Ruth Bass

"You’ll just want to keep reading and reading this vividly told story of three motherless children: Abby and Charles and Rose, bereaved and beset but trying to 'hold up' as best they can. The setting is richly evoked; the characters are utterly persuasive; and issues of loss and mourning, friendship and love, and the complexities of family life are explored with sensitivity and wisdom. Big sister Rose, the spunky heroine of this compelling tale, may well become a classic of young-adult literature."

"This Rose is really a rose! Ruth Bass has managed to illustrate sorrow and gravity as they really do exist alongside humor and joy. It’s wonderful to find a book you can just sink into."
"Ruth Bass has done remarkable research in creating this story. In particular, her attention to domestic detail is meticulous. Details are what define the times we live in and Sarah’s Daughter gives an in-depth look at social history when the post-Civil War country was, like Rose, on the threshold of changing. Subtly woven into the novel are information and instructions on everything from how to make a pie crust to how to darn a sock to how to make a dress look like it has not been ‘stretched’ to saving someone from hypothermia.

"Bass’s own history is woven into the novel as well – her original idea for the novel came from the stories she heard about her grandmother whose mother had died when she was a young teenager, leaving her in charge of the family and house.

"More than a century has passed since Rose Hibbard had to deal with problems of a parent’s alcoholism and an indifferent adult world – but they are not so different from the problems some teenagers face today.

"Ruth Bass has written a book memorable for its insights and its understanding of the hearts and minds of young women and the challenges they face – no matter what century they live in."