Good Morning, Young Lady by Ardyth Kennelly

Good Morning, Young Lady is one of the books I checked out repeatedly on my frequent trips to the library when I was young.  It takes place mostly in Salt Lake City. Recently I wondered if my perception of the book would be different now that I live here, and I wondered how prominently the LDS church might figure in the book (I didn't recall that at all).

There was just one obstacle in finding the answers to those questions. I couldn't remember the name of the book, or the  author! I thought I remembered the author's name was Kennelly, because I always looked for Kennedy in the stacks, then moved to the right a couple of books, and there it would be - Good Morning, Young Lady.  I also remembered that Butch Cassidy was a character in the book. I went online and checked to see if there was any name listed similar in any way to Kennelly. No luck. I honestly did not have any idea of the name of the book at that time. Then I tried Barnes & Noble, and Amazon. No luck. I was bemoaning this fact and one of my kids said google it. I said, "How do you google for a book you don't know the name or author of?" My genius child said, "Put in Salt Lake City Butch Cassidy novel." So I did. Up popped Good Morning, Young Lady by Ardyth Kennelly. I immediately recognized the name of the book. Then I went to Wikipedia and found out a little more info. Then back to Amazon, and sure enough there were copies in their used book section. I bought one. I must say I was pretty pleased with my computer adventurous self.

That was a few months ago. I finally reached a point in the stack of books by the side of my bed, library selections, and book club reading that I could read Good Morning, Young Lady.  I honestly only remembered little snippets from the book, and as it went along I hoped for the best in various plot situations, thinking surely it must turn out okay, or I wouldn't have kept reading. It's hard to say now if happy or sad endings would have enhanced or hindered my like or dislike of a book at that time.  (I wish I'd kept a book journal then - and I wonder if I should do a better job now.) 

Surprisingly, it was a page turner right to the end.  It was fun to know the Salt Lake City references - especially where residences were. There were also many very long words that I did not know the meaning of. I'm sure I didn't know the meaning of them 35 years ago either. Also there were many literary references that I'm sure I didn't know when I was reading it so frequently. Apparently none of that stopped me from reading it several times. The LDS church only appears in a few small innocuous references - mostly polygamous. 

I might read it again sometime - if I'm out of new stuff to read. I'm glad I found it. It brought back many good reading memories.