"A moving, honest, and hopeful story." –
Kirkus, starred review "Woodson maintains tension throughout, making it abundantly clear how easy it is to succumb to meth and how difficult it is to recover from it." –
Publishers Weekly, starred review "This powerful, stripped-down novel chronicles a girl's journey from popular cheerleader to homeless meth user to recovering addict...An outstanding novel that succeeds on every level." –
School Library Journal, starred review "Woodson takes us on the dark journey of addiction, mimicking the slow, hazy spell of drug use with the lull of her poetic prose. . . . Laurel's descent is brutally honest. . . . An intimate and compelling story of survival." –
The Horn Book "As accurate as it is heartbreaking; readers will be deeply moved . . . they'll sympathize with [Laurel's] desire to find some way to feel better. . . . Readers looking to understand the attraction of a destructive substance will get a glimmer of understanding." –
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books "Will not disappoint readers. . . . Ends on a hopeful note: perhaps it is possible to write pain 'into the past and leave some of it there, ' and reimagine a future." –
Booklist "Powerful."