I don’t care much for verse novels. I really liked this story, but why was it written as a verse novel? (Disclaimer: I have the same complaint about most verse novels.) Maybe it was billed as poetry because of the Emily Dickinson tie-in? If so, the poetic nature of the poems was lost on me. It felt like prose with funny line breaks.

On the other hand, did I say I really liked the story? Suzy is a bit jealous of her little brother who is getting all of the attention because of his heroic act of calling 911 when their elderly neighbor has a medical emergency, and so Suzy decides to become Emily Dickinson, reclusiveness and long white dresses and all. I went through some weird phases myself when I was eleven or twelve (and even older), and I can well imagine an eleven year old becoming an Emily Dickinson wannabe.

I liked the way Suzy/Emily’s parents decided to be patient and wait for the phase to end, but how they made Suzy go to church with the family on Sunday, Emily Dickinson or not. I liked how Suzy’s best friend wasn’t perfect, but was a good friend. I liked Suzy. As I said, I went through some phases myself. Did I ever mention how in sixth grade I had a large rag doll that went everywhere with me for a few weeks, even to the sixth grade skating party? Then, in junior high, my best friends decided to go to Narnia. Really. They set a date and wrote good-bye notes. We were in college when we decided to form a Baptist convent. Yeah, an Emily Dickinson phase would have fit right into my childhood and adolescence without a ripple.

Ms. Spinelli has a record of winning me over with her characters and story (The Dancing Pancake), but I would prefer straight prose with a bit of poetic license thrown into the mix. Oh, well, I’m not her editor, and Ms. Spinelli is a a highly successful children’s author while I’m just an adult with an aversion to so-called verse novels.