Book Reviews

Reviews and Comments*

MEET THE MALONES

"The Malones are certainly worth meeting. They are individuals in their own right, but you will see in them some of the family next door or down the street, for these four motherless youngsters are very much alive and of this day." - New York Times

BEANY MALONE

"There is warmth, quiet humor and excellent suspense in this story of a young girl growing up...a fine novel, well written, convincing and alive." - Saturday Review of Literature.

LEAVE IT TO BEANY

"Sixteen-year-old Beany, in the midst of a high-school romance and diverse energetic family projects, finds that her desire to help people in unorthodox ways leads her into several ridiculous and difficult situations...a warm-hearted, very human story." - Virginia Kirkus Bookshop Service

BEANY AND THE BECKONING ROAD

"Beany, disillusioned by her boy-friend, welcomes the chance to make a trip to California to deliver her small nephew to his parents. The 1200-mile trip by car, made with her older brother, a motherly paying passenger, a horse, and Beany's rival, ended perfectly for Beany in spite of all her troubles." - A.L.A. Booklist

BEANY HAS A SECRET LIFE

"Mrs. Weber knows high school girls. And her Beany Malone is the sort of young person you love - very special, very human. A forthright story, gay, poignant, dealing with problems real to teenagers." - Dallas Times-Herald

The Sue Barton Books by Helen Dore Boylston:

SUE BARTON: Student Nurse

"Should be required reading for any girl whose thoughts tend toward the nursing profession. . . . Miss Boylston's gay but serious account of a redheaded girl's struggle for her cap and its band is continuously interesting, often exciting, and undeniably reliable. . . . She writes with the ease of a born and trained writer." May Lamberton Becker, N. Y. Herald Tribune "Books," in a review of "SUE BARTON: Student Nurse."

SUE BARTON: Senior Nurse

"The convincing delineation of character adds warmth and genuine interest to Sue's experiences in the operating rooms and wards. . . . The background is well drawn and it is a very readable story." N. Y. Times Book Review in a review of "SUE BARTON: Senior Nurse."

SUE BARTON: Visiting Nurse

"Without sentimentality Miss Boylston presents district nursing in a large city, with just the right amount of drama, adventure and human interest to appeal to the young girl groping for a useful niche in the world." The Trained Nurse and Hospital Review in a review of "SUE BARTON: Visiting Nurse."

Sally Watson's Historical Fiction

"It is rare to find a series in which each book is so distinctive and delightful." - New York Times

LARK

"Humor in historical fiction is rare and welcome, and this has substances as well." - Horn Book

"The wry humor of this story set in Cromwell time delighted me." - Kirkus

"The irrepressible Lark, having run away from her Puritan uncle, is befriended by a young Royalist spy who thought her a mere child to be returned easily to her family. But Lark was closemouthed about her identity, and no sooner did he think he h ad her safely established so that he could attend to is duty than she reappeared to complicate his life--and twice to save it. Gypsies, tavern keepers and a great variety of Roundheads and Cavaliers enliven the English Civil War background. Humor in historical fiction is rare and welcome, and for all its lightness and wit, this story does have substance." - Horn Book

"Lark is a fast-moving, humorous novel filled with intrigue, history and fun." - Seattle Times

"Lark is a pert, lively, likable girl who, rather than marry her unpleasant Puritan cousin, runs away. It is James Trelawney, a young Royalist spy, who rescues her from her first predicament, and before their adventure is over the two are in and out of serious trouble again and again. A heroine such as this one provides humorous touches even in the most harrowing situations. Lively historical fiction for girls or boys." - 18th Century Scotland and America

JADE

"This exuberant madcap book (who but Sally Watson would end it that way?) fits into the family saga beautifully. It's a sparkling, stirring off-the-beaten-path of a book." - Horn Book

LINNET

"A deft blend of imagined reality with factual record." Horn Book

"A fascinating portrait of 16th C. London, abounding in memorable characters." Literary Guild

MISTRESS MALAPERT

"A skilfully-written story: a sparkling tapestry of Shakespeare’s world." -Kirkus

"A masterful tale of Shakespeare day. -San Francisco Chronicle

THE HORNET'S NEST

"In Sally Watson new story, her talent has strengthened and matured; this is one of the best books for young people to come along in some time. I hope it will be widely read, for it has important things to say to us in the troubled and complicated days in which we, like her young heroes, find no easy or clear-cut answers. Young Lauchlin and Ronald MacLeod, passionate in their love of Scotland and hatred of the occupying English, get into trouble (much of it delightfully funny) and get sent to relatives in the colony of Virginia. Here, in a deft and subtle interplay of character and event, Miss Watson presents some of the incidents that led to the American Revolution. Her characters, both the young highlanders and colonials, are very real in their confusion of loyalties: not all the English are evil oppressors, not all common men are naturally good. Loyalties ee put to the test in one exciting incident after another." - Madeleine L’Engle

"In a Revolutionary War story that moves from the Isle of Skye to Colonial Virginia, Lauchlin MacLeod and her brother visit distant English cousins in Virginia to escape being hanged by the British. During much of the story the Scots feud with their Tory cousins:. It’s reolved when the Tories begin to turn patriot and the Scots learn that there are two sides to the thing. The historical backgound is sound and the characterization sharp and humorous." - Los Angeles County Board of Education



*Quotes written at the times of original publications.