Although more than half of her published works are for younger children, Barbara Wersba is best known as the author of young adult novels in which sensitive and artistic teen protagonists, alienated from their rather traditional middle-class parents, find consolation in friendships with somewhat eccentric, often much older characters. Her novels are more likely to employ quiet reflection and introspection than lively action, but they record episodes which are turning points in the characters' lives and capture a flavor of contemporary teen culture. Wersba has an eye for and a sympathy with people and events which are slightly off-center; carnivals, circuses, and other more common city and suburban habitats of teenage misfits and dreamers are the settings for her works.

Her books for younger readers are more lighthearted and more fanciful than those for young adults, but her work consistently displays a sophisticated humor which is frequently bittersweet...