RaveLos Angeles Review of BooksUltimately, what this novel is about is freedom and choice, causes and consequences, and it is written in sharp language that is both deeply funny and painful. Completely absent any navel-gazing or self-pity, it is a book that probes questions of family, feminism, ecology, and home, and refuses to settle on easy answers ... equally thrilling and harrowing ... Watkins writes about motherhood with precision and insight—each word feels carefully chosen and essential to the narrative ... Within these pages, Watkins blurs the line between reality and imagination in prose that is darkly funny, heartfelt, and at times tragic. She writes with precision and control, even as the story seems to travel where it wants to go. Just as her protagonist refuses to conform to the socially acceptable script for young mothers, so too Watkins writes on her own terms.
