Reviews

• Great story

  Bought it for my daughter and read it myself as well :)

• Creepy but fun.

  An amazing book from Holly Black, about three adolescent pre teens fighting the battle against growing up and moving on. They love to play make believe with their action figures and toys and they go on the most wonderful adventures. Until one of the group loses all his toys as his father throws them out hurt and betrayed, he refuses to tell his two friends what really happened simply stating he's too old to be playing with toys anymore. So in one friends desperation to keep them all together they set out on the quest to lay to rest the ghost of a murdered little girl who's ashes and crushed bones lie within the hollow porcelain body of a doll made by her father to keep her close by. Her father is hanged for her murder, but we later discover the porcelain maker didn't murder his daughter his sister-in-law murdered her because she was jealous, and cruel. A truly amazing slightly spooky read. Highly recommend. Enjoy!!

• Une bonne histoire, très bien racontée, mais qui ne m'a pas touchée : 3 * et demie

  - Je ne peux pas mettre moins de 4* à ce livre que j'ai lu très facilement et avec un certain plaisir. Mais il m'a laissé un goût d'inachevé, le thème central (celui de la possibilité ou non de continuer à raconter des histoires "pour de faux" passé un certain âge) n'ayant été à mes yeux qu'effleuré. La partie surnaturelle est parfaitement bien incorporée au récit, l'idée de la poupée qui est beaucoup plus est très bien mise en scène, mais là encore, je n'ai pas trouvé l'idée très percutante en soi. Une bonne histoire façon Club des Cinq moderne avec une grosse pincée d'introspection et une louche de fantôme. Un aspect m'a tout de même un peu surpris : le récit semble se dérouler de nos jours, les enfants ont des portables, des ordis et internet, mais aucune des recherches nécessaires à leur quête n'est faite grâce à Google, ils reviennent aux moyens de jadis, se faisant l'écho certainement des souvenirs d'enfance de l'auteur. Ce n'est pas très gênant, mais sonne un peu faux. Un peu de la même manière, les dessins incorporés au texte (qui est assez court, quelques heures de lecture) sont-ils très naïfs, comme pour un livre adressé à des enfants de 6/8 ans, alors que le texte me parait plutôt adapté à une tranche 11/14 ans. Finalement ce roman, de qualité, m'a paru assez fade malgré ses atouts. Je n'ai pu m'empêcher de me dire que l'auteur (celle de la série Les Chroniques de Spiderwick , dont je n'ai lu que le début, jugeant le texte bien trop décharné à mon goût et de la série Les faucheurs , que j'adore), n'aurait jamais eu l'occasion de publier cette histoire, certes bien menée et intéressante, mais certainement pas meilleure que quantité d'écrits de romanciers déboutés par les éditeurs américains, si elle n'était pas si connue.

• My fav

  This book is awesome for the people who want to read something that makes them feel like they're also going on an adventure along with the characters of the book. I really wish to books like these where there's no spice but pure fantasy and adventure.

• Preserving the joy of childhood -- and of childhood reading -- forever

  I absolutely loved this book. It’s written for kids (tweens), but I read it as an adult. It reminded me of the intense joy that comes from discovering the power of reading, and how it is conveyed by the best books written for children. It reminded me of why it’s worth reading at all – the importance of stories and magic and adventure in a world where we spend too much time reading for information, to communicate the mundane news of the day, or out of professional obligation. The story is about three friends who play imagination games with dolls, who are just reaching the age when kids don’t do that sort of thing anymore. And we all remember that horrible moment in our lives, when we aren’t yet quite ready to move on from the innocent pleasures of our early youth, but we see our friends starting to change and develop the interests that accompany adolescence, as well as all the social judgment that comes with it. I still remember resisting those changes for a while and then turning against my early childhood with a vengeance once I decided it was an embarrassment to me – tossing away toys, readings and collectibles that I had become ashamed of – and regretting this forever after. Even better yet, this is a ghost story – a story about a creepy doll reputed to have the ashes of a dead girl hidden inside – a girl whom the kids decide, based on a dream, they need to carry to her final resting place. And yeah, everyone can remember the creepy old-fashioned doll that gave rise to such fantasies. This is also a story about friendship, the intensity of the bonds that kids develop at that age, when they have learned to care about each other and to try to protect each other from a world that won’t just let them be. Kind of like the last line of the film “Stand by Me,” when the writer reflects that never again did he have friends like the ones he had when he was that young. And yes, we do develop great friendships later in our lives to be sure – but it doesn’t feel the same. Friendship in the tween years is intense and loyal and emotional in a way this book really captures. And of course, like all great stories, this one involves a journey, a quest, and lots of adventure. I put this book down half-wishing that we could all stay kids forever, feeling that the imagination, innocence and heartfelt loyalty of that age is something we could all use more of. Fortunately the kids of this wonderful story will never grow old, so you can return to re-read about them as many times as you want – even if you’re a jaded adult. Highly recommended.

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