A carefully interlocking story -- that just felt a bit over my head as the reader.

The child's eye view of the problematic adults in an alternative living-style community is great, giving enough information to read into about what's going on, without feeling too 'knowing' or 'cute'. A parallel story about a girl on a quest is dreamlike without being as tedious as listening to someone else's dream.

Collectively, though, it was a bit too literary for where my reading taste is at at the moment, which is in no way to dissuade anyone from tracking this one down if they want. Strong CanCon vibe, even if it is set in Maine.

On the high end of my three-star ratings, a VanderMeer-esque planet-wide first contact with a truly alien type of alien. Short, weird, readable.