From the Bookshelf of Mock Newbery 2026…
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I echo all the good things everyone else has been saying and add that I think kids will actually like this, not just grown ups thinking kids will like it (cough cough HOLD FAST).
This might be the scariest ghost story I've ever read. Perhaps because Holly Black does such a fantastic job mixing the realistic problems of twelve-year-olds with a paranormal creeptastic doll. It feels so much like real life--you feel the pain of growing up, having parents who disappoint, and you remember that transitional time where boys and girls can no longer 'just be friends.' These are kids clinging to their childhoods. Kids who love storytelling and make believe. Stories are lies or mayb
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Though this is not super scary for me as an adult, I think it is definitely creepy enough for young tweens. I'm fairly certain my 5th grader would find it scary. She's just at at age where she still enjoys playing and pretend, but realizes that some of her friends think it is babyish (which is what the main character is experiencing).
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Creepy doll with a mysterious past combines with kids who make up fantastic games with running away from home to solve the mystery type of book. I thought the writing was an interesting combination of realism vs. fantasy, mystery vs. scary ghost. I didn't like the way the kids had to break the law and steal stuff, but I liked how the author gave some realistic scariness to the real world where kids are vulnerable. I can see how there could be some great discussion with kids about leaving childho
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This is the story of three friends and a doll. The friends are on the verge of putting away childish things and growing up. The doll is possibly possessed by the ghost of a dead girl.
This was Goosebumps meets a coming-of-age novel. It's a sensitive book wrapped in a scary package. I had a lot of fun booktalking it at schools because many adolescents love a good creepy story. One kid raised his hand and asked, "Do you think the doll is like Chucky's little sister?"
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This was Goosebumps meets a coming-of-age novel. It's a sensitive book wrapped in a scary package. I had a lot of fun booktalking it at schools because many adolescents love a good creepy story. One kid raised his hand and asked, "Do you think the doll is like Chucky's little sister?"
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This book should be a Newbery contender! It is a combination ghost story, coming of age tale, and friendship story. Zach, Poppy and Alice are best freinds. Throughout their childhoods, they have enjoyed playing fantasy games. Then things start to change. Zach becomes a basketball star. Alice becomes an actress starring in school production. Can their friendship survive these changes? A great, get up and cheer ending.
Unusual coming of age book- a story about friendship and how hard growing up could be, but it has a horror or gothic vibe in it. China doll bones, a murder mystery, ghosts, and runaway adventures. It's not exceptional, but quite enjoyable. I actually love the way Holly Black combined a harsh reality of middle graders lives and a fantastical childhood that they would soon leave behind :)
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Poppy, Zach and Alice have been friends forever. But something happens and Zach decides to stop playing their game and the girls don't understand why. Can he help them with one last quest? The real heart of this story is the friendship between the characters and the fears they have of growing older. It is also a page-turning adventure, with just a little bit of creepiness.
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Doll Bones was a fascinating story about three young people balancing on the edge of childhood & adolescence, reality & fantasy, a mystery & a solution.
Jan 21, 2013
Monica Edinger
added it
Jun 17, 2013
Travis
rated it
really liked it
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review of another edition
Shelves:
fantasy,
middle-grade
Jun 21, 2013
Jennifer
rated it
it was amazing
Shelves:
strongfemalecharacters,
kids,
newberyhonor,
adventure,
horror,
2013reads,
2013-pub,
sljbob2014
Jul 27, 2013
Kate Hastings
marked it as to-read
Dec 11, 2013
Debbie Jo
marked it as to-read
