Critics were impressed with this directorial debut and described it as powerful and conspicuously well-made. They praised the Sichel sisters for telling a story of adolescence and friendship which is at once honest, realistic and authentic, while remaining subtle, subdued and compassionate. Emanuel Levy called it complex and interesting, and Marjorie Baumgarten called it a film for "riot grrrls of all ages". Janet Maslin of "The New York Times" praised it as a confident first feature but said that it has more style than substance. Its detractors included Don Willmot, who found it melodramatic, and "E!", which described it as titillating but contrived; "a walk on the mild side".