this book may very well make it.

Ms. Ferris knows how to tell a good story and she does. I may become a fan of young adult literature all over again. Come. Share with me. Get to know spunky Addie Goode and her tribe of interesting friends and family. Learn or review old lessons of life with her. Be surprised by her fresh, youthful take on an ageing world.

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the award-winning author of "This is the Place" and "Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered"