Uploaded June 2014 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
This is a quick book summary and analysis of Doll Bones by Holly Black.
Facebook Page - facebook.com/pages/Minute-Book-Reports/1148331925195691
This is a story about three friends named Zach, Poppy, and Alice who like to play with dolls and use their imagination to keep a running story. The three of them are in different social groups at school, but after school they get together and play with their dolls for hours.
However, Zach's father throws away Zach's dolls, which means that his characters are gone. Instead of telling Poppy and Alice the truth, he tells them that he doesn't want to play anymore.
Zach tries to ignore them, but Poppy and Alice arrive in the middle of the night to tell him that Poppy's mother's doll, a china doll, is haunted and speaks to Poppy, saying that she must travel to a nearby city to put her to rest.
Zach doesn't believe her, but goes with her and Alice to the bus stop.
After several misadventures in trying to get to the right town, the group finally gets there and learns at the local library that the china doll supposedly contains the ashes of a little girl whose father made dolls. The doll also disappears.
The group later learns that the father was wrongly accused of the daughter's death and finds the doll near the father's grave.
In the end, Zach tells the girls that his dolls are gone and they all realize that times are changing for them all.
As always a lot can be said about this story, but what draws my interest and attention is the idea of preconceived gender issues.
Is it okay for boys to play with dolls? I don't know, but this story explores boys wanting to participate in things that are generally associated with girls.
Generally speaking, society separates certain activities and colors for boys and girls - motorcycles and blue for boy, tea sets and pink for girl - as a way to categorize and compartmentalize large groups into smaller groups.
But if the gender filter is removed, all activities seem to be fair game between the genders. Boys can knit and sew and girls can play videogames and drive fast cars.
So why don't they? I think it has to do with the terms and stigmas that we tend to use when associating someone with a certain activity: Tall people must be good at sports; nerdy people must like to read; all girls like to cook and clean. And because of these societal expectations of participants in certain activities, those who don't fit those expectations are often viewed as "weird."
But when it comes down to it, it seems like it's all about semantics, or language, which might be why it's not okay for boys to play with "dolls", but okay for them to play with "action figures." After all, what's in a name?
What do you think of this story? Let me know in the comments below.
Don't forget to subscribe for more Minute Book Reports and thanks for watching.
Through Minute Book Reports, hopefully you can get the plot and a few relevant discussion points in just a couple of minutes.
Music: "Afterglow" by Josh Woodward - joshwoodward.com
This is a quick book summary and analysis of Doll Bones by Holly Black.
Facebook Page - facebook.com/pages/Minute-Book-Reports/1148331925195691
This is a story about three friends named Zach, Poppy, and Alice who like to play with dolls and use their imagination to keep a running story. The three of them are in different social groups at school, but after school they get together and play with their dolls for hours.
However, Zach's father throws away Zach's dolls, which means that his characters are gone. Instead of telling Poppy and Alice the truth, he tells them that he doesn't want to play anymore.
Zach tries to ignore them, but Poppy and Alice arrive in the middle of the night to tell him that Poppy's mother's doll, a china doll, is haunted and speaks to Poppy, saying that she must travel to a nearby city to put her to rest.
Zach doesn't believe her, but goes with her and Alice to the bus stop.
After several misadventures in trying to get to the right town, the group finally gets there and learns at the local library that the china doll supposedly contains the ashes of a little girl whose father made dolls. The doll also disappears.
The group later learns that the father was wrongly accused of the daughter's death and finds the doll near the father's grave.
In the end, Zach tells the girls that his dolls are gone and they all realize that times are changing for them all.
As always a lot can be said about this story, but what draws my interest and attention is the idea of preconceived gender issues.
Is it okay for boys to play with dolls? I don't know, but this story explores boys wanting to participate in things that are generally associated with girls.
Generally speaking, society separates certain activities and colors for boys and girls - motorcycles and blue for boy, tea sets and pink for girl - as a way to categorize and compartmentalize large groups into smaller groups.
But if the gender filter is removed, all activities seem to be fair game between the genders. Boys can knit and sew and girls can play videogames and drive fast cars.
So why don't they? I think it has to do with the terms and stigmas that we tend to use when associating someone with a certain activity: Tall people must be good at sports; nerdy people must like to read; all girls like to cook and clean. And because of these societal expectations of participants in certain activities, those who don't fit those expectations are often viewed as "weird."
But when it comes down to it, it seems like it's all about semantics, or language, which might be why it's not okay for boys to play with "dolls", but okay for them to play with "action figures." After all, what's in a name?
What do you think of this story? Let me know in the comments below.
Don't forget to subscribe for more Minute Book Reports and thanks for watching.
Through Minute Book Reports, hopefully you can get the plot and a few relevant discussion points in just a couple of minutes.
Music: "Afterglow" by Josh Woodward - joshwoodward.com
