Its included pieces span topics such as Vietnamese American identity, intergenerational trauma, gender politics, and colonization.

[4] The New York Times called it "elegantly structured", as well as a "powerful debut, which marshals narrative lyrics and stark beauty ... to address personal and political violence.

[7] The same month, Victoria Chang selected "Lipstick Elegy" to feature in the magazine, stating it "explores all the distances between mothers and their children, the frayed seams between countries and cultures.

[9] Electric Literature dubbed it "an exquisitely crafted labyrinth of a book".

"[14] Madeleine Cravens, in Ploughshares, noted "Tran's command of the poetic line" and lauded their vast and complex exploration of trauma.