Critical Praise

"Hester’s limited development and fantastic logic give the novel its quirky brilliance and lifts it beyond the melodramatic and macabre. In prose reminiscent of Benjy’s narration in William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, Laguna captures a world on a sensory tilt. We see things as if from the wrong side."

—The Australian

"The language is pitch-perfect --- it is the light in this dark tale . . . An engrossing exploration of the different ways people can find peace, the different ways humans respond to their environments, the small and large abuses that are constantly overlooked or allowed, and where that line lies."

—The Age

"A grim, creepy, powerful first-person narrative about a direly neglected child whose knowledge of the world is severely circumscribed by her fanatically Christian parents…A truly haunting tale that readers won’t soon forget, from a compelling, original voice."

—Publishers Weekly

"Laguna writes with lyrical economy, and her craft elevates a tale which in its bare outlines seems like sensational tabloid fare. A disturbing story graced by powerful, poetic prose."

—The Guardian UK