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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
This book sounded really interesting when I first head about it and I enjoyed the fact that it may have been aimed at middle grade readers (that's what I think anyway, not sure if it is though) but it didn't hook me as much as I hoped that it would have done. I think that I did set my expectations a bit to high and I don't think that I am happy that I didn't enjoy the book.
There didn't seem to be much character development and I don't feel like the characters are likeable.
I didn't enjoy this book at all, hence the one star.
There didn't seem to be much character development and I don't feel like the characters are likeable.
I didn't enjoy this book at all, hence the one star.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I`m not a big fan of Holly Black. I didn`t exactly like The curse workers books. But because of this book I`m going to try to read them again. The Doll Bones is a children`s book, but it`s so well written. A bit of creepy, but that's it`s charm as my friends say.
As for a favourite character I like Poppy. She`s just so much like me. With such an imagination that people don`t believe her sometimes. Although I see some of Alice in myself too.
I know what is it like playing a game with your friends. And soon that`s all you talk about. I understand how Zach feels, because I played with toys after I had grown up and people( aka the kids from my street) laughed at me.
As for a favourite character I like Poppy. She`s just so much like me. With such an imagination that people don`t believe her sometimes. Although I see some of Alice in myself too.
I know what is it like playing a game with your friends. And soon that`s all you talk about. I understand how Zach feels, because I played with toys after I had grown up and people( aka the kids from my street) laughed at me.
Zach, Poppy, and Alice have been friends since they were little kids, and for as long as they can remember they've been playing "the game." On the surface, the game is simplistic, consisting mainly of discarded Barbies and G.I. Joes, but around these figures they have been weaving complex and ongoing stories of pirates, mermaids, and deadly quests. Now that the friends are in middle school, however, forces are conspiring to pull the childhood threesome apart. As a last gasp effort to save the game and the friendship, Poppy removes the super-creepy doll they call The Queen from her mother's china cabinet, and sets in motion a series of events that put the trio in real - and possibly supernatural - danger.
One quality I've always appreciated in Holly Black's writing - especially her young adult titles - is the gritty, realistic detail she uses to flesh out the lives of her characters. Strip malls, subway stations, and neglected latchkey kids are a staple of the urban fantasy genre, but she brings those settings to life with particular panache.
In Doll Bones, Black's signature suburban sprawl serves as a striking foil for the Victorian creepiness of the ghost story. The warring aesthetics also serve as a convenient shorthand for the underlying conflict of the book, because there are really two stories happening here. It's a haunted doll book, yes, but it's also the story of three friends trying to hold onto the magic of childhood as the grim realities of adolescence creep ever closer. Just as The Queen can't rest until they give her a proper burial, Zach, Poppy, and Alice must lay their own childhoods to rest before they can reconnect as adolescents. In order to do that, they must find a place for magic within the harsh reality of middle school life.
Where is that place, exactly? Is magic literally at work here, and are they actually being haunted by the ghost of a girl who was turned into a doll? Black leaves that question carefully and tantalizingly unanswered, suggesting that we don't need to leave magic behind as we grow up, but we all need to decide how to carry it with us. (Ex.: I kept wanting to shout at the three protagonists, "YOU'RE ROLE PLAYING GAMERS. Just go find a comic book store, and your people will joyfully welcome you into the nerd herd!")
In terms of the Newbery criteria, I think Doll Bones really shines in the areas of plot, theme, and setting. The characters are underdeveloped, though, and the prose, while workmanlike, is not what I'd call stylistically distinguished. Those shortfalls may keep it off the Newbery table. Still, this is Holly Black's best middle grade effort to date, and one of the most enjoyable books of the year so far.
One quality I've always appreciated in Holly Black's writing - especially her young adult titles - is the gritty, realistic detail she uses to flesh out the lives of her characters. Strip malls, subway stations, and neglected latchkey kids are a staple of the urban fantasy genre, but she brings those settings to life with particular panache.
In Doll Bones, Black's signature suburban sprawl serves as a striking foil for the Victorian creepiness of the ghost story. The warring aesthetics also serve as a convenient shorthand for the underlying conflict of the book, because there are really two stories happening here. It's a haunted doll book, yes, but it's also the story of three friends trying to hold onto the magic of childhood as the grim realities of adolescence creep ever closer. Just as The Queen can't rest until they give her a proper burial, Zach, Poppy, and Alice must lay their own childhoods to rest before they can reconnect as adolescents. In order to do that, they must find a place for magic within the harsh reality of middle school life.
Where is that place, exactly? Is magic literally at work here, and are they actually being haunted by the ghost of a girl who was turned into a doll? Black leaves that question carefully and tantalizingly unanswered, suggesting that we don't need to leave magic behind as we grow up, but we all need to decide how to carry it with us. (Ex.: I kept wanting to shout at the three protagonists, "YOU'RE ROLE PLAYING GAMERS. Just go find a comic book store, and your people will joyfully welcome you into the nerd herd!")
In terms of the Newbery criteria, I think Doll Bones really shines in the areas of plot, theme, and setting. The characters are underdeveloped, though, and the prose, while workmanlike, is not what I'd call stylistically distinguished. Those shortfalls may keep it off the Newbery table. Still, this is Holly Black's best middle grade effort to date, and one of the most enjoyable books of the year so far.
If my kids ever run off like these kids did they wouldn't ever be allowed out of the house. Though I'm not a fan of Holly Black in general, this was definitely the worst I've read of hers. Sadly.
Interesting story, kept my attention. Might've given it 3.5 stars if I had the option.
Doll Bones has aspects of horror and mystery, but what it truly is, is a very sweet coming of age story. The book takes place in a poor suburban town in Pennsylvania. Zach, Poppy and Alice are best friends, 12 years old and have been playing "the game" since they were little. They each have actions figures and when they get together they make up amazing stories, but one day something happens to change all of that and Poppy decides they should have one more adventure. They go on a quest that takes them far from home. And they find out that they all have the same fear, that if they grow up and give up "the game" they'll grow away from each other. They are on the cusp of their teens, on their way to high school and they don't want to lose the bond they have with each other. It's a very truthful and poignantly written story.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5*
I was never a big than of thrillers(if you can even call this book a thriller), but it was on my shelf so I decided to read it. The idea of a girl being turned into a doll seemed both original and unoriginal at the same time. The whole book is based on one lie that the main character Zach didn't even need to tell. The tone of the book also bounced between serious,spooky, and childish. I feel like if she had just kept it either really mysterious, or false happy the book would have gone over better. All in all, I wouldn't recommend reading this book.
I was never a big than of thrillers(if you can even call this book a thriller), but it was on my shelf so I decided to read it. The idea of a girl being turned into a doll seemed both original and unoriginal at the same time. The whole book is based on one lie that the main character Zach didn't even need to tell. The tone of the book also bounced between serious,spooky, and childish. I feel like if she had just kept it either really mysterious, or false happy the book would have gone over better. All in all, I wouldn't recommend reading this book.