• Maine Lupine Award for Juvenile Title
• Publisher's Weekly Best Children's Book
• Texas Young Adult Round Table Reading List
• ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 2006

*Jacobson traces complex issues with a gentle hand, demonstrating respect and empathy for her three adolescent characters. The discovery that Father Warren is sexually abusing Gabe is not played for dramatic punch but as a means for personal growth. Jocelyn's maturity and strength are believably earned; her voice is honest and compelling.

Horn Book, starred review

*It's no small achievement to make a story set 30 years ago feel immediate, nor is it easy to take a ripped-from-the-headlines topic and deliver it without sensationalism. In a triumphant ending, Joss comes to some important realizations and makes a bold decision to take action-a move that puts this girl with the "stained soul" squarely on the side of the angels. The enticing cover art will draw in teens; the story will hook them.

Publishers Weekly, starred review

*Jacobson's admirable first work for young adults is one which controversial topics are delicately handled. The final message is one of hope and salvation after a shocking secret vindicates Joss. Provocative - and timely.

Kirkus, starred review

Whether or not readers have background knowledge of the ongoing Church scandal or traditional Catholicism, they will find much to consider and to discuss in this story.

School Library Journal

From the very beginning, well-drawn and subtle suspense grinds away at the reader. As chapter follows chapter, we just can't shake that feeling of impending doom. Jennifer Richard Jacobson's novel is multilayered --- with elements of romance, mystery/suspense, family relationships, and friendships. At the very heart of the book lies the question of faith --- religious faith, and also self-faith. I highly recommend this thought-provoking and beautifully written novel.

Teen Reads

Remember when The Chocolate War caused an outcry because Cormier wrote about flawed Catholic priests? Well, that was then, this is now. . . This carefully written novel tells how adolescents are vulnerable to sexual abuse, especially in the past when no one would have believed them if they had come forth with the truth. Gabe's confusion about his own sexuality, which only is complicated by the moral leader, the priest, actually fostering a love affair between them, is enough to break most readers' hearts. KLIATT Codes: S—Recommended for senior high school students.

Kliatt

Jennifer Richard Jacobson has built a story that treads delicately around a sensitive contemporary issue and explores first love and naïve belief with convincing characters.

Amazon.com

Jacobson presents a tense mystery with well-crafted characters and relationships portrayed in all their messy complexities. The story, set in 1975 New Hampshire, is as up-to-date as today's newspaper.

DesMoines Register