In Doll Bones, Zach, Alice, and Poppy see dead people. Or Zach and Poppy do in the dreams they have about Eleanor Kerchner. Whether or not Eleanor is really a ghost, though, we know she's a real girl who died. Also dead? Alice's parents, whose absence haunts her much more than any ghost ever could. Throughout the book, there are many images of decay if you keep an eye out, and the final scene takes place in an actual graveyard. When the trio digs a grave and lays the Queen to rest, they're symbolically burying their childhoods and stepping into young adulthood, and in this moment, we see just how close life and death truly are.
Questions About Mortality
- In what ways has Alice been impacted by the death of her parents? Think about her relationships, her personality, and more.
- Why is Zach so devastated by the "death" of his toys when his father throws them away?
- Do you find the final scene in the graveyard frightening? Why or why not?
Chew on This
Doll Bones might be creepy, but ultimately the book argues that death is simply part of life—nothing terrifying about it.
Doll Bones is about coming to terms with the inevitability of death. After all, death clears space for something new to emerge.