Doll Bones

Spooky, melancholy, elegiac and ultimately hopeful; a small gem.

Kirkus Review (Starred review)

It's a deep, strange and compelling book, at times lovely, at other times heartbreaking and deliciously weird.

New York Times

With heart-wrenching swiftness, Black paints a picture of friends at the precipice of adulthood . . . The tightly focused, realistic tale – bladed with a hint of fairy-tale darkness – feels cut from the very soul of youth.

Booklist (Starred review)

[An] eerie, tender novel.

Wall Street Journal

Compelling, chill-at-the-nape tale with dynamics and emotional depth . . . The novel’s eerie vibe and eek-worthy plot may keep readers turning pages into the wee hours, but it’s the vivid characters and skillfully developed themes of identity, friendship and loss that linger long in the mind.

The Washington Post

A little bit scary and full of heart, this story grabbed me and wouldn't let go.

Rebecca Stead, author of Liar and Spy

Nobody does spooky like Holly Black. Doll Bones is a book that will make you sleep with the lights on.

Jeff Kinney, author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series

Black poignantly and realistically captures how adolescence inherently brings change; how growing up affects the ways children play; and the inevitable tests friendships face.

Horn Book

It's as psychologically haunting as the ghost girl's physical haunting . . . Black begins with an ordinary experience of childhood and gives it a wicked twist to reveal the truth at the center of the impulse for storytelling.

Shelf Awareness, starred review

A darn good adventure.

Publishers Weekly, starred review

This novel is a chilling ghost story, a gripping adventure, and a heartwarming look at the often-painful pull of adulthood.

School Library Journal