Poppy ropes her two best friends, Alice and Zach, into joining her on the quest and they steal away in the middle of the night. The problem? Poppy is twelve and the doll wants to be buried with her father in East Liverpool, which is several hours away with a very limited bus service (one in the afternoon and one late at night). The ghost of the child is tied to the doll and she demands that Poppy lay her to rest, or else. I requested the book on Netgalley, and I was lucky enough to be sent a copy of the book to read.ĭoll Bones is about a quest to bury a porcelain doll that is made from a human child’s bones. When I saw, Doll Bones by Holly Black, the cover screamed creepy children’s book. Coraline by Neil Gaiman is one of my favourite books. I am a fan of children’s fiction that is scary. And the body of the doll is filled with her leftover ashes.” That hair threaded through the scalp is the little girl’s hair. Shelf Awareness, starred reviewĪ darn good adventure.“ Her clay was made from human bones. Black begins with an ordinary experience of childhood and gives it a wicked twist to reveal the truth at the center of the impulse for storytelling. It's as psychologically haunting as the ghost girl's physical haunting. * Wall Street Journal *īlack poignantly and realistically captures how adolescence inherently brings change how growing up affects the ways children play and the inevitable tests friendships face. The novel's eerie vibe and eek-worthy plot may keep readers turning pages into the wee hours, but it's the vivid characters and skillfully developed themes of identity, friendship and loss that linger long in the mind. * Booklist (Starred review) *Ĭompelling, chill-at-the-nape tale with dynamics and emotional depth. The tightly focused, realistic tale - bladed with a hint of fairy-tale darkness - feels cut from the very soul of youth. With heart-wrenching swiftness, Black paints a picture of friends at the precipice of adulthood.

It's a deep, strange and compelling book, at times lovely, at other times heartbreaking and deliciously weird.

* Kirkus Review (Starred review) *Ī little bit scary and full of heart, this story grabbed me and wouldn't let go. Spooky, melancholy, elegiac and ultimately hopeful a small gem. Jeff Kinney, author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series Doll Bones is a book that will make you sleep with the lights on.

Doll bones cover