Kinflicks alternates between satire and seriousness, with mixed success according to most critics, who nevertheless were impressed by such nerve — and energy — in a first novel. A mixture of tones is achieved by having alternate chapters told in Ginny's own irreverent, slangy (profane) style, and the author's removed, more objective voice; many events are thus seen from two perspectives. Ginny, not without intelligence, often seems to understand, or to comment sardonically on what happens to her, even while remaining passive.

The intention is to make the reader want to laugh, then cry, and to view Ginny's odyssey from both inside and outside. This double vision prolongs the novel's length and its effectiveness is questionable.

The mixture of comedy and seriousness, even tragedy, is occasionally jarring, especially in the sudden occurrence of a gruesome, gratuitous decapitation. It does sometimes seem that Ginny bounces back from such calamity...