“…this is a gorgeously tight tale swelling with wisdom about the self-destructive longing for paternal approval and the devastating consequences of clinging to rotten models of masculinity … This is a novel about conquering the addiction to abuse and the perverse idea that it’s somehow a form of loyalty … Yet for all the pain they inflict on one another, for all the betrayal and resentment trapping them together, Magariel’s characters — the male ones, anyway— never feel typecast or pitied … Magariel’s gripping and heartfelt debut is a blunt reminder that the boldest assertion of manhood is not violence stemming from fear. It is tenderness stemming from compassion.”
–Antonio Ruiz-Camacho, The New York Times Book Review, April 21, 2017
