[In The Beautiful Friend each story gives] a vignette of some turning point in the life of a young person moving toward emotional maturity…. There is no variation in the excellence of the stories—they are beautifully written, perceptive, and sympathetic. Especially penetrating are the situations in which a young woman is struggling to free herself from the loving parents who do not realize they are clinging and overprotective. (p. 49)

Zena Sutherland, in Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (published by the University of Chicago), November, 1960.