"Harry's own life moves slowly like the river, unfolding in flowing images of exquisite prose verse. Beautifully told"
     —Kirkus Reviews

"Herrick's brisk, vivid poetry, filled with precise details, creates a luminous sense of place and character. ... The memorable scenes are sly and affecting as they capture timeless adolescent curiosities. ..."
     —Booklist

"In this exceptional example of the verse novel, time and place are evoked and Harry’s youthful voice is authentically rendered in poems notable for their spare beauty."
     —School Library Journal

"Harry Hodby's days unfold in sharply sensual free-verse poems. ...This isn't an eventful accounting, but it will appeal to readers who favor warmly realized character development and well-executed language over complicated plots and angsty protagonists."
     —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Set in a small Australian town, Herrick's verse novel evocatively recreates the experience of growing up in a motherless, but deeply affectionate, working-class family. Prose-like poems recall small cruelties and kindnesses, gossiping and friendship, and the fierceness of childhood loves and enmities, and leave the reader with a tantalizing but unresolved vision of the narrator's future."
     —Horn Book Guide