Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 2003 (Vol. 71, No. 16))
A clever protagonist surrounded by stock characters and setting heals after the death of her brother. Emily's father skidded on black ice into a car accident that left Jon dead. Emily, a dancer, has a badly injured knee, her doctor mother hides grief by constantly working, and her father is drinking and unable to write. The devastated family is falling apart. Only Jon's ghost, hiding in the basement, keeps Emily sane. But her parents want to sell the house since it reminds them of Jon-but if they do, Emily will lose contact with her brother. Through the winter, Emily sabotages the selling. Her efforts-ranging from lies culled from the stories of others to the simpler jelly on the banister-are amusing. As time passes, Emily's sorrow lessons to acceptance, until she's prepared to move on from her brother's consoling ghost and start a new life. A likable heroine and a poignant story, but nothing else here to capture the imagination. 2003, Henry Holt, $16.95. Category: Fiction. Ages 9 to 13. © 2003 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2004)
Eleven-year-old Emily's brother is killed in a car accident; for her, however, his spirit lives on in the cellar. It is there that Emily visits with him, orchestrates plans to prevent the sale of their family's home, and practices ballet. Although numerous soon-to-be-dated references are distracting, Deans's realistic portrayal of grief and a dancer's motivation are vivid and emotionally resonant. Category: Intermediate Fiction. 2003, Holt, 234pp, $16.95. Ages 9 to 12. Rating: 4: Recommended, with minor flaws.

Marge Wood (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 16, No. 3))
Dean has written a strange and thought-provoking novel for children. In this book, Emily is dealing with the loss of her brother. He and she were riding in a car with their father when they hit a patch of black ice and had a terrible wreck. Jon was killed, and Emily was seriously injured. Their mother, a surgeon, starts working in a frenzy all the time to avoid thinking about it. Their father, a writer, hits a writer's block and starts drinking too much. If it weren't for Janey, the maid and cook, Emily would have nobody. That is, unless you count the ghost of Jon down in the cellar family room. Emily spends all her spare time down there conversing with Jon. She can't bring herself to tell anybody at all about talking to Jon, not even her therapist. Emily can't dance well any more but keeps working on it because dancing was her dream. She is a good swimmer, but the family refuses to drive along the street where the accident happened after a swimming competition. When Emily hears her parents talking about selling the house and moving, she decides to make sure the realtor can't sell it. She does pretty well, too, for several months, with her sneaky tricks and comments to potential customers. Finally, with the help of the therapist and Janey, the family comes to grips with the death of Jon. Emily learns to dream again in constructive ways. The book is well written and a good addition to any children's library. Fiction. Grades 5 and up. 2003, Holt, 234p., $16.95. Ages 10 up.

Lynn Evarts (VOYA, October 2003 (Vol. 26, No. 4))
Whenever eleven-year-old Emily Racine wants to talk to her brother, she simply goes down to the cellar. What is unusual is that her brother Jon was killed in a car accident six months ago, and no one else knows that his ghost lives in the basement. While Emily talks with her brother, she practices her ballet, but her dancing has become quite difficult since her leg was injured in the same accident. Now, Emily's parents have decided to sell the house, and she is worried that she will lose touch with her brother forever. As she comes to terms with the demise of her dancing dreams and with the death of her brother, she finds herself slowly but surely letting go and moving on. Deans creates a wonderfully likeable and real character in Emily Racine. The reader feels her connection with her brother immediately and empathizes as she attempts to thwart the sale of their house. Emily's pain is tempered by her wry sense of humor and the family's no-nonsense housekeeper, Janey, who cares for Emily as if she were her own. Deans captures the flavor of a struggling family as she did in Racing the Past (Henry Holt, 2001/VOYA June 2001) and skillfully draws readers into their lives. VOYA CODES: 5Q 4P M J (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2003, Henry Holt, 240p, $16.95. Ages 11 to 15.

Amanda Lang, Teen Reviewer (VOYA, October 2003 (Vol. 26, No. 4))
I really liked this book. Jon was a very funny character, and I liked how hard Emily worked to not move to another house. Some of her stunts were pretty desperate, but they turned out to be funny. Emily's friends add a lot to the story. From Emily's psychologist to her senior-citizen friend, a variety of characters affect her, and their personalities and the creative details make the story more interesting. Emily's thoughts and opinions also are a big part of the story. VOYA CODES: 5Q 4P M J (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2003, Henry Holt, 240p, $16.95. Ages 11 to 15.