[In Chapters: My Growth As a Writer, Duncan] displays an intriguing, very different side of herself as she traces her evolution as a writer from its roots in an eager 10-year-old penner of short stories and poetry to her recognition as a full-fledged professional. Filled with her original stories and poems—many written during her teenage years and published in such popular magazines as Seventeen and American Girl—her writer's guide cum autobiographical sketch clearly shows how she used material from her own experiences in her work. She eschews in-depth analysis of her writings and includes disappointingly little about the juvenile novels she is more recognized for today, but she does indeed illustrate her coming of age as a writer and, at the same time, provides a highly entertaining collection of vigorous, candid, often sentimental pieces that express the ups and downs of childhood and adolescence as perhaps only a teenager can really see them. (pp. 853-54)
Stephanie Zvirin, in her review of "Chapters: My Growth As a Writer," in Booklist (reprinted by permission of the American Library Association; copyright © 1982 by the American Library Association), Vol. 78, No. 13, March 1, 1982, pp. 853-54.
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