Black, H. (2013). Doll bones. NY: Margaret K. Elderry Books. Zachary Barlow is the protagonist in Dark Bones. In the novel, Zach is pushed by his father to grow up and stop make-believing, until Poppy claims she’s still having dreams about the Great Queen, a bone-china doll who curses anyone who displeases her. Zach, Poppy, and Alice set off together to stop the Queen once and for all. The novel ends with Zach telling Poppy and Alice the truth about the action figures and, together, they bury the doll and promise to keep the Story alive. I think the intended audience of Doll Bones might be for ages 10 to 14. Recommendations for follow up reading include Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale by Holly Black, Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo, The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes, and The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black. A lesson that might come from reading Doll Bones is kids might be able to relate to Zach, Poppy, or Alice and what they go through in the novel. Readers might also relate if they have been told to grow up and stop make-believing like the characters in the book. I believe Doll Bones meets the mental developmental criteria because, at 12-year-old, Zach still lives in a make-believe world inside his head with his friends. Also, the Queen terrorizes Zach’s, Poppy’s, and April’s minds and dreams throughout the entire novel until they succumb to the Queen’s wrath and reveal their secrets. At the end of the novel, the Queen’s torment has torn Zach apart from the inside out.
