[1] It is the story of a fourteen-year-old girl on a family road trip from the South to California, led by her evangelical father.

[3] By January 2014, Big World had sold 3,000 copies and Last Days of California had an initial print run of 25,000.

"[8] Chicago Tribune critic Laura Pearson wrote that it had "vivid but unfussy prose, pitched perfectly to the attitudes and observations of a teenage girl adrift.

"[9] Wall Street Journal critic Sam Sacks gave the book a mixed review, finding disappointment in that Miller's insight into characters did not extend to the subject of religious belief.

[10] Critic Josh Cook in the Star Tribune gave the book a mixed review, saying it had "plenty here" but that some scenes felt "amiss".