The quotation from [Albert] Camus that precedes [The Pistachio Prescription] tells all: "In the midst of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer."… Cassie begins to understand that the situation [between her parents] is irrevocable [and] that she can live through the years before she is able to leave home…. Not unusual in theme, this is unusually well done; the characterization and dialogue are strong, the relationships depicted with perception, and the writing style vigorous.

Zena Sutherland, "New Titles for Children and Young People: 'The Pistachio Prescription'," in Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (reprinted by permission of The University of Chicago Press; © 1978 by the University of Chicago), Vol. 31, No. 9, May, 1978, p. 140.