[Witnessing the awkward, then tender, reunions of her parents in "Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself," Sally] feels the impact of their need for one another without fully understanding what it means. It's a reminder to all of us that there's a time when children know the facts of life without understanding them. Beyond that, the book is largely a chronicle of Sally's adjustment to a new life, of wishes and nervousness and fun, and the author's memories of the 194...

There is little plot and even less point to [Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself]; the writing lacks the wit and insight of her earlier books, and the rare moments of humor are aimed at adults. Sally's obsession with Hitler, while certainly plausible and understandable, does not fit smoothly into the context of the book, and is often unnecessarily violent in its expression. For example, one of Sally's daydreams goes as follows, "Hitler … gets his knife and slowly slashes each o...