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Doll
A story of dark emotions and strange friendship, Doll is the eagerly awaited new title from Nicky Singer, following the triumph of her first children’s book, Feather Boy.
Tilly's biker mother gave Tilly a doll when she was on her deathbed. There is something strange about the doll, something dangerous – something which brings Tilly into the path of Jan, a South American boy with his own problems. But there are questions that have not been answered. Is Tilly's mother really dead, or is there a more painful reason for her absence?
Tilly's biker mother gave Tilly a doll when she was on her deathbed. There is something strange about the doll, something dangerous – something which brings Tilly into the path of Jan, a South American boy with his own problems. But there are questions that have not been answered. Is Tilly's mother really dead, or is there a more painful reason for her absence?
- GenresYoung AdultTeen
208 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2003
2 people are currently reading
93 people want to read
About the author
Nicky Singer
22 books46 followersNicky has written four novels for adults, two books of non-fiction but most of her recent work is for young people. Her first children’s novel Feather Boy won the Blue Peter ‘Book of the Year’ Award, was adapted for TV (winning a BAFTA for Best Children’s Drama) and then commissioned by the National Theatre as a musical with lyrics by Don Black and music by Debbie Wiseman. In 2010 Nicky was asked by Glyndebourne to adapt her novel Knight Crew (a re-telling of the King Arthur legend set in contemporary gangland) for an opera with music by Julian Philips. In 2012 her play Island (about ice-bears and the nature of reality) premiered at the National Theatre and toured 40 London schools. She also published The Flask that year. A story about songs and souls and things which live in bottles, The Guardian called The Flask ‘a nourishing and uplifting story, with big themes and a big heart’. Nicky has recently re-written Island as a novel with illustrations by Children’s Laureate, Chris Riddell.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 14, 2011
I picked up this book in Hay on Wye during the festival. It cost me a whopping £1 and I'd never heard of it before, so I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. A glance at Amazon and Goodreads did not get my hopes up. However, last night I couldn't get to sleep and I wanted a short read to send me off to lullaby-land. I picked up Doll, but on my reading headlamp (yes, you read that correctly...) and settled down.
Oh. My. God.
I know that makes me sound like a tween, but I don't care. I read the entire thing in one go. This book is truly tremendous. I have been sticking up for YA books online ever since M.C. Gurdon posted her scathing review of such titles in the Wall Street Journal on June 4th. Since then I've read a whole bunch of books which I've considered valuable texts; I've read books which were beautifully written and which held depth and meaning.
Doll, however, is one of those YA books that needs to be praised as "literature". Singer writes almost hauntingly echoing prose. The book's protagonists, Tilly and Jan (pronounced Yan) are lost and sad souls who both feel abandoned by their mothers for different reasons.
I know what you're thinking. Girl meets boy, boy comforts girl, they seek solace in each other, fall in love, live happily ever after...right? Wrong. This is what I was expecting. This is even what I was hoping for at times! But Tilly is so damaged that she doesn't want solace. Her pain is what she feels connects her to her lost mother. That...and the doll made from scraps of her mother's life. The doll which whispers in her mother's voice...
Jan is an almost diasporic figure. His mother could not look after him in his native Chile so he is adopted by the Sparks family. He feels disconnected from what he calls "[his] English mother" and cannot reconcile his two identities as he feels that he is both Jan Veron, the South American boy, and Jan Sparks, adopted son of his English parents.
The book is only short, at 208 pages, but it is so rich. The writing is amazing and the characters are dysfunctional yet dazzlingly heart-wrenching. M.C. Gurdon would absolutely effing HATE it! Because this text is dark. It's very dark. The subjects of alcoholism, self harm and depression are actually some of the less dismal themes! Even more disturbing is the beautiful was Singer explores the oppositions of truth and lies, life and death, identity and disillusion, grief and healing, madness and sanity, fantasy and reality.
Yup. All those themes which Gurdon said were harmful to younger readers. However, the messages in this book are so wonderfully handled, and the darkness so honestly portrayed and battled with that I can't help but feel that this book is going to end up being taught in schools one day. That's how I felt when I read the book: like I wanted to study it, to dissect it and squeeze every rich drop of meaning from the words. I can't actually gush enough, I don't think! No...I'm not "gushing" over this book, I'm in awe of it.
The only reason I can think for there not being a plethora of glowing, five-star reviews for this text is that people picked it up hoping for something easy and predictable, and instead found themselves with a poignant literary work which demanded more consideration than a glossy happy-ending could provide.
Identity, truth and grief are marvellously considered in this short but achingly bitter-sweet book. This is the best £1 I've spent all year!
Oh. My. God.
I know that makes me sound like a tween, but I don't care. I read the entire thing in one go. This book is truly tremendous. I have been sticking up for YA books online ever since M.C. Gurdon posted her scathing review of such titles in the Wall Street Journal on June 4th. Since then I've read a whole bunch of books which I've considered valuable texts; I've read books which were beautifully written and which held depth and meaning.
Doll, however, is one of those YA books that needs to be praised as "literature". Singer writes almost hauntingly echoing prose. The book's protagonists, Tilly and Jan (pronounced Yan) are lost and sad souls who both feel abandoned by their mothers for different reasons.
I know what you're thinking. Girl meets boy, boy comforts girl, they seek solace in each other, fall in love, live happily ever after...right? Wrong. This is what I was expecting. This is even what I was hoping for at times! But Tilly is so damaged that she doesn't want solace. Her pain is what she feels connects her to her lost mother. That...and the doll made from scraps of her mother's life. The doll which whispers in her mother's voice...
Jan is an almost diasporic figure. His mother could not look after him in his native Chile so he is adopted by the Sparks family. He feels disconnected from what he calls "[his] English mother" and cannot reconcile his two identities as he feels that he is both Jan Veron, the South American boy, and Jan Sparks, adopted son of his English parents.
The book is only short, at 208 pages, but it is so rich. The writing is amazing and the characters are dysfunctional yet dazzlingly heart-wrenching. M.C. Gurdon would absolutely effing HATE it! Because this text is dark. It's very dark. The subjects of alcoholism, self harm and depression are actually some of the less dismal themes! Even more disturbing is the beautiful was Singer explores the oppositions of truth and lies, life and death, identity and disillusion, grief and healing, madness and sanity, fantasy and reality.
Yup. All those themes which Gurdon said were harmful to younger readers. However, the messages in this book are so wonderfully handled, and the darkness so honestly portrayed and battled with that I can't help but feel that this book is going to end up being taught in schools one day. That's how I felt when I read the book: like I wanted to study it, to dissect it and squeeze every rich drop of meaning from the words. I can't actually gush enough, I don't think! No...I'm not "gushing" over this book, I'm in awe of it.
The only reason I can think for there not being a plethora of glowing, five-star reviews for this text is that people picked it up hoping for something easy and predictable, and instead found themselves with a poignant literary work which demanded more consideration than a glossy happy-ending could provide.
Identity, truth and grief are marvellously considered in this short but achingly bitter-sweet book. This is the best £1 I've spent all year!
July 22, 2016
This book has been my favourite book for about four years now and although I add more books to my favourites, this will always be number one
October 1, 2023
heel pijnlijk
October 21, 2021
What an odd little book
October 22, 2017
Strange little book. What I thought would be a quick, easy read took me a lot longer than expected.
Like other reviewers I found it to be confusing, disjointed and strange. I enjoyed the last few chapters the most although the content is quite depressing and confronting.
Certainly different but not really the right kind of weird for me.
Like other reviewers I found it to be confusing, disjointed and strange. I enjoyed the last few chapters the most although the content is quite depressing and confronting.
Certainly different but not really the right kind of weird for me.
July 3, 2023
A teen struggles with the lies surrounding her and her alcoholic mother.
July 16, 2014
Loved the idea. Although the beginning was a little confusing (but then again, there have been many good books with a confusing beginning and will continue to be), but as the story progressed, things started to fall into place - which as I'd like to point out, was similar to the characters' accepting what had happened. The easier the book got to read, the more we find out how, what and why.
The way I saw it, it wasn't a typical boy meets girl, fall in love and live happily ever after kind of story. It was different from other YA authors I've read, as it was a bit more emotionally written. As I see it, this story is mainly about recognizing ourselves in others and accepting ourselves, the others, as well as healing the wounds we've caused to ourselves by pretending things were as we wanted them to be.
I highly recommend it to people, who aren't sure about themselves, as it may give a little insight to what we are running from, but I believe it could be a great read for anyone.
The way I saw it, it wasn't a typical boy meets girl, fall in love and live happily ever after kind of story. It was different from other YA authors I've read, as it was a bit more emotionally written. As I see it, this story is mainly about recognizing ourselves in others and accepting ourselves, the others, as well as healing the wounds we've caused to ourselves by pretending things were as we wanted them to be.
I highly recommend it to people, who aren't sure about themselves, as it may give a little insight to what we are running from, but I believe it could be a great read for anyone.
July 19, 2016
I feel bad giving this only two stars, but I'm rating this way because I'm going by the Goodreads definitions for stars - "it was ok." This book was written well and in an interesting way, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. Others might like it a lot more, but it wasn't for me.
May 23, 2009
Ugh. Stupid and pointless and weird and uninteresting and I don't even want to give it the dignity of being shelved as anything other than 'read'.
February 23, 2010
Rather liked this, well written and with a surprising twist at the end...
February 17, 2012
I read this book mainly out of curiosity and although I did like it, I found it quite confusing at times. It can be hard to read but is worth it.
April 20, 2014
Surprisingly deep for a children's book. Highly underrated.
November 3, 2012
i gave up the book even though i like the author and i think it is a little confusing!!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews