Doll Bones
By: Holly Black
This book is a perfect spooky Halloween read!
Zach, Poppy, and Alice have all been friends forever, playing with their action figure toys and imagining magical worlds of adventure and heroes. One night Zach’s Dad decides he is too old to be playing with “dolls” and throws his action figures in the trash. Zach copes with his loss by deciding to stop playing the game and to stop hanging out with his two best friends altogether.
One night Poppy and Alice pay Zach a visit. They tell him about a series of mysterious occurrences. Poppy swears that she is now being haunted by a china doll – who claims that it is made from the ground-up bones of a murdered girl. They must return the doll to where the girl lived, and bury it. Otherwise the tree children will be cursed for eternity!
At its core this book focuses on the hardships that childhood friendships endure when kids start to grow up and take interest in different things. Whether it is after school sports, cheerleading or new crushes we all go through similar experiences when our childhood friendships are tested. Zach, Poppy, and Alice get to explore and confront those changes and their childhood relationships as they embark on a very unique journey to return this mysterious china doll to her final resting place.
Audience: This is a solid middle grade read for grades 6+. For lovers of creepy stories, adventures, and tales of friendship. This book is also a 2015-2016 Young Hoosier Book Award Nominee and a 2014 Newberry Honor Book!
Readalikes: The Graveyard Book and Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Review By: Allison Kartman