“...captivating... a work of striking lyricism and jittery energy...Lerner writes in a prose style that is intricate, poetic, and full of surprises...In a lesser writer’s hands, such an exaggerated view of womanhood might have seemed silly or unbelieveable. But Lerner has the gifts to make it all work — the girls seem real, and you want them to escape.”

“...a gutsy and wildly imaginative first novel. It’s a freak show, but with human touches about the need for motherly approval and the ecstasy of first love. Bottom Line: Beautiful debut.”

“...more comic relief than feminist manifesto...weird, wacky and worth it.”

“...fiercely imagined... a bracing vision of how young women are taught to strive for a synthetic femininity.”