The Washington Post - Mary Quattlebaum
…a compelling, chill-at-the-nape tale with dynamics and emotional depth reminiscent of the fraught, funny coming-of-age film Stand by Me…The novel's eerie vibe and eek-worthy plot may keep readers turning pages into the wee hours, but it's the vivid characters and skillfully developed themes of identity, friendship and loss that linger long in the mind…
The New York Times Book Review - Lauren Oliver
…for the 10-to-12-year-old reader, dreaming of boys while still cuddling a teddy bear at night, or privately wishing to revert to the simplicity of childhood while enjoying the sensation of growing up, Doll Bones may be perfect. And if at times there is an uneasy tension between narrative elements, that's probably due to the book's ambitions: tackling themes of familial loss, the disintegration of friendships, the disillusionments of age and what it means to believe, this story isdespite its emphasis on adventure and a strong narrative that propels the book forwardthe opposite of fluff. It's a deep, strange and compelling book, at times lovely, at other times heartbreaking and deliciously weird.
Publishers Weekly - Audio
When Zach’s father insists that the games he—and friends Poppy and Alice—play with dolls must end, the three friends refuse to let their imaginations die. Instead, they set out on an epic adventure involving a china doll that just might be made from the bones of a murdered girl. And along the way, they discover that there could be more to what was once a simple backyard game. Narrator Nick Podehl delivers a fun-filled reading that will delight this audiobook’s young-adult target audience. Podhel delivery is simple, his pacing steady, and his performance one that skillfully captures all the action of this imaginative tale. Ages 10-14. A Margaret K. McElderry paperback. (May)
Publishers Weekly
Zach plays with dolls. Never mind that they’re action figures, heroes in a wild, improvisational saga he acts out with friends Poppy and Alice. Never mind that he’s a solid student and rising basketball star. Zach is 12, and his father has decided this must stop. While Zach’s at school, the dolls go to the dump, and Zach is left with only rage. He quits the game, but Alice and Poppy haul him out for one more quest: a bus trip to lay to rest the Queen, a bone china doll that Poppy swears is made from the bones of a murdered girl. Another crazy quest from Poppy’s fertile brain? Or could this ghost story be real? The wonderfully eerie doll, the realism of the kids’ improbable logic, and the ache underlying every character’s actions create as much a state of existential anxiety as narrative tension. Black captures the adolescent sense that things are about to explode before they get explained. And it’s a darn good adventure, too. Ages 10–14. Author’s agent: Barry Goldblatt, Barry Goldblatt Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Jennifer Rofé, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (May)
The Wall Street Journal
"[An] eerie, tender novel".
starred review Booklist
"Tightly focused, realistic tale—bladed with a hint of fairy-tale darkness.... Stories about the importance of stories...don’t come much more forthright and affecting than this one."
Shelf Awareness, starred review - Jennifer M. Brown
*"It's as psychologically haunting as the ghost girl's physical haunting....Black begins with an ordinary experience of childhood and gives it a wicked twist to reveal the truth at the center of the impulse for storytelling."
Jeff Kinney
"Nobody does spooky like Holly Black. Doll Bones is a book that will make you sleep with the lights on."
The Washington Post
"Compelling, chill-at-the-nape tale with dynamics and emotional depth... The novel’s eerie vibe and eek-worthy plot may keep readers turning pages into the wee hours, but it’s the vivid characters and skillfully developed themes of identity, friendship and loss that linger long in the mind."
starred review BCCB
*"Black manages a careful balancing act of reality and fantasy, using the effectively creepy ghost story as the backdrop to a poignant exploration of what is lost along the way to adulthood...Keenly felt."
Rebecca Stead
"A little bit scary and full of heart, this story grabbed me and wouldn't let go."
Lauren Oliver
"For the 10-12 year-old reader...Doll Bones may be perfect....It’s a deep, strange and compelling book, at times lovely, at times heartbreaking and deliciously weird.
Horn Book
"Black poignantly and realistically captures how adolescence inherently brings change; how growing up affects the ways children play; and the inevitable tests friendships face."
Library Media Connection
Hand this book to any middle schooler and they will immediately relate to that tween feeling of moving from childhood to adolescence.
starred review School Library Journal
*"This novel is a chilling ghost story, a gripping adventure, and a heartwarming look at the often-painful pull of adulthood."
From the Publisher
"A little bit scary and full of heart, this story grabbed me and wouldn't let go."
"Nobody does spooky like Holly Black. Doll Bones is a book that will make you sleep with the lights on."
"Tightly focused, realistic tale—bladed with a hint of fairy-tale darkness.... Stories about the importance of stories...don’t come much more forthright and affecting than this one."
"Every encounter redraws the blurry lines between childishness and maturity, truth and lies, secrecy and honesty, magic and madness. Spooky, melancholy, elegiac and ultimately hopeful; a small gem."
*"A darn good adventure."
"It's as psychologically haunting as the ghost girl's physical haunting....Black begins with an ordinary experience of childhood and gives it a wicked twist to reveal the truth at the center of the impulse for storytelling."
"For the 10-12 year-old reader...Doll Bones may be perfect....It’s a deep, strange and compelling book, at times lovely, at times heartbreaking and deliciously.”
"[An] eerie, tender novel".
JULY 2013 - AudioFile
Urged on by the ghost of a girl whose ashes are hidden inside a porcelain doll, fantasy role players and best friends Zack, Poppy, and Alice embark on a real-life quest from Pennsylvania to Ohio to give the doll a proper burial. Nick Podehl demonstrates a remarkable ability to mimic the range of emotions in middle schoolers—from Zack’s heartbreak and anger when his dad throws out his action figures to Poppy’s unwavering and bossy determination. Podehl also captures Alice’s metamorphosis from fear and anxiety to resolve. The spookiness of the story is heightened by the matter-of-fact tone of the adults when they refer to the kids’ doll as a live person. M.F.T. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
A middle-grade fantasy dons the cloak of a creepy ghost tale to deliver bittersweet meditations on the nature of friendship, the price of growing up and the power of storytelling. The lifelong friendship of Zach, Poppy and Alice revolves around their joint creation, an epic role-playing saga of pirates and perils, queens and quests. But now they are 12, and their interests are changing along with their bodies; when Zach's father trashes his action figures and commands him to "grow up," Zach abruptly quits the game. Poppy begs him to join her and Alice on one last adventure: a road trip to bring peace to the ghost possessing her antique porcelain doll. As they travel by bus and boat (with a fateful stop at the public library), the ghost seems to take charge of their journey--and the distinctions between fantasy and reality, between play and obligation, begin to dissolve....Veteran Black packs both heft and depth into a deceptively simple (and convincingly uncanny) narrative. From Zach's bitter relationship with his father to Anna's chafing at her overprotective grandmother to Poppy's resignation with her ramshackle relations, Black skillfully sketches their varied backgrounds and unique contributions to their relationship. A few rich metaphors--rivers, pottery, breath--are woven throughout the story, as every encounter redraws the blurry lines between childishness and maturity, truth and lies, secrecy and honesty, magic and madness. Spooky, melancholy, elegiac and ultimately hopeful; a small gem. (Fantasy. 10-14)