Doll Bones

Book review by Darienne Stewart, Common Sense Media
Doll Bones Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 10+

Tween tale is both creepy and sweetly poignant.

Holly Black Horror 2013
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Parents say

age 10+

Based on 1 review

Kids say

age 10+

Based on 6 reviews

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this book.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Doll Bones scores high on the creepiness scale but isn't actually that violent. It's spooky, the kind of story where it isn't always clear what might be truly supernatural -- or simply the product of an overactive imagination. The most frightening scene may be one involving an unbalanced and aggressively chatty stranger on the bus. The story centers on the mysterious death of a girl long ago, but the real thrust of the novel is how the three main characters struggle to navigate the changes of early adolescence. All three tweens are coping with difficult family backgrounds, and one child lost her parents in an accident. They leave on an overnight journey without alerting their parents.

Community Reviews

kristinm2
kristinm2 Adult
March 3, 2015
age 10+

Scarier than expected, very compelling for older kids

My eight year old, an advanced reader, searched for this book at the library many times. Once she finally found it, we started reading it together. It wasn't scary in the first few chapters but did deal with touchy subjects like broken families and adolescence (though adolescence isn't directly mentioned). It progresses into creepiness late in part one and maintains the creep factor until the end. Strong atmosphere kept my daughter on edge for the whole story so I broke it up over two days. Once she hit about the halfway mark, she didn't want to stop reading and she finished the story over the course of a few hours. I felt the exact same way, this book will suck you into the story. Make sure you have an open evening to spare! The way the doll is made was the most disturbing aspect of the story. The doll, The Queen, was allegedly made by a grieving father out of his own dead daughter's ground bones and hair. There are no sexual situations or dialogue, no swearing and no violence in the story. I would recommend this book for most ten year olds.
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

Now that he's 12, Zach is being pushed by his dad to abandon action figures and the long-running, imaginative storytelling game he plays with his friends, Poppy and Alice. Since they were very young, they've been telling tales of pirates, mermaids, and the Great Queen, an antique bone china doll locked in a glass cabinet. But when Zach quits the game, Poppy claims she's been having dreams that the Great Queen is tied to the ghost of a young girl, who she says she'll haunt them until they bury the doll in her proper grave. Zach sets off with his friends on this final quest, though he's uncertain whether the ghost story is real or a desperate bid by Poppy to keep the game -- and their friendship -- alive.

Is It Any Good?

DOLL BONES is just spooky enough to bewitch kids who love spine-tingling tales without violence or gore. But the real treasure lies beneath: Author Holly Black artfully hones in on a bittersweet turning point of childhood -- that strange time when you leave freewheeling pretend play behind for more mature pursuits, like sports and dating. "I hate that everyone calls it growing up, but it seems like dying," laments Poppy, who's starting to feel like the third wheel as Zach and Alice awkwardly deal with the first stirrings of romantic feelings.

Black may be familiar to young readers as the author of The Spiderwick Chronicles. With Doll Bones, she offers middle-schoolers a pitch-perfect coming-of-age adventure with goose bumps. And Eliza Wheeler's artwork -- including the sinister cover and black-and-white illustrations inside -- are lovely.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the use of horror in a friendship tale. Why are horror stories so appealing? Would a story about these friends be as interesting without the supernatural element?

  • The kids steal a boat and some bikes and break into a library in pursuit of their goal. Do the ends justify the means?

  • Zach wonders whether the doll is somehow possessing them. Later, Poppy says seeing her friends change is like seeing them become possessed. How is the doll used as symbol for what's happening among the trio of friends?

Book Details

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