sentences: "Publishers Weekly" praised Cunningham's talent, but concluded that "unwelcome shifts into second-person and passages rife with adjective abuse mar this ambitious undertaking".Writing for "January Magazine", Cherie Thiessen called the book "hugely ambitious" but noted that "meticulously reflecting the thoughts, the anguish, the reflections and insights of a gifted and introspective poet can become tedious".. Vernon Peterson of "The Oregonian" compared the book favorably to Cunningham's debut novel "The Green Age of Asher Witherow", writing that Cunningham "has achieved a mature style and authentic voice in "Lost Son"".