Doll Bones

By Holly Black

A bone-china doll's curse leads three friends on a haunting quest. Is it just a game, or something more sinister?

3.7/5 Goodreads · 30,517 ratings

272 pages· 47,656 words· Est. 5.5 hour read

$19.80Save 7%

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Bookroo's summary

Zach, Poppy, and Alice's friendship is tested when Zach quits their imaginative games. But Poppy's eerie dreams of a bone-china doll, the Great Queen, and a restless ghost pull them into a chilling adventure. They must bury the doll in an empty grave to end the curse. As their journey unfolds, unsettling events challenge their courage. Is the doll merely a toy, or does it hold a darker power? Can they escape its grasp, or will the ghost's demands trap them forever?

From the publisher

Discover the Newbery Honor winner “Doll Bones,” from Holly Black, the cocreator of the Spiderwick Chronicles. A “Kirkus Reviews “Best Book. A “School Library Journal “Best Book. A “Booklist “Editor’s Choice Books for Youth. A “Publishers Weekly” Best Children’s Book. A NYPL “100 Titles for Reading and Sharing.” A “People Magazine” “Best New Kids Book.” Six starred reviews! Zach, Poppy, and Alice have been friends forever. And for almost as long, they’ve been playing one continuous, ever-changing game of pirates and thieves, mermaids and warriors. Ruling over all is the Great Queen, a bone-china doll cursing those who displease her. But they are in middle school now. Zach’s father pushes him to give up make-believe, and Zach quits the game. Their friendship might be over, until Poppy declares she’s been having dreams about the Queen–and the ghost of a girl who will not rest until the bone-china doll is buried in her empty grave. Zach and Alice and Poppy set off on one last adventure to lay the Queen’s ghost to rest. But nothing goes according to plan, and as their adventure turns into an epic journey, creepy things begin to happen. Is the doll just a doll or something more sinister? And if there really is a ghost, will it let them go now that it has them in its clutches? “Doll Bones” is a winner of the Newbery Honor, is the recipient of six starred reviews, was on five Best Book lists, and was called “perfect” by “The New York Times.”