It was subsequently combined with its sequel The Moon and the Face in an omnibus edition, also titled Moon-Flash, issued in paperback and ebook by Firebird/Penguin in March 2005.

Barbara Hutcheson in School Library Journal calls the story a "lyrical tale," writing that "Kyreol's search can be understood on many levels.

On one, she is a child looking for the mother who disappeared years before; on another, she is a young primitive gradually becoming aware of life in cultures apart from her own; on another, she is a girl finding her way into womanhood.

McKillip's theme is not original, but she attunes readers so completely to the primal mind of her characters that the first contact with outside forces falls like a blow.

"[2] Beth and Ben Nelms in English Journal write "[t]his book is a powerhouse of ideas; questions are seen as the beginning of progress; each culture is honored for what it has meant to life on ea[r]th; the quest for answers is safer and more bearable if the traveler is not alone; the power of love overcomes tribulation; and humans have the ability to love what has been while looking forward with hope and confidence to the sometimes frightening future.