The brutal eviction of the tenant farmers of Greenyards, a valley in the Scottish Highlands, provides the core of this entirely absorbing novel [A Pistol in Greenyards]. The sufferings of the people are told through the eyes and experiences of one boy, who dares to draw a pistol in defence of his family, when the Sheriff-Officer comes to dispossess them so that the land can be sold for sheep grazing….

The valley community is warmly evoked and the acts of simple heroism and affection are as effectively conveyed as the dreadful attack on the women and children which the Sheriff's men carry out. In all respects this is an outstanding book and must be strongly recommended….

David Churchill, "Eleven to Fifteen: 'A Pistol in Greenyards'," in The School Librarian, Vol. 23, No. 2, June, 1975, p. 147.