4.5 stars. ( )

So my toy collector heart breaks at the thought of toys being thrown out (or buried! I also had to verify that bone China is made with bone (it is, but the higher bone content (regular China apparently generally has some bone too), gives it a translucent look that wouldn’t be good for doll making). Anyway the three friends go on a quest, which is pretty awesome and now I feel like I need a quest. Also yes to keeping imagination and stories alive! ( )

This is the story of three friends and a doll. The friends are on the verge of putting away childish things and growing up. The doll is possibly possessed by the ghost of a dead girl.

This was Goosebumps meets a coming-of-age novel. It's a sensitive book wrapped in a scary package. I had a lot of fun booktalking it at schools because many adolescents love a good creepy story. One kid raised his hand and asked, "Do you think the doll is like Chucky's little sister?"

( )

The premise was interesting, and the scary part was promising, but the family drama put me off. Good messaging for middle grade lit, I suppose, but did not connect with me the way other children's stories have.

Audiobook, borrowed from my public library. DNF after half an hour of listening. ( )

It starts to pick up once the kids leave home and try to take a bus to Liverpool. For a children's story, it was a good read. ( )

Good story, I had searched for "Horror stories" which there's little chance this falls into that category, but still a quick, good story..

The book starts off pretty slow, but picks up around the 1/3rd - 1/4th mark. I really liked the supernatural element to the story. The possible explanations to what happens to them while on the quest are very plausible but it is up to the reader to decide which they believe actually happened. The ending was pretty good and wrapped up the story very well. ( )

This was an interesting young adult/middle grade, mystery. I like that Zach, Poppy, and Alice are all dealing with issues in their lives while they are also trying to solve the mystery of Elanor. ( )

It was good, but I'm not certain I'd recommend it for everyone. This witchcraft theme seems to be more and more prevalent these days. I thoroughly enjoyed the quest and how the characters interacted (and grew up) with each other. ( )

Zach, Poppy, and Alice have been friends forever. And for almost as long, they’ve been playing one continuous, ever-changing game of pirates and thieves, mermaids and warriors. Ruling over all is the Great Queen, a bone-china doll cursing those who displease her.

But they are in middle school now. Zach’s father pushes him to give up make-believe, and Zach quits the game. Their friendship might be over, until Poppy declares she’s been having dreams about the Queen—and the ghost of a girl who will not rest until the bone-china doll is buried in her empty grave.

Zach and Alice and Poppy set off on one last adventure to lay the Queen’s ghost to rest. But nothing goes according to plan, and as their adventure turns into an epic journey, creepy things begin to happen. Is the doll just a doll or something more sinister? And if there really is a ghost, will it let them go now that it has them in its clutches?

Three 12-year-old friends with an elaborate fantasy life go on a risky journey to bury a doll that one of them is convinced contains the bones and ash of a murdered girl. The story is really about the strains on their relationship as pressures of gender and sexuality come from inside and outside of them; Black is also very interested in not-good-enough parenting. Fantasy elements are present, but on the edge of “maybe imaginary.” ( )

There's some creepiness here, but the level of scare is really left up to the reader (which I like). I really like the story, but there's something insubstantial about it. I don't know if it is the relationship between the kids, or if it is the ghost story that feels underdeveloped. Maybe it's both. Still, a neat little story. ( )

3.5 stars. There were some interesting parts, kids struggling with growing up and figuring out their conflicted feelings; what that means and how it affects them and their friends. There was a wide variety of situations that would be relatable to a number of kids. The quest was adventuresome and slightly creepy, but didn’t seem to live up to its potential. Maybe it’d be plenty creepy for a kid? ( )

children's middlegrade fiction; ghost story/adventure (unaccompanied excursion across state lines to a cemetery to appease the spirit of a creepy doll). There is actually enough pirate action and creepiness in here to keep boys (and girls) interested, and it's a pretty good story to boot. Another victory for Holly Black. ( )

I was kind of hoping for the doll part to be creepier, but of course, I'm an adult. :) The last few chapters were the best part...this may be the one book that I kept with even when I wanted to put it down, so I'm glad that delivered. The ruminations on the end of childhood were pretty great, if quite Stand-by-Me-ish. I would recommend not listening to the audio--it did nothing to endear me to the characters. ( )

One of the many things that creep me out is dolls. So, when I read the synopsis of Doll Bones, I thought this would be the perfect semi-scary story for me to read during my favorite spooky month. While there were some creepy moments, the story was lacking something necessary for any horror story to scare me. It lacked sense.

As an example, without any spoilers, there is a scene in which something horrible happens and the children think the doll, haunted by the spirit of a little girl, did it. However, why would the doll be the culprit when the doll/spirit wants the kids to help her? I kept waiting for a more plausible explanation. Wouldn't it make more sense if it had been someone or something trying to stop the kids from helping the doll? I thought I was going to get that explanation when the kids come in contact with a woman later on in the story. One of the kids, Zach, thinks there seems to be something a bit off about this woman, somehow. However, nothing else happens with her and the story moves on to the next part. That didn't make any sense either. Why bring it up, through Zach's thoughts, and then not do anything with it? I won't go into detail about what I thought was going to happen or who the woman was because that would include spoilers, but suffice it to say I was a little disappointed.

My other reason for choosing Doll Bones is because I've only ever heard great things about the author, Holly Black. As I said, the book does have its creepy moments, so it wasn't a total dud, but I would have enjoyed it a lot more if those moments made sense in relation to the overall plot. Perhaps the average Middle-grade reader wouldn't notice the plot holes and would instead just enjoy a creepy "Goosebumps"-style story. When it comes to getting kids to read more, this book is still worth a shot, especially if you can find a copy at the library. ( )

Cute and creepy YA. ( )

It's filled with adventure and mystery, not one that you will forget soon. ( )

YA, but really well done. The characters are distincly drawn personalities dealing with real emotions. ( )

THIS is a book worthy of a major award. It has everything: childhood friendships on the cusp of adolescence, a creepy doll, a ghost, and the kind of magic you can believe exists in our world. It honors the power of stories and using imagination to create our own reality. I'm not usually one for scary stories, and I found this to be pleasantly creepy without ever bordering on nightmare material. (I really am a horrible wimp when it comes to these things.) ( )

This book has just the right amount of scary, along with themes of friendship, and coming of age. Holly Blacks dialogue rings true and made me reminisce a bit about my own childhood. My only complaint is that after great character development early in the story and a great start to the friends' adventure,the end moves too fast and ends too abruptly. ( )

It’s one part adventure, one part horror, and one part friendship-tale. Join Zach and his friends Alice and Poppy when they sneak out of their homes in the middle of the night to cross a state line, headed for a tiny town in Ohio. Why? To give a proper burial to a doll who just might be made of the bones of a dead girl…

Grown-up portion of review:

Why is this getting so much Newbery buzz? In the acknowledgements, author Holly Black thanked someone for helping her get rid of the boring parts; I'm not so sure that was actually fully accomplished. Also, what were supposed to be the realistic elements of the story (the logistical details of their travels), I found to be unbelievable. Stealing a boat and getting away with it? Breaking into a library without security being alerted? Three kids travelling alone in plain view of police and not being questioned? What was taken out to make the plot run smoothly actually spoiled the story. ( )

Creepy Good read! ( )

Well written, with believable characters. Since I love fantasy, I was not that much of a fan of the "is it magic or not" question, which was never really resolved. I suppose that's what they mean these days by "magical realism." I did skim a lot. Not much new seemed to be added after the first half of the book. I'm not really surprised that it's gotten such mixed reviews. ( )

Great for boys or girls, ages 9-12 or so, who enjoy or don’t mind a tiny touch of spookiness in their stories. It’s only at campfire-shiver level, and does not dominate the book. I especially recommend this to kids who feel like their friends are growing up faster than they are. And extra-especially to the ones who need to play some D&D. Would someone introduce Poppy, Zach, and Alice to D&D right away? - See more at: http://www.parenthetical.net/2013/10/21/review-doll-bones-by-holly-black/ ( )