This novel relates to the teenage years of the four Brontë siblings. It is well known that from a young age they created their own literary worlds and the story is set in one of these: Verdopolis, capital of the Glasstown Confederacy. Here they have also developed the ability to “cross over” into Verdopolis and partake in the action. Authors normally control their characters’ actions but when their characters take on a life of their own, it comes to involve great danger for their creators. Coakley uses aspects of Brontë family biography to capture well the personalities of the Brontë teens, how they perceived themselves to be different and how they believed they would never truly find another home once they left their Haworth parsonage. The story comes up with a rather ingenious explanation why their lives were destined to be short and clearly foreshadows their mature masterpieces. Resurrecting the “ghosts” of the siblings who died so young, Maria and Elizabeth, distracts from the narrative somewhat.