I had never read a book like this before. The characters, the plot, the back cover, captured my attention and I couldn’t put the book down until I’d read it to see what was going on. Caleb Reed hasn’t left his house since 2nd grade. He is afraid to step outside. Muggers, terrorists, global warming, viruses, these are all plotting against him. He is in 7th grade now and is worried about the house next door. He keeps waiting for someone to buy it and fix it up, but nobody does. Something has changed with the house and it bothered him. His sister died six years ago and the family hasn’t recovered.
Iris Elliott went to school with Caleb, until he was kept at home. She has decided to do a documentary involving Caleb’s house next door. Then she spots Caleb. Can she draw him out of his house? Would he agree to be a part of her project?
After Caleb talks with Iris, he notices a note on his porch. Did Iris leave it for him? He’ll have to go outside to get it. He puts on gloves, a scarf, a sweatshirt; can’t have the germs and bad guys getting him. But the note isn’t signed. And it’s a poem. Caleb decides to answer the question in the poem, but then he’ll have to go outside again to reply.
Follow the story as Caleb gets braver and braver, going all the way across the street to the scary house. He shows Iris the notes; she discovers they are from Emily Dickinson. But how can that be? She was a poet, but she has been dead for years.
Is Caleb losing his mind? Does he need to go to Oak Glen, the hospital? Or is it possible that Emily Dickinson is really sending him notes? Sometimes all it takes is a friend and a little magic. By the end of the book, I was crying and cheering for Caleb. Pick up this book and enjoy a great read!
I received this book free from Litfuse Publicity in exchange for an honest review.
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