SOURCE: McDaniel, Maude. “Anna Quindlen Writes a Wise Coming-of-Age Novel.” Chicago Tribune Books (21 April 1991): 6.

In the following review, McDaniel praises Quindlen for her portrayal of adolescence and loss and for vivid characterization in Object Lessons.

Adolescence is widely held these days to be a traumatic experience, and Anna Quindlen's first novel clearly supports the theory. On the other hand, although it closes with the thought that “our whole lives are puberty … we have to grow up again and again,” Object Lessons adds to that insight the possibility that, out of the turmoil, lessons can be learned and advances secured.

Quindlen first caught the public eye with the psychological acuity and wry reflection of her “Life in the 30s” articles in the New York Times and subsequent syndicated columns. She brings the same gifts to her fictional debut, along with a considerable skill for organizing them into a perceptive...