Doll Bones by Holly Black

How I Heard About It:   After seeing several people mention this book on Twitter, I added it to my TBR list.  I picked up a copy at the local book store, started it that day, and pretty much finished the whole book in about a day and a half.  I'm becoming to know that books mentioned via Twitter as sure fire great reads!

What It Is About:  Zach, Poppy, and Alice are three creative and imaginative middle-school children that enjoy spending time together.  During this time they create new worlds with fantastic characters and creatures.  This is something that they keep to themselves as they are sure it wouldn't be accepted by the mainstream in their school.  Poppy has a "vision" (or dream) about a Queen that has been killed and is residing into a china doll.  This takes the three children on an adventure that none of them are prepared for.  As the venture forward on this adventure, all three of them have to decide if this Doll is real, a ghost, or something in between.  

What I Thought Of It: I thoroughly enjoyed this story and the adventure that the three characters set off on.  The pace of the book was quick and there was never a dull moment.  All three characters were likable and each offered something extraordinary to the story.  What I thought was great about this story was that it would show readers and listeners that being a child and playing in an imaginary world is perfectly fine and encouraged.  I think our children of today have lost this art.

Who Should Read It:  Any reader that loves fantasy worlds, imagination, and adventure will be engrossed by this story.  I think an advanced reader in fourth grade could handle this book on their own.  Any student in fifth grade or above would be successful.  I also think this would make a wonderful read aloud and actually might add it to my list of possible read aloud for this coming school year.  Happy Reading!