[1] As of 2010 she has published ten novels, set in such varied historical contexts as Ireland during the Great Famine of the 1840s, Nova Scotia during the early 19th century, Elizabethan London, and the Holocaust.
Her books often have in common the theme of a youthful protagonist (usually, but not always, female) surviving social disruption or ostracism in a world dominated by the mistakes of adults.
The first and fourth books of the Rachel series, in the series were both nominated for the prestigious Hackmatack Award, and A Mighty Big Imagining won a White Raven Award, given by the International Youth Library in Munich to books which "contribute to an international understanding of a culture and people."
The Thought of High Windows garnered extensive critical acclaim and won the Canadian Jewish Book Award for Youth in 2006.
Reviewers for Kirkus,[2] The Washington Post,[3] Hornbook Magazine,[4] The Center for Children's Books,[5] and the School Library Journal[6] all voiced critical praise for it.