I have seen the movie that was made based on this novel more than once. I have always loved it. I thought Tatum O'Neal was the coolest little kid ever and I loved Addie. The movie changed quite a few things from the book. For one thing, the title used to be Addie Pray, but when they re-printed the book, they switched it to match the title of the movie. To be honest, I like this title better, so that's okay with me. I wish they had been able to add some of the things that happened near the end of the novel into the movie; it would have been some great scenes, but I get why some of it wasn't in there. It would have been hard, and very long. Addie tells you a lot, and the timeline covers a few years, they chose to simplify the film, and it worked.

The novel however, is fantastic. Addie is all you could hope for in a narrator. She is tough, feisty, charming, funny, sweet and really pays attention to the people and world around her. Her relationship with Long Boy (Moze in the film) is brilliant. They get on with each other much better and quicker in the novel. Their cons and travels are interesting and fun to read about, Addie is smart and I have always enjoyed novels set near the 1920s and 30s and this is a great look at the depression era. For Addie alone, this is one of my favorite novels, but the story is rich and very much worth a read. ( )

I remember reading this one back in High School - loved it then, and found on this re-read that I still love it. The movie 'Paper Moon' is based on the first third of this book - and if you liked the movie - rejoice that there is a whole lot more that happens after the bootlegging incident. If you haven't seen the movie - do: it's a charmer.
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Addie Pray is the story of a young girl who, after the death of her mother, travels around the south during the Great Depression with Long Boy, who may or may not be her father. They are con artists who specialize in small scams that they pull on gullible, rural people. Together they bend the law and take great delight in getting away with it.

Addie loves her lifestyle and doesn’t wish to change a thing. She is also very possessive of Long Boy which doesn’t bode well for Miss Trixie Delight when she takes up with him, but getting rid of Trixie is little more than child’s play for Addie.

Of course things never stay the same, and as time goes by, Long Boy’s scams get more and more ambitious. When they try to pass Addie off as the long-lost granddaughter of the rich Amelia Sass, well, then things just being to pop.

A delightful book, with an unforgettable heroine. This down-home book will long be remembered for it’s humor, great characters, and heart-warming plot about people who really do belong together. ( )

Addie Pray is better known as Paper Moon from the title of the Bogdonovich film. It's been almost 40 years and now is probably a good time to see if it's a classic with legs, or a period piece getting long in the tooth. Granted, it's a topical novel in today's zeitgeist, since it's about the Great Depression, and I was drawn to it for that reason. But even though the historical setting is the 1930's, the spirit and mood of the novel is solidly late 1960's. Do what makes you feel good and damn the consequences, fight the man, love conquers all. In the spirit of films like Bonnie and Clyde (1967) or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), it's an American rebel hero Picaresque novel.

Addie Pray is great in terms of narrative flow. At first the confidence man stories about selling bibles to widows are cute and fun, but soon wears thin. Before the reader gets bored however, Brown increases the ante, so to speak, adding another plot twist. As this wears thin he adds a new story with additional complications. Each story gets a little longer and more interesting until the last story takes up nearly a third of the book and could stand alone as a novella. This sort of building up mirrors the techniques used by the confidence-artist characters of the novel and is very effective in making it believable.

The ending is a moralizing lesson about love being more important than money - 1960's remember? While the message is fine, it feels a bit heavy and direct and dates the work. It's a tradition heroes ride off into the sunset, a nice fairy-tale. Addie Pray is a well crafted novel, entertaining and fun. It probably won't be a classic but it's a great book for the heart.

--Review by Stephen Balbach, via CoolReading (c) 2010 cc-by-nd ( )

Paper Moon is the story of Addie Pray, a young girl who travels around the Deep South during the 1930s with her supposed father, Long Boy. Fast talking and with a knack for spotting suckers, Long Boy and Addie quickly become a pair of first rate scammers. As they travel around the South, the scams become bigger and the characters become wilder but their loyalty towards each other only becomes more entrenched.

Paper Moon is a wonderful snap shot of the Deep South in the thirties, told through the eyes of a witty and precocious child. It takes quite an effort to make two swindlers lovable, but Joe David Brown succeeds wonderfully. You root for Long Boy and Addie at every turn and even become fond of the vast variety of characters that you meet along the way.

My only complaint was the somewhat unsatisfactory ending, which I felt was abrupt and had no real resolution. It almost seemed as if Joe David Brown got another great idea and needed to end Paper Moon quickly. The novel also sometimes drags in parts and the heavy Southern dialogue could give those not familiar with the region a head ache.

Still, this novel would be a nice read if you are a fan of such novels like To Kill A Mockingbird for the strong young female narrator. I give it three stars and would recommend it to a select group of people. ( )