Sunday, February 16, 2014

Doll Bones by Holly Black - - ADVISABLE

Black, Holly Doll Bones 244 pgs. Margaret K McElderry Books, 2013.  $16.99. Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG.  

When are we too old to play with dolls? And what if there’s a doll you’ve been forbidden to touch? “The Queen” is an old, old doll. She is so delicate and fragile that she is kept behind glass in a cabinet, safe from the children who imagine that as long as she is safely in her prison, she cannot curse the other dolls.  But when Poppy takes the doll out and is subsequently visited by a ghost with a plea for help, the 3 middle schoolers run away taking the doll with them to solve a mystery, find a grave and get back home before they get in trouble.  

Making decisions that are both brave and reckless, these twelve year olds are on the brink - -still children but starting to be expected to act like teenagers. Are they ready to leave play behind?  Holly Black (co-author of the Spiderwick Series) presents this clean read that’s creepier than you’d expect, very exciting and appropriate for both middle and elementary readers.  EL MS Advisable Lisa Librarian

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