Beautifully written, carefully balanced, Mary Lawson constructs a history of sacrifice, emotional isolation and family love without sounding a false note

Full of blossoming insights and emotional acuity...a compelling and serious page-turner

Lawson's evocative storytelling...knows just how to draw the reader on...this is a novel of disappointed hopes and self-delusion, but it has a feel-good finish. Move over Lake Wobegon

A novel of a darkly unpredictable and compelling kind. It is a wise book

Both sinister and sharply intriguing, with a completely convincing eleven-year-old narrator caught in fundamentalism, school persecution and the edge of the miraculous

Bursting with tension and tenderness, this novel is a small miracle in itself

Grace McCleen's writing is deep, fantastical and powerful... She has been able to observe a fascinating world with generosity, wonder and spirit. A wonderful gem of a debut

Affecting and brilliantly written…a truly awe-inspiring debut

Surprising, affecting, thoughtful and complex, McCleen's novel grows in power the more time you spend with it

Exquisitely written and imagined

A stand-out debut from a new talent ... Inventive and unforgettable

An incredibly emotional read

A thrilling page-turner

This is a novel that strikes both horror and joy in the reader, the first-person narration deftly articulating Judith's escalating confusion and fear ... A talent to watch

A touching, delicate book, it's hitting the shelves with high hopes...On March 1, head out and buy Grace McCleen's book

A distinctive debut that pulls off the use of a child narrator in delightful style

Touching and funny… a compelling and wholly original debut.

Shimmers with little miracles.

This is a promisingly bold book and McCleen is a talent to watch

A gripping and mesmerizing debut of an unforgettable ten-year-old heroine and her battle with good and evil… A harrowing and powerful story about isolation and belonging

An original new voice... Haunting and absorbing, this is a joy to read