Doll Bones

I'm a big fan of Holly Black anyway, so I knew going in that I would enjoy Doll Bones, the 2014 Newbery Honor Book.  It had already received raves from some of my 7th graders and so I jumped into the fantasy world with Poppy, Alice and Zach right away.   This somewhat spooky story is made scarier if you are already afraid of creepy dolls.  And I am.  No creepy dolls or clowns for me please.  Never wanted them staring at me while I slept.  As a child I even kept my Barbies and their world closed inside my closet at night.  So when Poppy claims the doll they've been "playing" with might be made of crushed dead little girl bones, I was like "Yep, aren't they all?!"  LOL  

Seriously, this story speaks to those adults who fondly reminisce those long ago days of play.  Make believe.  Imagination.  Something terrible does happen to us as we grow up...we forget how to play.  We forget how much fun it is to escape.  And we have lots to escape don't we?  Stress?  Bills?  Work?  Health issues?  We should play more.  Forever.  That's Poppy's main argument throughout.  Let's not grow all the way up!

Zach, Alice and Poppy are in middle school and have been playing together for years.  They meet and play with their action figures and create a fantastical world of pirates, mermaids, Lady Jayes and Queens who all meet their match with William.  They create this story together and keep it going with questions even while in school.  It's their way to escape their realities.  Poppy has absentee parents, Alice is being raised by a very strict grandmother, and Zach's father is back after stepping out on the family for about three years.  No wonder they create a world that's fun and exciting for themselves.  Poppy begins to have dreams about a doll locked in her mother's china cabinet and that's where the quest begins.  

I enjoyed every moment of the story.  It's a fast read.  My students will love it.  Especially fans of Dan Poblacki, Mary Downing Hahn and Lois Duncan.  It will be an easy one to "sell" this fall.  

I love a story that takes me back to my childhood. 

Happy Reading! 
RC