“The cadenced storyteller’s voice and short, propulsive sentences render every moment of the deceptively simple plot urgently alive. A wealth of earthy, quotidian detail provides some needed distance from the roiling emotional dynamics; beneath an exquisitely poetic skin, the novel brims with tensions between abandonment and isolation, fault and forgiveness, empowerment and self-realization. . . . This is absolutely not to be missed.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)

“A girl seeks a sense of belonging and the truth about her identity. . . . The descriptions of the setting evoke a faraway land, both idyllic in its natural beauty and containing lurking dangers and existing outside of time in a way reminiscent of folklore. Red’s story expands on themes of family, love, self-identity, forgiveness, and growth in this novel that will appeal to sophisticated readers. A dreamy story that reads like an extended folktale.” — Kirkus Reviews

“This is a powerful story about forgiveness and healing. The grand adventure is found not in finding a mystical purpose nor defeating an evil king, but in a girl who learns to write her story. . . . For readers who are fans of quiet adventures and (literal) magical storytelling, this is one to hold near your heart.” — Booklist

“[Red] seeks to uncover the origins of her past in this literary read by Paasewe-Valchev. . . . Through Red’s mesmeric narration, rendered in lilting prose, Paasewe-Valchev crafts an imaginative story that feels at once otherworldly and inherently grounded in familiar themes of family, forgiveness, and self-discovery.” — Publishers Weekly