Book Review- Doll Bones by Holly Black

Title: Doll Bones

  Author Holly Black

Series:  N/A

Published:  9 May 2013 by Random House

Length: 244 pages

Source: publisher 

Summary : Twelve-year-old Zach is too old to play with toys. Or at least, that's what his father thinks.
But even though he stops hanging out with Poppy and Alice, stops playing with his action figures, it's no good. There's one toy that still wants to play with him. A doll that's made from the bones of a dead girl. The only way to end the game is to lay the doll to rest forever. It's time for a journey to Spring Grove cemetery. It's time to grow up.

Review: Zach is twelve years old- far too old to be playing with toys, as his father tells him. Reluctantly, he tries to stop playing with the toys,  and with Poppy and Alice. But when Alice has a dream, telling her that the Queen, a doll made from bone china using the bones of a dead girl, wants burying in her hometown, and says she's going to do it regardless, Zach joins her and Poppy for one final game.

I hadn't heard of this book before I got sent it for review, but the cover and premise made it sound good.

I like the games they play before the plot picks up. These children are really imaginative, creating a full fantasy land. There's a lot of character development from all three characters. Zach especicailly- he grows up a lot more on the journey than he would have if he had simply allowed his father to forbid him from the toys and games, which I suppose is the moral of the story. 

The adventure is really good. It's a little unbelievable to me that that a 12 year old would be allowed on buses and across counties without parental supervision, but hey, we also have the spirit of a girl demanding to be laid to rest, so suspension of belief allows me to buy into all of it. There's a bit of history and mystery, and the plot comes to a nice end.

I think compared to the blurb, the horror of the novel is downplayed to make Doll Bones a coming of age story-there's a lot about how old you have to be to do things, and also about family and  keeping the imagination going.

Overall:  Strength 4 tea to a creepy coming of age story.

Links: Amazon | | Goodreads | Author website |