"The main pleasure of reading [Now You See It . . . ] resides in its steadily accruing portrait of a sensibility—how it feels to be from Cokesville, how being from Cokesville shapes thought and perception. Local mentality can be a greased pig of a literary objective, typically slathered as it is with layers of sentiment and convention, but Monk's relatively minimalist approach gets a grip on her subject with a certain businesslike lack of fuss that is itself exemplary of the regional style. Monk's confident, knowing voice makes a strong debut in Now You See It . . . establishing Cokesville and its people in our imaginary geography."—Chicago Tribune