Doll Bones

I had been hoping for a more developed story line and characters to match the excellent sleeve description and cover art. What i found out about this book is that i couldnt get into it and it left me with more questions than answers for a stand alone book. I was not at all impressed with the character development, or lack thereof, and i was honestly disappointed in how it as supposed to be spooky but the supernatural elements of the story are muddled and changed into subjective interpersonal musings. The book plot had promise and i just hate that it went so terribly wrong, its a boring book and i paid full price for something that i am donating brand new to the local thrift store less than 4 days after receiving it.

I got this book because the title and cover intrigued me. As i started reading i quickly became enthralled. The way the children's game play was reminded me of playing Dungeons and Dragons an other RPGs. I would an have recommended this book to my friend and family. Well done Ms Black.

This is a wonderful book. I enjoyed every word of it. This is a delicious and creepy story. Though I do wish it was longer and had more details. The plot was wonderful and the illustrations were goth and beautiful. This is a four star book.

I thought the book looked super interesting just by the cover, but I didn't really get into it. I had to force myself to finish reading it and I also felt that it was more for children than my age. I hadn't realized this when I bought the book, so I was a little disappointed. I liked how the kids had such a close bond throughout the book though, and that they basically stuck together.

Doll Bones was listed as a Sunshine State Reader (for Florida) for 2014. I decided to read it to prepare for the upcoming year's book club. I will be honest, I was not crazy about the idea of reading the book because I the 80s movie "Chuckie" has ruined me. So of course the creepy cover was not a plus for me. Thankfully, though, the story wasn't really about the doll or the ghost.

Doll Bones was not as scary as I thought it would be (thank goodness). If I had to classify it into one category, I think I would say it was more of a coming of age story than a ghost story. The creepy ghost living inside the doll was ghost was secondary.

The one thing that really set Doll Bones apart from other middle grades books that I have read was the believable emotions between characters. Holly Black did a great job showing the budding complexities of preteens. Zach, Poppy, and Alice have differing home situations, and each child has a reason for continuing the quest set before them. They are each at a very delicate time in their lives, where many things are changing and they don't know how to deal with those changes. This book has a great message about growing up and friendship. Any reader will be able to find something to relate to, regardless of gender.

It is also has a quick pace to keep a younger readers' attention. Without a steady supply of mystery and action, a younger reader might get lost before finishing nearly 250 pages. I felt like the various plots merged well together and kept the pacing on track. The ghost story helped fuel the quest and kept the characters engaged, which in turn kept me as a reader turning the pages.

Overall, Doll Bones is best suited for readers ages 10-12 (maybe I bit younger if they can handle the length of the book).

Doll Bones tells the story of Zach, Poppy, and Alice, three kids who love playing make-believe adventures with their dolls. When the Great Queen, aka a creepy bone-china doll locked in a cabinet in Poppy’s house, begins haunting Poppy’s dreams for real, the trio decides to take the doll (and her ghost) to her burial site and lay her doll bones to rest.
What I liked: Great coming-of-age story. The three kids are relatable and their friendship, including the drama, is totally believable. It’s a bit scary at times, but those scenes are well-written.
What I did not like: Beginning is a bit slow, but it does pick up. The characters are each a bit selfish, and I found myself sometimes becoming annoyed with them (but I guess that is real life). But, what I did not like at all, and the reason this gets a 3 star rating, is that the kids steal a bicycle and a boat, and they break into a library, all with virtually no consequences. I’m not okay with that.

Poppy, Alice, and Zach are in that tricky stage in between being a kid and being a teenager. Their favorite thing to do each afternoon is to play with figurines they've created “characters” for, with long elaborate histories. The Queen, a really old doll in Poppy’s mom’s china cabinet, is in charge of all the characters even though she can’t be touched (or Poppy’s mom would kill them). When Zach's father decides he's too old to be playing with toys and gets rid of the precious figurines, Zach is furious. He's so upset that he tells Alice and Poppy he doesn’t want to play with them anymore, and that he's outgrown their games. When Poppy and Alice wake Zach up one night to show him The Queen and tell him how she came to Poppy as a ghost named Eleanor, it's terrifying. Although he's scared, Zach knows he must go on the quest to bury her bones. They sneak out and take the bus to the cemetery to bury the bones of a girl who was never put to rest properly. On their quest they have ups and downs; there are hurdles that they could not imagine, and people who are just as creepy as the ghostly girl haunting their dreams. Will they make it back home by dinnertime? Will they ever find the place to bury Eleanor? Is Poppy telling the truth or has she made up the whole story about the ghost? You will have to read this adventure about growing up to find out how everything turns out!

After I saw the picture on the cover, I was nervous to read Doll Bones by Holly Black. I have always found certain dolls to be a little creepy and scary. I liked that the characters in the book enjoyed using their imaginations and that they had such a good friendship, even though they were each so unique and different. When Zach's toys got thrown away my heart went out to him, and I kept wishing he would tell his friends why he didn't want to play with them anymore. Throughout the quest I kept wondering what was going to happen next, and if they would make it home safely. I think the characters did some things that are a little dangerous, and I know if I sneaked out in the middle of the night my parents would probably kill me! Still, I think this is a book that a lot of kids can relate to as they struggle between wanting to stay kids and needing to grow up. Because the book has its creepy, spooky moments, I would recommend it to kids in fourth grade and up who like ghost stories.

Doll Bones engages its reader to take an adventure through the creepy and horrifying story of Eleanor Kerchner.

It’s all fun and games for Zach, Poppy, and Alice and their game of pirates, treasure, queens, and pure adventure. But life takes an unsuspecting turn when Zach’s dad throws away the cast of the game telling Zach to “grow up”, and turns Zach bitter. But that’s forgotten once creepy things happen and, Poppy finds ashes of a dead girl in her mother’s priceless beautiful porcelain doll. The doll tells Poppy her wishes to be properly buried at Ohio East Liver Pool!

The adventure begins as they find out the true story of the doll, how she died, and how her father made her into a porcelain doll. They also travel by bus and boat, meeting interesting people like a crazy man and a pink-haired librarian. Truth unravels as well as lies, secrets, and pure madness!

If I could describe Doll Bones I would say it was an interesting yet creepy page turner. I think this because the book has real places and normal kids, yet it turns into a scary adventure that makes a tiny piece of you wonder if it’s true. I would recommend age types for 8 and up because it might be too intense for some kids. Doll Bones is definitely one of the best and creepiest books I’ve ever read!

Review by Tessa H., age 9, Central Oklahoma Mensa

China dolls, creepy looking china dolls. Oh yes, I know what they are like. This book made me remember being a young child and being afraid of a porcelain doll that sounded similar to the doll in the book. This doll sat in a cupboard at my Nana's house and everytime I got sent to the cupboard to get something one eye open would watch me. I remember my heart hammering in my chest.

Doll Bones is about many things, an adventure, friendship, maturing and a ghost. Three children Zach, Poppy and Alice have been friends for a long time, they play many imaginary games together and all have a spirit of adventure in them. One night, Zach is woken from his sleep by the girls, Poppy is convinced the doll came to her in a dream and is now haunting them. They must do what the doll asks or bad things will happen.

In the middle of the night they start their adventure to give the doll the peace she is asking for, creepy things happen to them on the way, shivers and feelings that can't be explained, dreams of the ghost of the little girl, apparently her bones were ground up to make the porcelain of the doll (this is why it's called bone china). They must set all of this right.

It's a middle grade coming of age story as well as an adventure, it was a lot less creepy than I expected, I think I had higher hopes for some good old spooky stuff. The illustrations in the book are really well done and add a touch of atmosphere. I think a bit more creepiness would have sat really well with me as a reader, but I also have to think would I have enjoyed this book as a middle grade reader and yes I would have.

As they go on their journey with THE QUEEN (the china doll) they discover new things about themselves, their friendship, their feelings, their courage and their fears. All of this is intertwined with some strange goings-on around the doll, she is with them all the way.

It's a ghost story for sure, not sure if it would scare the middle grade reader much or not, but it's a lot of fun.

Summary: 12-year-old Zach is starting to suspect he’s getting a little old to play action figure imaginary games with his friends Alice and Poppy. But the stories they create are so interesting and fun that he can’t stop himself. His long-absent father has returned, and one day when Zach is at school, Dad throws all the action figures in the trash. Zach is absolutely devastated, but pretends he doesn’t care, telling the girls he’s too old for their games. Poppy can’t believe his sudden change of heart, and creates a new game around an antique, somewhat creepy doll of her mother’s. She claims the doll was made from the bones of a real child and it’s up to the kids to bury it. She convinces them to go on a middle-of-the-night quest to a cemetery in another town. Of course, everything that can go wrong does, but the kids are determined to finish their quest, in part because it feels like bringing to life the stories they’ve always loved.

Pros: There’s definitely an element of scariness that kids will enjoy, creepy dolls being right up there with evil clowns and mimes on my personal scale of frights. As the story progresses, the doll takes on more and more of a life of her own. Holly Black does a fantastic job of capturing the beginning of adolescence, with all three kids at different stages of moving from child to teen. The story becomes increasingly absorbing as the quest continues and things keep going wrong. All the characters are interesting and fully drawn. Ultimately, this book celebrates stories and the power and joy of imagination.

Cons: The story doesn’t have the Goosebumps-scariness that the cover suggests. Kids may find it a little slow at the beginning.

Thanks to the amazing Holly Black for writing this amazing book! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. It took me only two days to read the book so it is fairly short butt still a great read. I'm a huge chicken when it comes to ghost stories, but this one had a different sort of theme to it. Instead of being a straight up horror, Doll Bones was more of a fantasy adventure.

I actually have this weird fear of dolls, and I'm still surprised at myself that I picked out this book, called Doll Bones, a book about a haunted doll made of cattle marrow and filed with a child's ashes. But I'm so glad now that I did!! The premise of the story sounds quite creepy, and it is, but the book is not written to scare you. It's mainly to give you a good adventure and teach you a lesson to hold onto your childhood as long as you possibly can, because once you hit that certain time everything seems as if it's changing around you, and you may not notice but others do.

Doll Bones is basically about three best friends, a boy named Zach, a girl named Alice and another girl named Poppy. They have this "game" they created that they play with their dolls and action figures, and its basically this whole complex world they created and have been developing since. But one day Zach's father threw out all of his figures and the garbage truck had already taken them to the dump by the time he figured it out.Zach decides to quit the game without telling Alice or Poppy why, to avoid having to bring up the subject. But Poppy decides to bring the three together for one last adventure...

The game had always revolved around a character called the Queen, a China doll with blond ringlet curls and piercing black eyes. One day Poppy sees a ghost in her dreams named Eleanor Kerchner, the daughter of a bone China sculptor, or someone who makes China things out of bones. Poppy finds the ashes of Eleanor inside of the Queen and insists that they bury her bones in her grave.

Zach, Alice, and Poppy run from home on a quest to East Liverpool with this creepy looking doll filed with a child's ashes on a mission to avenge her death.

Doll Bones is a great book for any kid, teen, or even adult who likes a good adventure and a good ghost story!

Doll Bones by Holly Black, illustrations by Eliza Wheeler
Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2013
Fantasy
244 pages
Recommended for grades 4-8

For starters, best cover I've seen in a long time. Secondly, Holly Black is a genius, and if her name is on the cover I want to read the book.
What I loved:
Three kids on the verge of middle school (Poppy, Alice and Zach) play an in-depth imaginary game, each playing their own characters. The characters and the plot of the game is written by the children as they think it up. The game holds them together and perhaps stalls growing up.
The Queen, an antique doll sitting in a shelf behind glass doors, rules over all the game's characters from her glass tower. She is scary because...well, have you seen the cover... What more perfect object of creepiness is there than a china doll? Many of us have had to sleep in a room when away from home that had a china doll sitting somewhere nearby. Good luck falling asleep with that thing waiting to come to life as soon as you shut your eyes!
Anyway, when The Queen turns out to be more than just a doll, but instead the earthly remains of a ghost child, the three friends decide to help her rest in peace by undertaking a quest that most certainly can't be a good idea.

What bothered me was that I truly was lead on to believe that the ghost girl was an evil little thing. Maybe that is in part because I was anticipating it so much, but it was also in part due to some clues in the story. So, when she wasn't living up to my evil expectations I was a little bummed out.

But no matter how you go into this story, looking for evil or not, you will come out of it having enjoyed one wildly creative middle grade tale of friendship and growing up, disguised as one spooky ride.

Find this review and more at http://lovingliteraturemrsking.blogspot.com/

This book is perfect for my 6th graders! Zach, Alice, and Poppy have always played games, creating stories for their dolls that involve daring feats and adventures, but they’re growing up. Shouldn’t they be growing out of the silly make believe games? When Zach’s dad throws out all of his toys, ending the game for him, a new story begins. Hoping to entice Zach back into the game, she smuggles a bone china doll from her mother’s cabinet, only to discover a mystery. Complete with a quest, ghosts, a crazy man, and a library, this adventure will keep readers engaged.

I really enjoyed this and appreciated the author’s attempt to convey the devastation of growing up. I feel that kids who are entering 5th and 6th grade are starting to hit that period where they realize it’s not all fairy tales and that one day they’ll be too old to play pretend (if they don’t already know that now). In the story I don’t think we ever know how old they actually are (or it’s so subtly stated that I can’t remember and don’t care to go back and look) and I believe that’s a good choice. By keeping the kids just somewhere in middle school it will allow more young readers to identify with the characters.

I am glad I can put this in my classroom library this fall. I hope it gets picked up soon so I can hear what students are thinking about it!

I adore middle grade books. And ghost stories. And I'm a huge fan of pretty covers. So this book just screamed to me that I needed to read it, so I had to request it via NetGalley :) And then read it as soon as I got accepted. I'm glad I did. Because Doll Bones is a great middle grade book. It's pretty amazing. Giving it a four star because I had a few troubles with the writing. But I found the story to be very amazing.

This book is told from the point of view of twelve year old Zach. I loved that. Found him to be an amazing character. Sweet and just all kinds of awesome. I felt sorry for him a lot, though, because something awful happens that I could relate to a whole lot. But yeah. I loved Zach. He's best friends with these two girls, Poppy and Alice. They were awesome.

He spends a lot of time with them playing with their action figures. I loved that. Poppy was a great character, but also a bit weird and kind of selfish in a way. But I kind of adored her, still. Alice I liked better. She has a crush on Zach, and I kind of really loved that. She's also very kind, and I think she has a very though life living with her strict grandmother. The three of them fit together really well. They have an amazing friendship that I loved.

But then something awful happens. Zach's dad throws away all his toys and action figures. And oh. It upset me so much. I would never forgive it if someone did that to my things. It just broke my heart. I might get why his father did it, to make Zach grow up, etc. I didn't approve at all. He did it the wrong way, which he realizes, but too late. They are gone. And sobs. Yeah. That was heartbreaking. And it changes a whole lot. Zach doesn't tell his friends that, he just stops playing with them at all for a while.

Which I also found to be quite heartbreaking. Because they don't know why he's being such a jerk. A bit upset at him for not telling them, but I also understand it. But yeah. It was sad. A few days later something else happens. The doll that Poppy's mom had locked up in a closet is somehow turning up to be a ghost of a dead girl. It's all kinds of creepy. Wish it has been even more creepy, but I loved it all, still :) It all ends with them going on an adventure to a different town to bury the doll, or the ghost.

I won't say more about the plot, because this book isn't that long. And I loved reading about it, so I'm sure you will too. There is a lot of sad things in this book, though. But lots of happy moments too. But there is a lot of arguing between Poppy and Alice and Zach. Which was sad, but I also loved it. Doll Bones is a great book. Full of feelings. A great ghost story and mystery. I loved reading about it, because it was pretty creepy and amazing. I also loved the sailing they did. That was just awesome.

This book isn't that long. And I wanted it to be longer. So much longer. But it is also perfect. I loved the ending, even though I did wish it had been longer, and that something had happened with that bag of toys that went away. Sniffs. This book also made me cry at one time. Which I kind of loved. Doll Bones is an amazing book. I really recommend that you read it if you can. Because it is pretty great :) While I found it to end pretty amazing, I really wish there might up being a sequel to it one day in the future.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Random House Children's Publishers UK, and NetGalley for letting me read this book early :) Will also be pre-ordering a hardcover of this awesome book. <3

Holly Black is the author of the bestselling series, The Spiderwick Chronicles. She brings us another eerie, yet delightful, novel called DOLL BONES. Black decided to write this novel after having this story idea in her head for a very long time; she had been hesitating to write it for years.

Zach, Alice and Poppy are three very imaginative children. They write adventurous stories about pirates and ghosts. Zach has a toy collection that they base their characters on, and Poppy's mother owns an antique china doll, which they call "the Queen." The children are never allowed to play with this doll because it is very old and fragile and considered an heirloom. One day, Zack finds all of his toy dolls missing and finds out that his father threw them all away for good. He loses all hope in their story because he needs the dolls to make it real. Zach becomes very depressed and doesn't want to talk to his friends about what happened. That same night, Poppy and Alice throw pebbles at Zack's bedroom window; they need him to assist in solving a mystery about the Queen.

Poppy explains that her mother's doll, the Queen, is real. She woke up from a horrible dream and believes she saw the doll as a dead little girl by the name of Eleanor. Legend has it that she was murdered by her father, and he turned her bones into the pottery that make up the doll itself. The doll consists of the actual bones, ashes and hair from Eleanor. After Poppy and Alice tell Zach the terrifying truth about the Queen, they decide to go on an adventure to see if the story is real. They pack their bags with all of the essentials, buy bus tickets and set off into the night to find the truth about Eleanor, the Queen. During their travels they notice that the Queen is slowly becoming more and more life-like. They even experience horrific nightmares that make them relive what really happened to Eleanor. Zach is determined to find out the truth about this doll, and he may even have a chilling story to tell when he is finished.

This book is very well written, engaging and most of all, creepy! Black does a great job in capturing the readers' attention with spooky descriptions, which will send chills down your spine. The cover illustrates the Queen doll perfectly and really pulls you in for a nightmarish treat.

Reviewed by Sheena Kowalski

Having been a very imaginative child that was obsessed with dolls, this book jumped out at me when I read the synopsis. I'm not really into ghosts and the paranormal, but I figured I could deal with a little of that to read a book that sounded so appealing. Luckily, the ghostly parts of this story didn't overpower the book. Instead, they leant a nice mystical feeling to it.

This is the story of three friends who enjoy spending their free time playing with their beloved dolls. When they are interrupted in their play by those pesky things called bedtime, dinner, and school, they obediently listen to their parents and put their dolls away, only to pick up where they left off as soon as they can. One day one of the kids decides he is "too old" to play with dolls anymore, and abandons the fantasy world the group has created. Secretly though, he wishes he could hold on to his childhood and the imagined lives of the dolls forever.

When the chance to go on one last adventure with the dolls arises, he finds it too good to pass up. But what if the world they had been imagining all along was actually real? What if the dolls aren't as lifeless as the kids think they are? If you like a slightly ghostly story, and especially if you like dolls, then you might want to read this book. This story is fun and adventurous, and the ending is quite charming.

[...]

Doll Bones is dark and whimsical, heartwarming and bittersweet, and so beautifully written that it will definitely find its way to my favorites shelf. Zach, Poppy, and Alice are on a quest to return the "queen" (creepy porcelain doll possibly made from murdered child bones) to her grave. This quest takes them across Pennsylvania and into Ohio and into some pretty scary situations. Throughout their adventure, the kids begin to explore their changing relationships with one another, with their parents, and within themselves. At the same time, they have to overcome many obstacles preventing them from completing their quest and returning the Doll Bones to it's proper grave.

I grabbed Doll Bones as soon as I saw that it was by Holly Black without even knowing what it was about but I was fairly certain I would enjoy it. And I was right. I Loved this story. The main characters are just 12 years old, at that in between age when they begin moving away from play and make believe and start focusing more on social expectations. I have a son that is 11 and so I could relate to this book so much as a mom watching as my son is going through these exact changes. Holly Black so perfectly captures the essence of this transition from child to adolescent while at the same time giving the reader a creepy adventure to enjoy.

I would highly recommend Doll Bones to readers of ALL ages. This is highly readable and exciting for younger readers and also has a depth and poignancy that older readers will appreciate. This is hands down my favorite read of 2013.

Doll Bones by Holly Black is an action-packed and fun-filled adventure book about three best friends, Zach, Poppy and Alice, on a wild journey to find an old willow tree where they believe they must bury a doll they believe to be possibly possessed, finally putting her to rest. While reading this book, I was on the edge of my seat waiting to find out what would happen next. It was short enough to be read fairly quickly, but suspenseful enough to leave me wanting more. It highlights the mind of a middle schooler's imagination. It is a good book for both for boys and girls, even though the picture on the front of book is an old doll. My favorite part of the book is the amount of crazy people and instances that the trio encounters on their journey to East Liverpool, Ohio. On their journey, they ride a bus with a mentally disturbed man. They also encounter three other adults who "see" the doll as human and treat her like a fourth participant in the journey, which is a little creepy but not scary. Books like these make me want a sequel, because they left so much out of the book I would have liked to know, like what happens to the kids when they get home? What happens after the adventure? What happens to the doll, does someone find it? I enjoyed each of the characters and hope the author considers continuing this story. Overall, I would probably give this book a solid 8/10.

I received a copy of Doll Bones from the publisher via Netgalley in return for an honest review.

I'm always on the look out for books for my kids and for the school reading group, with that in mind I picked up Doll Bones.

The story revolves around Zach, Poppy and Alice, three children on the cusp of growing up but still hanging onto that innocence of childhood. It's a tale of friendship, adventure, mystery and what turns out to be a somewhat creepy, life changing quest for the three of them.

This was a cute story with a creepy atmospheric undertow, the tale was nicely balanced with just enough atmosphere and hints at scares to trigger any childs imagination without scaring them too much.

I really had fun reading this one, it reminded me of the books that made me fall in love with reading when I was young. It took me back to the days of hiding under my covers with my torch, reading a scary book while listening out for any noises outside the safety of my bedcovers. And brought back all those memories of getting lost in adventure and magic the way that only a child could.

I love the dark and mysterious stories and movies, like the stuff that comes out of Tim Burton’s mind. The cover of Doll Bones totally intrigued me and I was so glad I listened to it. The audiobook was read by Nick Podehl and was 5 hours, 13 minutes long.

Likes:

The story was so full of imagination! It was like larping with action figures, the kids were old enough to know they were playing but still had huge imaginations and really took on their character’s roles.

I love that they would pass around notes and continue with the story even when they weren’t together. Sometimes it seems like imagination is gone with technology.

The characters were each unique and well done. I really enjoyed every one of them and felt their pain and happiness.

The quest was awesome, it was realistic yet imaginative. I would love to go on a quest in the “real world.”

Dislikes:

I didn’t really have any other than I wanted more. It was sad when the story ended!

Loved it! Holly Black brings another scary ghost story for the elementary age group with deliciously Gothic illustrations by Eliza Wheeler. A very quick read for me, this story examines the relationship between three children who have grown up together, 2 girls and a boy, now having reached middle school age and the dynamics of their friendship are changing as adolescence, though unwanted, creeps upon them. Childhood games have to end sometime and unfortunately for Zach his are ended abruptly by an unsympathetic father, slowly mounting puberty starts to hit the girls first and makes the group of three pull out the old saying "three's a crowd" as the girls' feelings for Zach change. Throughout this personal turmoil they are forced to make drastic decision when the ghost of a murdered girl contacts them through an eerie old doll and will not let them rest until they have put her bone to rest. A delightful story both on the interaction level between the characters and the Gothic, creepy ghost story plot. A perfect read for middle school readers.

This book is about three kids who acquire a haunted doll. Zach, Poppy, and Alice have been friends for a long time and they decide to go on a quest to discover who the ghost girl who is visiting and communicating with Poppy is and hat happened to her. This is a great coming of age story. The kids are in the painful stage of changing and growing up. When it is time to focus on becoming who you are and to start putting away childish things. They all struggle with what they want to do and what they feel they should be doing. You watch the characters grow and discover more about themselves and each other. They are trying to navigate through their changing relationships and trying to help and understand the ghost.

This was a good middle grades book. It was a bit creepy and if you have someone who isn't a big fan of dolls this book is not for them. I loved that the book had some illustrations to go with it. They were very well done and they were so beautifully done. I took the book out of my school's library and plan on buying my own copy of the book. I enjoyed everything about this book.

Hello fellow readers...are you thinking about getting this book? Are you in a fight to get or not? If so lets make your answer final, just get the book. My aunt gave me this book for my 12th birthday, i read the first maybe 5 pages and thought "Oh god this is so boreing!" But then i kept reading and reading and I was totally sucked into the story. I read this book 8 hours straight non-stop. It was soo good! Im 12 and all the scary stuff i just smiled at, not because it was not lame or anything, it was amazing. Im a girl that loves a book with a lot of twists and turns..i just loved the parts were the people couldn`t see the doll and how on the bus the man asked about the `blondie` and the part were they slept in the wood and when Zach wakes up the queen is by his head, i read that part over and over again and every time it sends the same shiver down my spine! I offered this to both of my friends but they both turnrd it down by saying it looks to creepy (yeah i guess the doll on the cover may look a little discouraging) but this book is unbelviably good...but sadly, i tried everything, they wont take the book. This book is deffentally scary, like staying up all night thimking a doll is watching you kind of feel when you finish reading this kind of scary. But its all worth it!!!! Just get the book.

Doll Bones is part ghost story, part coming of age story, and Holly Black blends these two genres perfectly. At a time when so much of your life, your future, and even your identity are open for questioning, it’s only one step further to question the fabric of reality itself. But in the end, what really matters is that your friendships are real, and growing up doesn’t have to mean growing apart....

See The Gothic Library for my full review: http://www.thegothiclibrary.com/doll-bones-review-a-middle-grade-ghost-story/

This 2014 Newbery winner hooks you early on; readers are inextricably drawn into a juvenile world which seems to have been touched by another realm. Three middle school kids have enjoyed a never-ending game of Make Believe Adventure using dolls and action figures for years. But at 12 Zach is pressured into more manly things like basketball; when his intermittent father tosses out his backpack with all his fictional characters, Zach goes off the deep end. Worried that the girls seem to be changing and acting strangely Zach reluctantly agrees to Poppy’s insistence that they undertake a Quest—or they will be cursed by the White Queen: a bone china doll locked in a curio cabinet. So one last Game of Quest seems OK to kids on the brink of puberty, but do they seriously have to fear the displeasure of a mere decrepit doll?

Between twists of fate from strangers and dangers crossing state lines, plus their own complex untangling of relationships with secrets
and personal shame, the plot is deftly woven into tapestry of macabre
suspense against relentless time—complicated by their own private miseries. Although the hands of most adults are raised against these intrepid but flawed Questers Poppy’s determination to set the spirit of a dead little girl to long-denied rest gradually inspires and motivates the other two to attempt the near impossible. Along their desperate journey beyond selfishness the three discover more than just the truth re the girl’s grim story. They face the generational challenge of what it means to grow up: must they metaphorically die to all childhood joy? Can dead-doll bones help them morph into different but better persons? Can the malevolent Queen act on her own and punish the kids--who earnestly try to please her? Best read with close friends in late October.

February 5, 201