'A sparkling debut, engaging, funny, moving, and completely unlike anything else you've read ... Flawed families, cultural confusion, new beginnings and an unlikely romance hold together this deliciously zany story.'

'Petropolis offers a moving account of a perpetual outsider's desire to belong, both to her family and to the wide, weird world she encounters with a sometimes weary heart and plenty of chutzpah.'

'Petropolis is engaging, funny and genuinely moving in all the right places. It is a sparkling debut, a unique comic novel of Homo post-Sovieticus. In negotiating the territory between coming-of-age and satire, the novel risks a great deal and succeeds, thanks in no small part to Ulinich's storytelling skills and pitch-perfect sense of the bittersweet.'

'... not many novels take us to ugly but exotic Siberian towns, or even to ugly, exotic Arizona sprawl, let alone to millionaires' Chicago fantasias. This young heroine has sharp vision and a pragmatic view of life's difficulties -- together with a pointed sense of irony. Sasha will get by -- that seems certain -- and it seems equally certain that Anya Ulinich will be back.'

'Petropolis is rich with black humor, acerbic wit and a charm entirely free from the preciousness that accompanies so many coming-of-age stories. Ulinich is best when she digs below the surface of satire to probe the pain, ambivalence and cynicism of the acculturation process. ... Ulinich demonstrates an astute understanding of the immigrant's role in contemporary America.'

'Audacious, clever and lively, Petropolis abounds in precise and pointed descriptions, rapid-fire dialogue and unpredictable interactions among intriguing characters. As Sasha embarks on her unplanned odyssey, well-timed flashbacks provide the back story for each outlandish episode.'