Doll Bones by Holly Black

Doll Bones promises to deliver a creepy tale about a group of children who go on a journey to return a bone china doll to it's rightful home. Add in the fact that Doll Bones was 2014 Newbery Honor Book and is written by Holly Black, acclaimed author of The Curseworker Series. I thought that I would love Doll Bones for sure, but I was extremely disappointed by it and I felt that Doll Bones is a classic case of wasted potential. Doll Bones really should be a creepy book, but it decides to focus on more the fragile friendships of Zach, Alice, and Poppy than discussing The Queen (the bone china doll that Poppy's enamored with). If Holly Black had decided to concentrate on The Queen more, I have no doubt that I would've enjoyed this book far more.

Don't be fooled by the creepy premise and cover, Doll Bones is a coming-of-age tale about middle-schoolers who are facing growing pains. A good chunk of this book focuses on the relationships that the kids have with their guardians and how it affects their daily lives. If I wasn't expecting such a creepy tale, I definitely would've loved to read about the child-parent relationships.

Holly Black really does an excellent job of creating such life-like, realistic characters. I personally wasn't a fan of the characters because I found their squabbling and drama to be extremely irritating. I also couldn't fathom going on a legitimate quest, I really do think that if I was a lot younger I would've enjoyed this book more. I have experienced middle school drama first-hand and so, I don't really want to read about it.

The plot of Doll Bones was extremely dull, much to my surprise and I had to force myself to continue reading at multiple points. I truly just didn't care about these characters at all or their quest in the slightest bit. I didn't enjoy the direction the plot took and by the time the ending rolled around, I was so happy it was over. Doll Bones isn't a bad book perse, it's just the not type of book for me.

I listened to the audiobook of Doll Bones and the narrator, Nick Poedhl wasn't perfect, but he did keep me interested for the most part. Poedhl did a pretty good job of doing all of the voices and his narration was pretty spot on.I think listening to the Doll Bones audiobook is a great option and it kept me more interested than I would've been if I'd been reading it in print.

Doll Bones was extremely disappointing due to it's very juvenile feel and lack of creepiness. I expected so much more from Holly Black and frankly, I was bored throughout most of the audiobook due to the mediocre, tedious plot-line. Doll Bones is a very hit or miss read, but I hope others enjoy it more than I did!