Doll bones

This is very squarely a middle grades book. It is creepy without being too creepy, grisly without being too grisly and it had heart and hope and friendship too. Hurrah!

Never does Black confirm anything. Nothing is ever overtly ‘magic' or proven. It could be overactive imaginations of three 11 year old kids or it could be that the doll harbored a honest to goodness ghost. But what the story does do is offer that little slice of hope. Imagination is the greatest gift we have to give and the richest we are with this gift is when we are children. Then as we begin to grow older having an imagination and using it becomes something we outgrow. But here while they may be growing up and outgrowing toys, they are not giving up their imaginations.

I think this is just on the borderline of too-scary-for-my-7-year-old. She's read the first 5 Harry Potter books and done great, but this book has just enough creepy in it to possibly get her freaked out. Maybe a couple more years and we'll be ready for some Holly Black.