Abstract We report on the extension to odd nuclei of a microscopic multiphonon approach known as equation of motion phonon method and its application to the odd neighbors of the neutron rich ²²O. A calculation using the chiral potential NNLO _opt and encompassing up to two phonon basis states provides a description of the spectroscopic properties which is good quantitatively for ²³O and qualitatively for ²¹O and ²¹N. Serious discrepancies between theory and experiments occur in ²³F. A possible recipe for curing them is under investigation.