Book Review - Doll Bones

Doll Bones
Author: Holly Black & Eliza Wheeler
Standalone
Genres: Horror, Mystery | Middle Grade
Release Date: May 7th 2013
Publishers: Margaret K. McElderry Books
No. Pages: : 247
Source: Review Copy - Margaret K. McElderry Books
Rating:

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Zach, Poppy and Alice have been friends for ever. They love playing with their action figure toys, imagining a magical world of adventure and heroism. But disaster strikes when, without warning, Zach’s father throws out all his toys, declaring he’s too old for them. Zach is furious, confused and embarrassed, deciding that the only way to cope is to stop playing . . . and stop being friends with Poppy and Alice. But one night the girls pay Zach a visit, and tell him about a series of mysterious occurrences. Poppy swears that she is now being haunted by a china doll – who claims that it is made from the ground-up bones of a murdered girl. They must return the doll to where the girl lived, and bury it. Otherwise the three children will be cursed for eternity

After reading The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black, I was looking forward to Doll Bones, but very early on something just wasn't gripping me enough about the book. It wasn't that this book wasn't good, It's just one of these cases where I think I'm too old for the book.

It had everything you could hope for, friendship, adventure and self discovery. It's set around three friends, Poppy, Alice and Zach, they are in middle school but still play with dolls/action figures. Until Zach starts to pull away from the other two, he becomes distant and secretive. The girls can't understand why, slowly but surely it seems like Zach was the glue to hold them together, and they start to pull away from each other too. That is until The Queen, a china doll that belongs to Poppy's mum, seems to be haunting her. Zack and Alice don't believe her but can't miss up the opportunity for one last adventure, instead in the front yard, it will take them across the state in the middle of the night, with difficulties they didn't account for.  Secrets come out, patience and faith are tested. But in the end they do it as a team.

So what I hear you ask, did I not like about it?  well it wasn't so much that I didn't like it, just that I couldn't connect to the characters. I loved the adventurer side of it, I thought it was really well thought out and the spookiness of it was a lovely touch, I can't put my finger on why I didn't feel love for this book like everyone else does, but it just wasn't for me. I hope that everyone else feels the love that this book deserves.