Mori's writing has captured the attention of literary reviewers. She has also gained their respect as a writer. Praise comes from a wide range of sources, such as John Philbrook, writing in the School Library Journal, who describes Mori's writing as "beautiful and sensitive prose [that] evokes a world of pungent memories and harsh realities." Kirkus Reviews claims that Shizuko's Daughter is a "beautifully written book about a bitterly painful coming of age" and concludes that her book marks a  "splendid debut." Following in this same line of praise, the Horn Book Magazine's Nancy Vasilakis describes Mori's first published book as a "skillfully structured novel." Vasilakis then goes on to state, "Mori paints beautiful pictures with words, creating visual images that can be as haunting and elliptical as poetry." Rounding out this criticism of Mori's first published writing is a Publisher's Weekly review that...