Doll Bones by Holly Black is a different book than many books written for/about this age group. Poppy, Alice, and Zach have been friends through years of their childhood, and have spent countless hours in imaginative play, creating characters and story lines using old action figures, dolls, ships represented by pieces of paper, and black asphalt driveway rivers bound by banks of concrete curbs. The three friends are growing up-- they are now in middle school-- and, by some people's estimations, too old for this kind of play. When Zach is pressured by his father to quit spending time playing with the girls, Poppy starts to tell strange stories of how one of the dolls-- an antique porcelain doll the kids have always called "The Queen"-- is haunting her dreams, along with a ghost of a girl who has set a task for Poppy and her friends. 
 I loved this book of the way it validates friendships and validates the value of play and imagination-- even once a person reaches middle school age. So many times, kids are encouraged to grow up very quickly; this books makes it okay to hold onto childhood-- with its games and imagination and innocent friendships for a little longer. 
 Kids will love the imagination, adventure, but mostly the spookiness that is infused in Holly Black's story. It is a book that will stay with readers long after it is finished.