it was described by "the guardian" as "a seamless combination of supernatural thriller and entirely authentic teenage story", and by the school library journal as "an extraordinarily rich and sensitive novel" with a beautiful but ornate style. in the re-release of the novel in 2007, the author notes the book's significance as having been both her first young adult novel and the first in which she effectively evoked the new zealand setting. she also observes its lack of adolescent idiom, which gives it a timeless quality. it is recommended by several reading books, particularly for teenage girls.