I was contacted by the author to review this book and after reading the premise, I was interested to check it out. As the mother of a 13 year old boy, I felt like this is a story that I could relate to even though this is targeted at the young adult audience. Grownups will appreciate the references to Emily Dickinson and the descriptive nature of the author's storytelling.

I was a little surprised that Caleb, a home-schooled, intelligent, and voracious reader was supposed to not know who Emily Dickinson was, but after asking both of our boys...they had no idea either. I am guessing teaching the poetry of Emily Dickinson is not a pressing topic in elementary/middle schools at this time.

I felt such conflicting feelings as I read this novel. I was angry at the parents for ignoring the grief that Caleb was feeling towards the loss of his sister and their removal from Caleb's emotions. But, then I would remember they were also still grieving and would then understand their detachment. Time and time again, I find that children need the opportunity to grieve and talk about the loved one and this novel proved that as well. A lot of Caleb's pain and confusion could have been avoided if only the proper grief process would have been allowed for him.

The author took great care in describing feelings, people, places and settings so well that they were explicitly imaginable. For example, the cat was "kneading out a bed among the valleys of his comforter." Or in his description of Caleb, who was "homeless at home". Many times I would stop and envision the gardens the author was describing or the debilitated house across the street.

Iris was such a delightful character in this story. She always knew just what to say to Caleb to either convince him to step out of his box or to feel better. Each of the characters had a necessary and purposeful role in the story.

In reading this book, I had to step out of reality a bit since the premise deals with someone who is no longer living and is leaving notes for Caleb. But the story is magical, heart warming, and still provides the reader with hope. It will leave you with a warm-fuzzy feeling and reminds you that it is still ok to believe in magic. ( )