The Cuckoo Sister treats contemporary themes of social and family conflict with sensitivity, maintaining a balanced view. Although kidnapping and subsequent child abandonment lie at the heart of the plot, the story line revolves around efforts at restitution.

Some readers may be troubled by the character of the woman who raised Rosie, scrubwoman Louise Martin, whose shallow morals subjected the girl to an unstable home. Yet Louise Martin has, of late, also gotten married and, burdened by guilt, turned Rosie over to the Setons. Pity, rather than approval, is evoked for this woman's personal inadequacies.

Louise Martin is also portrayed as a member of a particular social class. The colorful residents of Hockley may appear to some socially conscious readers as working-class stereotypes, ignorant and gossipy, yet Louise Martin's shabby behavior is condemned by her neighbors, who show genuine concern for Rosie's plight. Readers should remember...