"[7] As if explaining the book's unusualness, School Library Journal compared the storyline and writing style to Nick Burd’s The Vast Fields of Ordinary and Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five.

[5] Booklist further explained, "Hutchinson’s excellent novel of ideas invites readers to wonder about their place in a world that often seems uncaring and meaningless.

Lambda Literary expanded on the idea, saying it "is a book about more than love and loss; it’s about struggling to find motivation and not taking the people in your life for granted.

Lambda Literary called the book "a beautiful, masterfully told story by someone who is at the top of his craft,"[8] and VOYA noted, "The voices of each character are strong and unique."

The Horn Book Magazine provided a mixed review that complimented the character development but called the plot "lagging" and "issue-laden."