In her previous novels for older girls Mrs. Stolz has explored with wit, originality and a rare maturity the problems of growing up. ["Ready or Not"] is even more adult in tone and is, in one sense, more ambitious in its probing of family relationships. It is also new in setting, for here the author moves from the comfortable, suburban background of her earlier characters to the bare, hard-won respectability of a low-cost housing project in New York City….

Each of [the] characters is sharply individualized and the interplay of family relationships is brilliantly stated. Pitched in a minor key, the story may disappoint those who are hot for certainties, but for thoughtful readers it will be an unusual experience. (p. 24)

Ellen Lewis Buell, in The New York Times book Review (© 1953 by The New York Times Company; reprinted by permission), March 22, 1953.