Criticism > Contemporary Literary Criticism > Hinton, S. E. - Susanna Rodell (review date 19 November 1995)

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Susanna Rodell (review date 19 November 1995)

SOURCE: A review of The Puppy Sister, in The New York Times Book Review, November 19, 1995, p. 37.

[In the following review, Rodell declares that while The Puppy Sister is at times overly sentimental, it is appropriate for very young readers who will enjoy the fantasy and who will not be bothered by the implausibilities presented by the plot and characterization.]

It's not easy to pull off the sort of real-life fantasy S. E. Hinton attempts in The Puppy Sister. She largely succeeds, and the book will no doubt delight young independent readers, but it has some big flaws.

Ms. Hinton is well known to many parents, who remember reading her gritty novels for adolescents, including The Outsiders and Rumble Fish. After a long silence, she recently shifted gears toward younger readers with a storybook, Big David, Little David. Both that book and The...

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1. Introduction
2. Principal Works
3. Criticism
   1. Zena Sutherland (essay date 27 January 1968)
   2. Times Literary Supplement (review date 30 October 1970)
   3. Jane Powell (review date 2 April 1976)
   4. S. E. Hinton with Lisa Ehrichs (interview date November 1981)
   5. Gene Lyons (essay date 11 October 1982)
   6. Jay Scott (essay date April 1983)
   7. Michael Malone (essay date 8 March 1986)
   8. Charlene Strickland (review date October 1988)
   9. Elizabeth Ward (review date 12 February 1989)
   10. Patty Campbell (review date 2 April 1989)
   11. Charles Solomon (review date 12 August 1990)
   12. Steven L. VanderStaay (essay date November 1992)
   13. Susanna Rodell (review date 19 November 1995)
4. Further Reading
5. Copyright

1. S. E. Hinton