Reviews:

ENTHRALLING AND DELIGHTFUL...RICH AND COMPELLING...What might at first have seemed a gently paced coming-of-age story turns into a rambunctious tale.”

—The Christian Science Monitor

“With a marvelous ear for language and devilishly rich imagination, Mark Childress has crafted an engaging and readable novel.”

—The Boston Globe

“Childress knows the business of words. His descriptions evoke a sense of time and place that rings true.... A rare talent.”

—Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“From his lyrical opening passages, which evoke the softness of adolescent innocence, right up through his explosive finale, he never lets us come up for air. And we never want to ... . This is a yarn spun with poetry. This is storytelling at its best.”

—Vogue

“Childress has as many twists and turns and surprises in his novel as the Magnolia River.”

—Birmingham News

“Zings with charm and thrills.”

—Booklist