A Greater Goode

A Greater Goode by Amy Schor Ferris Houghton Mifflin, 2002, 183 pp., $15.00 Friendship/Family ISBN: 0-618-13154-X

Twelve-year-old Addie Goode lives with her attorney father and their housekeeper in a Pennsylvania town, moving there after Addie's mother walks out. Now, Addie's world revolves around her best friend, Luke, who in her words, is "a genius."

One afternoon, though, Addie and Luke stumble across a young pregnant girl, who has been abandoned by the "creepy guy" who left her bruised and alone inside an old church. Luke, frightened and bewildered, insists to Addie that they keep their mouths shut, and leave the young girl where she is: alone, hurt, and abandoned. But Addie cannot stand to leave a fellow human being stranded; she insists that the young woman come home with her so that she can offer her food, clothing, and friendship. Instead of accepting Addie's kindness, the young pregnant girl flees in despair.

Meanwhile, Addie and Luke have their own problems. Addie's father announces plans to remarry, and Luke's father suffers a heart attack. In a twist of fate, Luke's father recovers in a hospital room in which the adjoining bed is occupied by the estranged, dying mother of the young pregnant woman. When Addie learns of this strange but endearing coincidence, she spends the remainder of the novel trying to find the missing young pregnant woman and her dying mother.

In this heartwarming story, Addie does reunite the mother and her estranged daughter one last time. She learns that family, no matter the troubles, counts above all.

Michele Winship

Columbus, Ohio

Copyright Assembly on Literature for Adolescents -- National Council of Teachers of English Fall 2002
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