King captures her guileless sense of awe with just a dusting of parody that never grows silly or bitter ... Tender ... With deft dialogue and knowing asides, King suggests Jordan’s nagging unease, the awkward feeling of wearing a cherished jacket that doesn’t quite fit right ... What’s particularly remarkable is how subtly King ages her narrator, preserving the kernel of that young woman’s openhearted urgency in the older woman’s complex voice ... Her style is too natural to be called poetic, but there’s definitely something poetic about her sense of narrative structure ... Only Lily King could tell a story so steeped in sorrow and so filled with hope.
King’s swoony story of love and literature, of paths taken and not taken, of the past selves we never truly leave behind, is quietly robust and nearly impossible to put down.
Enchanting ... King is not one for dramatic plot flourishes; instead she calibrates Jordan's story with superbly timed, understated revelations and dazzling dialogue that will keep readers riveted. Misfortune has a clarifying effect for the characters, exposing the worn and comforting patina of their friendship and forcing a reconciliation with past mistakes.
