[4] Reviewing Boys in the Trees, Fiona Sturges describes the book as "primarily about [Simon's] family, her interior life and her stormy relationships with men, and her candour is frequently startling."

[5] Simon also revealed in the memoir that when she was seven years old, a family friend in his teens sexually assaulted her: "It was heinous", she stated, adding, "It changed my view about sex for a long time.

In The Guardian, Jude Rogers wrote "Complex, quick-witted and stack-full of raw talent: this isn't how people like to see Carly Simon.

"[7] Similarly, in The Independent, Fiona Sturges found Boys in the Trees a "hugely affecting memoir", describing Simon's recounting "as, for the most part, heartfelt and remarkable in [its] detail...Similarly impressive is the fearlessness, frankness and wisdom with which she chronicles half a lifetime of pain.

"[5] However, in The New York Times, Janet Maslin found the "book's style recalls that of [Simon's] songs: a little precious, a little redundant, a little too much.