While an impulse read due to wanting to read some middle grade horror, Holly Black’s work has been on my radar for years. This was cute!! Nostalgic in how it showed the kids’ imagination, a little creepy, and surprisingly grounded for an adventure story. It felt a little more contemporary than I was expecting. (And until the end, whether the doll’s ghost existed or not was kept somewhat ambiguous, which bugged me sometimes. But, it’s a horror story for kids, and I’m not in the target demographic.)

Adding a couple more points for how, like all good middle grade, it captures the mindset of a middle schooler pretty well! I especially liked how the trio’s home environments, and their reactions to both their family and friend problems, felt realistic. Also, the illustrations by Eliza Wheeler were not only pretty to look at, but fit the vibe of this story perfectly.

The trio dynamic was fun, but the bit of romance was so unnecessary lol it was only in there for the end of the story, really. And two lines before that.

Overall, I enjoyed it, but it didn’t stand out a ton to me. I really just read this because when it came out almost 11 years ago(and was the target audience), I was too freaked out by the cover to read it, and I’d been intrigued by it since. Younger Me should’ve believed his classmates when they said it wasn’t scary, lol.