2018 School Spending Survey Report
Nobody's Secret
248p. further reading. Chronicle. Apr. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4521-0860-5. LC 2012030364.
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Gr 7–10—When 15-year-old Emily Dickinson meets and flirts with a handsome stranger, she feels the first flicker of romance. Then the young man is found dead in her family's pond, and the budding poet is sure that he was a victim of foul play. Determined to see that justice is done, she and her younger sister, Vinnie, investigate and discover that he is James Wentworth, heir to a fortune from which his aunt and uncle have defrauded him. Suspecting murder, Emily sets out to solve the case, almost becoming a victim herself. Life in 1845 small-town Massachusetts is painstakingly portrayed throughout this suspenseful tale. Emily is extremely well drawn, revealing her enthusiasm for and intense curiosity about the smallest of life's details, while minor characters have just enough depth to provoke interest. The fast-moving plot makes this a well-crafted page-turner. The dialogue rings true, both to the historical time and to the chronological ages and social status of the characters. The full text of "I'm Nobody," as well as quotes from other poems, not only focus readers' thoughts but also provide an easy introduction to the recluse's poetry. The author's note explains which of the novel's details are based on fact. MacColl once again brings a strong female protagonist to life, revealing pertinent and interesting information about a literary figure.—Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, formerly at LaSalle Academy, Providence, RIEmily Dickinson, at fifteen, is the sleuth in this mystery that involves the "nobody" of her famous poem, "I'm Nobody, Who are You?" In 1845 Amherst, Massachusetts, Emily is charmed by a young man who helps entice a bee to land on her nose. When she asks who he is, he says, "I'm nobody important…Who are you?" ("I'm nobody too," she replies). When Mr. Nobody, as she dubs him, turns up dead in her family's pond, Emily is determined to do justice to his memory by finding out who he was and how he died, since she deduces from the evidence that it was not by drowning. MacColl gracefully folds factual elements of Dickinson's life and work into the fiction. In characterizing teenaged Emily, MacColl highlights her youthful sociability, humor, and wit, as well as her intelligence and curiosity. While following up on clues, this fictional Emily's skills of practical-mindedness and precise observation are on display, much as they are in the real Dickinson's poetry, a quote from which introduces each chapter. An appended author's note tells more about Dickinson's life and work. deirdre f. baker
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