Good Fences is a well-written and provocative debut novel from Erica Ellis. The reader is introduced to an African American family where the father, Tom Spader is a successful attorney and his wife, Mabel, is a stay-at-home mom. When Tom wins a big case he decides to move his family to the 'snooty' suburbs of Greenwich, CT. Ellis has a great premise and one that I thought was long overdue regarding an overlooked African American group-the upwardly mobile, affluent individuals who move to the predominantly white suburbs to attain the American Dream-two story home with the white picket fence, two car garage and 2.5 children. However, somewhere around the middle of the storyline, the message sort of fizzled. The characters became unrealistic and weren't very plausible and the storyline was quite choppy. Events would start or happen but never be resolved. The narrative really got in the way of the telling of the story...I think maybe if the characters were allowed to tell the story their voices would have given more life and realism to a poignant and provocative subject matter. One a positive note, the book was short and I was able to read it in one sitting...although it fell short of my expectations.

This is a great start for Mrs. Ellis. I read a book review in Newsweek and ran out and bought the book. Unlike many books that I breeze though, Ellis forced me to read slowly in order not to miss important points in the story. This novel shows that the green isn't always greener on the other side and it is important not to forget who you are no matter where you go in life.

I appreciated Ms. Ellis' style from the moment I began to the book. The story unfolds not so much as story driven but as character driven, snippets into the lives of those she writes about.

At points brave, bold, humorous and poignant I never knew what to expect from page to page and that is what made this read so good for me. It takes real talent to pull such a work off and Ms. Ellis has done that.

Every book is not for everyone but if you're looking for food for the brain then this is the book for you and in my opinion that is the best kind of writing. Make us think, catch us off guard, surprise us, enlighten us.

There's only one word for this debut novel --- YES!

Erika Ellis is on my 'author's to watch' list and I will be keeping my eye out for any future works. You go girl...