Anna Shapiro praises the novel in
The Observer as being assured and lucid: "full of blossoming insights and emotional acuity" concluding that "Turning points and consequences are outlined with unusual sharpness here, allowing the reader to dwell on painful might-have-beens as if they were one's own. At one point, Kate writes: 'That spring every form of life seemed bent on revealing its secrets to us', and it might be added that this is just what the book - a compelling and serious page-turner - does superlatively well."
Kirkus Reviews is also positive, saying that the novel is finely crafted, concluding that it is "A simple and heartfelt account that conveys an astonishing intensity of emotion, almost Proustian in its sense of loss and regret."
Janet Burroway writing in
The New York Times writes that Lawson explores "class and class bigotry, sibling rivalry, the force of childhood experience in adult choice, the convoluted nature of guilt and the resilience of thwarted people who do good by making do...Mary Lawson handles both reflection and violence makes her a writer to read and to watch. Peripheral portraits are skillfully drawn." Burroway concludes that "Most impressive are the nuanced and un-self-conscious zoological metaphors that thread through the text: the snapping turtles whose shells are small
so a lot of their skin is exposed. It makes them nervous; the male stickleback who supply oxygen for the eggs and guard the freshly hatched young. That Daniel is concerned with bacterial adaptation, while Kate researches
surfactants that reduce the water's surface tension and the opposites-attract properties of the hydrogen bond, has a resonance at once witty and poignant. When Daniel's mother misinterprets the Wordsworth line
the child is father of the man, there may ensue some querulous chitchat about the nature-nurture controversy, but the relevance to Kate's predicament is fine and clear: avoidance of her own history may amount to ingratitude, and even guilt can be a form of snobbery.
Publishers Weekly praises that Lawson: "delivers a potent combination of powerful character writing and gorgeous description of the land. Her sense of pace and timing is impeccable throughout, and she uses dangerous winter weather brilliantly to increase the tension as the family battles to survive. This is a vibrant, resonant novel by a talented writer whose lyrical, evocative writing invites comparisons to
Rick Bass and
Richard Ford. The combination of orphan protagonists and effortless prose makes this an irresistible first effort. ==External links==