title: Good Fences: A Novel
author:  Erika Ellis 
description: Ellis presents a splendid first novel covering 17 years in a determinedly upwardly mobile African American family. Attorney Tom Spader works himself from a research associate's position in a law firm to appointment as a judge, trying to leave his blackness behind. After Tom gets his first big case, he never looks back. He moves his wife and children into progressively larger houses in ever whiter neighborhoods and, when the time for college arrives, encourages his children to attend prestigious eastern schools rather than the traditionally black schools they might prefer. Eventually Tom's existence leads him to commit an act of violence to prevent other black families from moving into his community. Despite Tom's occasionally over-the-top behavior, Ellis is not unsympathetic to him; the section of the novel that explores Tom's childhood is beautifully handled. Ellis' portrayal of the children is less successful, because it is difficult to believe their naivete. Nevertheless, this satiric look at living black in a white world is a good choice for public libraries of all sizes. <i>Nancy Pearl</i>
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  # Fencing Her In
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## Abby Knox
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [![Author Abby Knox, LLC](../Images/image00084.jpeg)
  
  
  ![Author Abby Knox, LLC](../Images/image00083.jpeg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Copyright © 2019 by Abby Knox
  
  
  All rights reserved.
  
  
  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or
  mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without
  written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in
  a book review.
  
  
  Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and
  incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names
  are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people,
  living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales
  is completely coincidental.
  
  
  
  
  
  Edited by [Aquila Editing](http://Aquilaediting.com)
  
  
  Proofread by [Red Pen Princess](https://www.instagram.com/red.pen.princess/)
  
  
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