Yolen's treatment of a repressive community is honest, realistic and worthwhile, but several aspects may trouble some readers, parents, and concerned adults. The novel treats frankly the sexual tensions that can occur within a celibate community; These tensions are centered in the physical desires of a central teenage character, Abel, and at times they are graphically described. Abel's confessor Brother Joshua also testifies to a past carnal affair. The novel, however, clearly emphasizes the essential innocence of Abel and, even more starkly, that of young Sarah, the other central character, with whom he feels so close a bond. No lovemaking occurs, and the rare times of physical contact are limited to the touching of hands.

So far as Yolen addresses in this novel the question of teenage romance, she points to the need for real love, mutual understanding, and commitment. Brother Joshua's character addresses the question...