Sunday, July 21, 2013

Brad About Books: Doll Bones by Holly Black

Read on July 8, 2013
DOLL BONES
Published: May 7, 2013
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books (Simon & Schuster)
Format: Hardcover
Page Count: 244 pages
Source: Library

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...


Doll Bones is a slow-building, whimsical tale that sent chills down my spine and made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Deliciously creepy!

I have been wanting to read Doll Bones ever since it came out - it just looks so eerie and wonderful! When I started it, I came across a problem I had with the book: there's not enough action. I reached the 100 page mark and noticed that nothing significantly moved the plot forward. While Doll Bones does certainly have some freaky and spine-tingling moments, there were times I caught myself drifting off and disconnecting with the story - which made me sad! I was really looking forward to this book, and I have to be honest, it let me down a bit.

Getting pass the slow moments was tricky, but Doll Bones does have pulse-pounding scenes. Towards the end of the book, I was looking over my shoulder and had a tingling feeling in my gut; which is awesome! I love it when a book can do that to me! Though I wasn't a fan of the entire book, there were definitely moments that I loved about Doll Bones. It just didn't live up to my expectations, unfortunately.

The whole doll thing? Three kids being cursed for eternity? Again, A CREEPY DOLL?! Yes please. This china doll (made up of ground-up bones of a murdered girl; WHAT?!) was so creepy and frightening. I never knew if I should trust the doll or try to burn it with fire! And Holly Black can weave out a suspense story like none other. Though I was disconnected from Doll Bones at times, I had to keep turning those pages to figure out what would happen next!

Overall, I have mixed feelings about Doll Bones. Some parts I like, others I didn't.

M Y    R A T I N G


1 comment:

  1. Hmm, I've had this on my TBR on goodreads for a while, but I'll have to think about it now. I really enjoy the premise so hopefully I'll be able to get through the slower parts!

    ReplyDelete

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