Critical Praise

"The Caribbean's tropical sights and smells permeate Smyth's moving debut novel, but all is not paradise…Smyth paints a vivid portrait of a naive young girl who learns some hard truths about herself and her family, but though Celia's story is not always happy, it's arresting and powerful, a shining testament to human resilience."

—The Miami Herald

"Like Alice Walker, Smyth vividly and empathetically re-creates the gender and racial tensions in a culture’s past, making them newly relevant. Smyth is so attuned to the texture and flavor of Caribbean life, and she mimics the island patois so well."

—Elle

"[An] enchanting debut... Smyth’s deftly captured tropical landscape and superstitions….keep things interesting."

—Publishers Weekly

"Smyth writes entrancingly on tropical heat and light, indolence, vengeance and desire."

—The Guardian