Reviews

Publishers Weekly

"Belgian author Moeyaert (Bare Hands) evokes a variety of moods in three chronologically arranged scenes, narrated by the third of four children, known only as ‘Sis.' These slices of life reveal her feelings about her mother, brother, two sisters and other characters who periodically join their household. The girl's descriptions of her surroundings coincide with her emotional landscape. …Through the voice of his innocent yet keenly observant and compassionate narrator, the author eloquently expresses the nuances and subtleties of the relationships that shape the person she is becoming."

Horn Book Guide

"Moeyaert's sympathetic narrator has a clear, distinctive voice. Readers … get to know her dysfunctional family, which exists in a social and cultural vacuum."

Voice of Youth Advocate

"Employing the sparest of prose and suggestive rather than explicit exposition, Moeyaert superbly transmits the emotional experience. Summer's heat becomes a metaphor for familial passion. Sentences, such as ‘Even his eyelids are sweating,' make atmosphere palpable. This book is an excellent acquisition for libraries with advanced readers interested in pushing the literary envelope."

Publishers Weekly

"Belgian author Moeyaert (Bare Hands) evokes a variety of moods in three chronologically arranged scenes, narrated by the third of four children, known only as ‘Sis.' These slices of life reveal her feelings about her mother, brother, two sisters and other characters who periodically join their household. The girl's descriptions of her surroundings coincide with her emotional landscape. …Through the voice of his innocent yet keenly observant and compassionate narrator, the author eloquently expresses the nuances and subtleties of the relationships that shape the person she is becoming."

Horn Book Guide

"Moeyaert's sympathetic narrator has a clear, distinctive voice. Readers … get to know her dysfunctional family, which exists in a social and cultural vacuum."

Voice of Youth Advocate

"Employing the sparest of prose and suggestive rather than explicit exposition, Moeyaert superbly transmits the emotional experience. Summer's heat becomes a metaphor for familial passion. Sentences, such as ‘Even his eyelids are sweating,' make atmosphere palpable. This book is an excellent acquisition for libraries with advanced readers interested in pushing the literary envelope."

Christian Schools International

"This beautifully written novel for thoughtful readers is about a family's love, which holds the children together even when an irresponsible, abusive parent trmaples on that love and on her own maternal sensibilities."