"Swedish magical realism comes alive in this breathtaking and inspiring tale of three unconnected, deeply cerebral misfits whose paths cross in a life-altering way. ..."
     —School Library Journal

 "A thought-provoking, beautifully written story."
     —Booklist

"Nilsson (Heart’s Delight) uses an alternating third-person narrative to build suspense as he threads together the lives of three memorable young people: sixth-grader Anon (“short for ’anonymous,’ " he overhears his mother tell a friend), sensuous 17-year-old Zarah with a volatile boyfriend, and Nils, whom readers first meet as his friend shuts him inside a coffin (at Nils’s request). The characters may be offbeat, but the author renders them completely credible … Nilsson’s well-honed sense of irony leavens the novel’s darker themes, and the triumphant merging of the trio’s lives brings about unexpected and uplifting epiphanies for all three characters. With no tidy wrap-up, the novel will keep readers thinking about these characters’ lives long after the final page."
     —Publishers Weekly

"Provocative."
     —Kirkus Reviews

"This sophisticated novel hooks readers in with its intriguing portrayal of how individuals can affect one another’s destiny, sometimes without even knowing it."
     —Horn Book

"[D]istinctive ... probes the minds of three unique, memorable, and life-affirming characters."
     —CCBC Choices (University of Wisconsin)

"Nilsson’s literary art blends the philosophical with the quotidian, producing a lyrical interplay that is never heavy-handed and is often quite funny. He inserts prose poems from an off-scene narrator who directly addresses the character, querying their actions and motivations in order to lay bare the thematic resonances that connect the characters. The overt symbolism of Anon as a Christ figure (besides believing his dad is a god, he resurrects Zarah’s cat and appears to walk on water) and Zarah’s and Nils’ coincidental rebirths and yin-and-yang correspondence might be overbearing if the daydreaming messiah in blue galoshes weren’t so darned appealing and the plot so overlaid with existential joy. Theirs is a world in which to lose oneself for a pleasant while and emerge refreshed."
     —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"This sometimes child-like, sometimes sexually-graphic narrative shifts adroitly through almost every major character’s point of view, giving the reader insight into their thoughts and feelings, as well as Swedish culture and mores. Anon, age 12, is a little odd. Sometimes he gets teased at school. Anon with the blue rubber rain boots. A daydreamer, lost in his thoughts about someone named Sara whose wallet he’s found. She truly is his dream girl…"
     —ALAN Review