Deborah Joy Corey captures the voice of rural poverty and the voice of a single, struggling family in southeastern Canada. The voice belongs to an innocent nine-year-old girl, who, throughout this startling novel, remains a nameless, silent outsider in a family whose troubles don't leave much energy for paying attention to someone who isn't in desperate need. and "Deborah Joy Corey makes a stunning debut with her first novel. and " -Maclean's