“Doll Bones” is a middle grade novel by Holly Black, it was published in 2013 by McElderry Books.

This supernatural horror novel revolves around three middle schoolers who are being haunted by the ghost of girl whose remains were used to create a bone-china doll. Zach, Poppy and Alice have a long running game of make believe that involves pirates and magic and The Queen, who happens to be the haunted china doll. When The Game abruptly comes to an end, Poppy breaks the rules and takes The Queen out of the display case, only to become plagued by dreams about a murdered girl. In an attempt to save this girl’s spirit, as well as the group’s friendship, Poppy convinces Alice and Zach to help put the doll to rest. The three embark on a real life adventure to travel to the girl’s grave and bury the doll. However, the difficult journey puts an even greater strain on their already tenuous friendship.

I really enjoy the simple premise of this books, it is three children who have been playing make believe all their lives, who finally go on a real quest. It takes advantage of the very special age that middle grade books are geared towards. The age of our characters allows their journey to be plausible, they are old enough to read a map, buy a bus ticket and steer a sailboat. However, they are young enough that this is all still new and exciting and getting a few towns over is not an easy task. A little younger and this would all be impossible and a little older and they could have easily made it. I think this book really capitalizes and the possibilities this age range offers.

On a technical level, I also really enjoyed that the author kept you guessing as to whether or not the haunting was real. While the main plot is about putting the doll to rest, the subplot, and arguably the more important one, was about three friends teetering on the edge of childhood. Poppy, for example, actively does not want to let go of her childhood, she sees her friends changing and is doing everything in her power to stop them from leaving her behind. This raises the question of if she is fabricating the haunting just to keep her friends involved in their game. Alice, on the other hand, could be seen as the one who has to grow up fast. Her parents died when she was younger and her life is not easy, while it is not dwelled on, you get the impression that Alice can not afford to stay a child much longer. Also, she exhibits the want of “dating” first of all three of them, adding to the idea that she may be closest to leaving her childhood behind. Zach, on the other hand, lands squarely in the middle. He senses that things are changing, is aware that people like his father want him to grow up and is evening acting on some of these things by playing basketball and hanging out with his team members. However, Zach doesn’t really understand why things “have to change” and seems convinced that they don’t have to. Between the three of them, you are constantly being pulled between Poppy’s world, where the ghosts are real and they are on an epic quest- and Alice’s world, where her main concern is getting home before her grandmother knows she is missing and her suspicions that this is just a game of make believe gone too far. As the reader, both sides seem plausible, enough hints are dropped that the supernatural might be afoot, however, Poppy’s desperation not to lose their friendship is a powerful motivator and would be a good explanation as for why the haunting suddenly started.