A lass with the lovely but unlikely name of Crescent Delahanty is the focal subject of a series of lovely sketches [in Cress Delahanty], all related but each distinct, by the always skillful Jessamyn West….

Anyone who knows adolescence, and especially that of young girls, will love this book. It is beautifully written, with the most extraordinary insight and delicacy…. Jessamyn West is one of our most gifted writers, and the tenderness of The Friendly Persuasion and the sharp dramatic touches of The Witch Diggers are here, too, still mellow but still moving. Miss West, without sound and fuss, gives you some characters, some scenes, some meaning. And she does it with wonderful ease, yet lots of force, laughter, and sighs.

T. E. Cassidy, "Adolescence," in Commonweal (copyright © 1954 Commonweal Publishing Co., Inc.; reprinted by permission of Commonweal Publishing Co., Inc.), Vol. LIX, No. 15, January 15, 1954, p. 384.