Critical Praise

"Pierce has a fine eye and ear for the two societies . . . there is guilt and coping aplenty here, but it is firmly handled."

——Boston Globe

"Pierce writes lyrically and honestly in this powerful tale of life after tragedy, taking her time to fully develop characters and story."

——Booklist

"A lyrical first novel . . . Small in scope, but an elegant foray into beauty gleaned from tragedy."

——Kirkus Reviews

Winner of the 2001 Paterson Fiction Prize, the Poetry Center, Passaic County Community College "This simple tale is redeemed from sentimentality by Pierce's sure, resonant prose. Leo is an appealing character and her parents, especially her mother, Lydia, who spouts statistics and non sequiturs, are affectionately and precisely delineated. In Pierce's patient hands (her Galaxy Girls, Wonder Women won the 1994 Willa Cather Fiction Prize), this story of survival and healing achieves poetic immediacy."

——Publishers Weekly

"Accidental death, unexpected birth, madness and social class transgression all figure in this fine first novel . . . [Pierce's] strong sense of place and her attention to the nuances of Cambridge and Boston culture distinguish her writing . . . Pierce's achievement is her willingness to tackle enough themes to fill any number of books, and bring them together in a unified, lyrical narrative."

——Women's Review of Books