Reviews

Horn Book Guide

"Unvarnished and moving."

Kirkus Reviews

"Lamstein's spare first-person narrative deftly sketches a remarkably complex picture with few extra strokes."

School Library Journal

"In brief scenes, like snapshots from an album, Lamstein depicts a 1954 Chicago family on the verge of breakdown. … A good choice for reluctant readers or for children suffering through difficult family situations."

Horn Book Guide

"Unvarnished and moving."

Kirkus Reviews

"Lamstein's spare first-person narrative deftly sketches a remarkably complex picture with few extra strokes."

School Library Journal

"In brief scenes, like snapshots from an album, Lamstein depicts a 1954 Chicago family on the verge of breakdown. … A good choice for reluctant readers or for children suffering through difficult family situations."

Booklist

"Lamstein unfolds this 1950s drama in vignettes that trenchantly expose a family sinking into dysfunction. The baby boomer-friendly references and the theme of glossy domesticity shielding darker realities, for which the mother's Betty Crocker-perfect cakes are a rich metaphor. … Young readers will sympathize with Ruth's experience of being pushed to the margins by distracted parents and feel empowered by her ability to tug her troubled family toward reconciliation."

Voice of Youth Advocate

"Ruthie's story is poignant, and although there is no upbeat ending, there is a sense of hope. Lamstein is skilled at depicting the unhappy family with a few well-chosen words. Ruthie's growing awareness of her imperfect family, Eddy's challenges, and the parent's frustrations are revealed realistically and with sensitivity. The use of metaphor is effective: Ruthie's mother always bakes her cakes from scratch, and although cakes are always plentiful in the Tepper household, the family is hungry for something beyond food. … Hand-sell this one to those interested in family relationships. It is well worth the effort"

Christian School International Library Materials Guide

"Ruthie's sixth grade voice, full of ache and wisdom, offers profound understanding of her 1950s world. In short segments on the page, like windows of her soul, Ruthie reveals her love, her pain, and her need for survival in a delicate, complex family."

ALAN Review

"Ruthie's vivacious character and exciting dreams capture the audience .... Her passion for what she believes in will leave the reader inspired by her persistence but aching for her in the end. Ruthie Tepper will steal your heart and make it impossible to forget her … a story of compassion, survival and hope."

Children's Literature

"Ruthie is a finely-drawn character who readers will remember and care about. A good read and even better discussion starter in a classroom or family."

The Bulletin

"Ruthie's present-tense narration is convincingly constrained yet affecting. Her yearning for something better, for herself and for Eddy, is touching and believable, but the book's particular originality is to admit Ruthie's own contribution to the "mean square dance"; the result is an avoidance of a too-simple bad/good dichotomy and an exploration of how frustration and unhappiness can spur on cruelty in anyone. Just about everyone has felt that impulse, family situation or no, so Ruthie's story should find many understanding readers."

Ellen Wittlinger

"I believed every word of this book. Ruthie sneaks into your heart and holds on tight. I'll never forget her."

Karen Hesse

"Ruthie gives us an unadulterated, searing window into her life in the 1950s, and though readers may come away aching for her, in the last moments of Hunger Moon she offers a delicate and complex salve for survival."

Norma Fox Mazer

"I love this story, so simply and brilliantly told —and oh, so real. I love Ruth Tepper and the way she laughs so hard she falls off her chair … and so did I, at moments. She is hungry for recognition, hungry for books, hungry for love, hungry in every possible way. She's a wonderful character, a spirited, big hearted girl, who doesn't always do the right thing, a girl who will linger long in the reader's mind. Sarah Lamstein has performed magic here."