Broken Dolls: A Stephen King-Endorsed Horror Novel for Children (Ages 8-12) About Sisters, Grief, and Haunted Dolls

by Ally Malinenko

"Put it on your list!" -Stephen King

Author of Ghost Girl and This Appearing House Ally Malinenko brings to life a terrifying middle grade novel about a girl learning to grieve her grandfather and the creepy antique dolls in his house that seem to come alive, perfect for fans of The Doll in the Garden.

One. Two. Three. Are you ready to play?

Ever since Kaye's grandfather died, she's been obsessed with counting the steps to her bedroom, the dolls on her sister's bed, even the threads on her favorite blanket. It's arithmomania, and with the selective mutism that sometimes prevents her from speaking, she literally can't find the words to talk about how she feels now that Grampa is gone. When they take the summer to clean out and renovate his old house, Kaye finds herself counting the days.

That is, until her younger sister, Holly, starts finding dolls. She finds them buried in the backyard, stuffed in the walls, crammed into the closets. From the first one, Kaye knows they aren't like normal dolls. They smile at her like they know something, and sometimes their eyes open and close on their own. Kaye hears her sister talking to them constantly—and she swears she's heard the dolls whispering back.

Everyone assumes that Holly's just a kid with a good imagination. Kaye doesn't think it's a game, because she knows that Holly—and the dolls—are going to make her play with them. Forever.

Perfect for Halloween ReadingIdeal for fans of the supernaturalFeatures light scares

Genres: Horror, Middle Grade, Audiobook, Fiction, Mental Health, Young Adult, Childrens

Kindle Edition

Published September 30, 2025

About the author

Ally Malinenko is the author of several poetry collections as well as Ghost Girl, the Bram Stoker nominated This Appearing House both from Katherine Tegen Books. She is also the author of The Other March Sisters (Kensington) as well as the forthcoming Broken Dolls (Harper Collins). She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and blogs at allymalinenko.com. She can also be found blathering about Doctor Who and David Bowie at @allymalinenko.

Reviews

[Debbie H · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️ This mid-grade horror story was creepy good and so scary!

Kaye and her Brooklyn family are grieving the death of their dear father/grandfather. Kaye suffers from OCD and has been increasingly silent. Her Mom decides to take Kaye and her sister Holly to the country to aid in the remodeling of the grandfather’s house.

While attending a local carnival a strange man called the poppet master gives Holly a mysterious doll as a prize. What ensues is truly terrifying! Possessed dolls are one thing that gives me the creeps, and these dolls and this story is frightening! Of course all the adults are oblivious and it’s up to the kids to save the day!

Well written and fast moving plot with a classic horror feel!


Thank you NetGalley, Ally Malinenko, and Harper Collins publishing for the eARC in exchange for my honest review

[Sarah McKnight · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was absolutely blown away by this book. It had everything I love about horror, and even though it was written with a middle-grade audience in mind, the writing style had a maturity to it that adults can appreciate. The characters felt fleshed out and real. I really enjoyed Kaye's growth and her struggles with mental health and grief. It all felt extremely realistic and was handled in a way that would be helpful to young readers experiencing grief of their own. The horror scenes gave me actual chills - a rare feat! They were so well done and so well-described, I could picture them perfectly. I'd love to see this on the big screen someday, it definitely has the potential to be a great horror film. Overall, the story was right up my alley, and had this book been available when I was in middle school, it would have been one that I read over and over and over again (and I probably still will as an adult!). I can see why Stephen King took such an interest in this book. Can't wait to have it in print!

I received an ARC and am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Paige Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Middle Grade Horror really grabbed my attention and never let up for a second! It's age appropriate but still spooky and the grief horror aspect was done very well. I really felt drawn to Kaye's character and felt that I could empathize with her. Losing a close family member is life shattering and can be even more difficult to process while being a kid and trying to navigate life. The characters were all developed well and the storyline was absolutely amazing. The backstory of how the dolls came to be added even more to the suspense. This was such a fun read and I recommend to any horror reader.

Broken Dolls follows Kaye. Her grandfather has recently passed away and she is really struggling with it. Her and her sister are staying with their uncle for the summer at their grandfather's home and things begin to get strange rather quickly upon their arrival. The cheese festival is a popular annual tradition in the town but what is awaiting the girls is highly unexpected. There is a peculiar man with his table of mysteries. Holly, the youngest sister ends up winning the prize of this strange card game and the prize is none other than a doll but this is no ordinary doll... it looks exactly like Holly. Weird... oh but it gets weirder! You need to grab this book when it releases to find out why!

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins and the author for this ARC. Broken Dolls releases on September 30th, 2025.

[Susy · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars
A very eerie story with a message about loss and grief.

Characters 10
Atmosphere 10
Writing Style 10
Premise 10
Plot 10
Pace 10
Length 10
Structure/Setup 10
Enjoyment/Engrossment 10
Narration 10

[Lia's Haunted Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was disturbing in a quiet, clinical kind of way. The setup is eerie from the start, and there’s a constant sense that something is deeply wrong, even when you can’t name it yet. It leans heavily on atmosphere and slow reveals, which worked well for me. While a few moments required some suspension of disbelief, the pacing never dragged, and the payoff was satisfying. It’s one of those books that lingers, not because it’s loud, but because it’s cold.

[Bree · Rating 5 out of 5]

10 stars 🌟 This was the most PHENOMENAL MG Horror I've ever read. The atmosphere, AMAZING. The tone, EXCELLENT. The horror, absolute PERFECTION. Ally Malinenko's writing is nothing short of incredible and this story left me at a loss for words. Stephen King...I completely understand now.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Broken Dolls” is middle grade horror at its best. It’s age appropriate while still being genuinely spooky. The characters are well developed and relatable. I really felt attached to our protagonist early on. The suspense in this book is unbeatable! I found myself on the edge of my seat trying to figure out where this was all going to end up, and I was not disappointed once! Though I’ll definitely look twice at next doll I see!

Thank you to NetGalley did this ARC

[andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the advanced digital copy.

this book is out September 30th, 2025.

--

this is the gold standard of middle grade horror lit in my opinion. not just because it's genuinely scary, but because it threads that fear through a deeply emotional, thoughtful exploration of grief. the horror here isn't just about creepy dolls showing up in closets and buried underground (though they do and it's terrifying). it's about the kind of sadness that lingers when someone you love dies, and the way that sadness changes how you see the world around you.

kaye is a standout protagonist. she's grieving the loss of her grandfather and dealing with arithmomania and selective mutism. her internal world feels textured and raw and ally malinenko never talks down to her or to the reader. instead, we're invited to sit with kaye's fear, her silence, her frustration. and the story never tries to "fix" her. instead, it gives her space to be understood. her little sister holly can be annoying at times, which i actually loved. it mirrored the way growing up can sometimes mean growing apart from the people you're closest to.

the representation here is also handled with real care. kaye's uncle is gay, and his boyfriend is not only present in the story, but actively trying to connect with kaye in a quiet, compassionate way. the sudoku scene in particular was so sweet, particularly since it was a way for kaye to connect with something that she loved to do with her grandpa. and then there's a blink-and-you-miss-it moment where kaye casually acknowledges that she likes a girl and no one makes it weird. it's just part of who she is.

the tension is built masterfully. the dolls don't need to be slasher-movie scary. they're unsettling in the way they feel wrong in a room. they whisper. they stare. they watch. and that kind of horror is hard to pull off in middle grade without it feeling watered down or silly. but here it works. beautifully.

i can't recommend this enough. it's soft and spooky and sincere in all the right ways. if you're looking for a middle grade read that'll haunt you a little and hold your heart at the same time, this is the one.

[little blue haired old lady X · Rating 5 out of 5]

Broken Dolls
By Ally Melinenko

This is a great story that heavily touches on themes of loss and sadness. Ally skillfully weaves her story to tell the tale of how people may feel isolated in their loss and how speaking of loss can help us continue to live through what feels so devastating. I think that this book is a great resource for kids going through grief and loss. The psychological horror is there, but it's not too scary for middle grade kids. I also appreciate, at this political time of denying LGBTQIA+ voices and experiences, that Ally includes a variety of people who aren't straight, making this an even more important resource for kids. Ally's writing flows carrying us along in a story that become richer as we near the satisfying end. This book had me thinking a lot about my own losses and a few tears were shed along my reading journey.

[Jules Inman · Rating 3 out of 5]

We're following Kaye whose grandfather has recently passed away and she's having issue processing her grief. She develops arithmomania which is an obsession with counting things as well as selective mutism. She can't talk about her feelings or really anything for that matter. Her family goes to stay in her grandfather's house while they clean it out and prepare to sell it. Her little sister starts finding dolls and talks to them and says they are talking to her. Kaye tells her mom it's weird and her mom says that's what little girls do, use their imagination. Kaye thinks there is more to it than that. She finds her little sister digging in the ground and they find more creepy dolls. I found the story kind of repetitive as far as her sister finds a creepy doll, starts talking to doll, finds more dolls and talks to those dolls. Kaye does meet a new friend that she is able to talk to and come out of her shell a little bit. Kaye does start hearing voices and thinks she sees the dolls moving around. She finds an old journal from another girl who writes about her experience with the dolls and what's really gone on and what the dolls have planned. She works with her new friend to find a way to stop it. Overall, I felt the story was kind of slow, but I did like the grief representation in it. I think this is a good age-appropriate spooky middle grade book.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. #BrokenDolls #NetGalley

[Courtney (pawsitivelybookish) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Broken Dolls is such a special book. Not only is it super creepy, but it offers a unique look at grief and how differently each person handles it.

Kaye was very near and dear to my heart as she struggled to understand and handle her OCD and the loss of her grandfather. Both things I have gone through in my life.

It was really something to watch as Kaye came to terms with sadness and understanding that it’s something okay to feel.

And the dolls??? No, thank you 😅 SO creepy.

“Just because they are a different kind of sad doesn’t mean that you don’t get to be your kind of sad too.”

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't have that much to say about it to be honest. It's a nice book for kids! Handles important topics like grief and family pretty well. It's quite basic but I don't think you need more for middle grade books like this. I'm a big doll lover on top of being an adult so naturally it wasn't that scary to me, but I can definitely see how this might be creepy to a child.

Overall it's a good age appropriate introduction to horror for younger readers, and I would definitely recommend it if you have any young ones you'd like to wean into spooky stuff this Halloween!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although horror about grief is my favorite kind of horror, creepy dolls are not my cup of tea. The premise works well, especially the reveal of the doll's origins, but I wasn't crazy about the writing. That being said, I'm grateful to find a compelling middle reader horror. I'll definitely be getting a copy for my classroom!

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Broken Dolls grabbed my attention right from the first pages and never really let up, to the point where I read it in one sitting because I didn't want to stop reading it. It had the perfect blend of atmosphere, creepy elements, disturbing situations, and the thematic elements of grief running through all of this. Losing a close family member can be traumatizing and to read about it through the eyes of an 11 year old is very impactful. I thought this was a perfect blend of character and plot development for a juvenile fiction book.

Kaye is suffering with arithmomania, also known as counting OCD, often driven by anxiety and a desire to avoid anything catastrophic or disturbing. On top of this, she has also developed selective mutism that prevents her from speaking as she grapples with grief from her grandfather's death. Knowing how worried this makes her mother and her uncle, she struggles with her emotions by trying to placate them which makes the situation almost worse at times. I really connected with Kaye and felt very empathetic to what she was going through. With my own kids losing their grandfather at the same age, I definitely understood the difficulties from both Kaye's and her mother's point of view. She was a very well-developed character and I enjoyed her journey throughout the book. I also thought the other characters had their own personalities, but they were not as developed as Kaye, not that they needed to be, not for this story.

I thought the book had the perfect blend of horror for a juvenile fiction book. I mean, we are talking about dolls. Ugly dolls, Dolls that get up and move. Dolls that talk. That would be enough to send me out the door, thank you very much. Kaye had more strength than I would have had in the same situation because the moment that doll started moving, well, back in the ground it would have gone. There are no really big jump scares in this book, but it definitely has a creepy element running throughout it, one that doesn't let up throughout the entire book. I loved how the author kept the tension at a pretty high level and kept me invested. There are twists and turns and discoveries to be made, something I would have loved as a kid. I also thought the author did a fantastic job of weaving the element of grief throughout the story and allowed Kaye to grieve and find her own path. That was so well done.

Broken Dolls is a great book for anyone who loves the terrifying doll trope, even if the book was written with the juvenile audience in mind. The author does a great job of building tension in this book and I loved the relationship between Holly and Kaye. Maybe I am a bit biased when it comes to this book as I read a lot of horror and not a lot of things bother me, but dolls will send me packing, fast. I definitely recommend this book as it has a main character to whom you can relate and the author did a great job at building the tension without making it too scary for those younger readers.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

[Becky Spratford · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 out of 5.

Three Words That Describe This Book: grief, terrifying dolls, immersive dread throughout

A great MG Horror read for adults. Just as scary as anything for adults, maybe bait more because of how intense and relatable the grief is here.

This is an example of why I love MG horror right now. It is just as terrifying as adult horror. It is no less "scary" and in fact might be more immersive than adult because -- as Malinenko demonstrates here-- you have to make the reader feel the fear with their entire body without resorting to gore or visceral digust.

I do not want to give away the plot here, but I will tell you that the main character, Kaye is hurting after the death of her grandfather. She is hurting a lot! As is the entire family, but Kaye can't see past her own grief which is literally paralyzing her at times. She is counting everything to cope and has pretty much stopped talking. We are inside her head so we see more than she shares.

Kaye is a kid and this is written for kids so I love how readers are so fully inside of her brain and point of view that we also lose sight of the others in the family and what they are going through. We get snippets but while most of the plot is about the dolls and their terrifying history, the story is really about grief and how everyone grieves and hurst differently. And how those differences reflect the person hurting.

Now, I read this as an adult and I am a librarian who matches adults with books to read, and while this book was not written for an adult audience, I think it is a GREAT read for anyone who loves the terrifying doll trope. And let me make myself clear here-- again no spoilers because the story behind the dolls, their history, and their agenda, is very well done-- these dolls are not harmless. Malinenko does an excellent job of building the story from unease to dread to concern to all out terror. It flows naturally even though what is happening is anything but natural.

This book is immersive. There is a scene early on where the kettle sister goes digging at the base of a tree and pulls out some dolls and I straight up was in my yard and saw our big tree and was like....NOPE, not walking over there for a while.

I am going to give people readalikes from the adult fiction perspective, meaning if you read adult horror as I will list, you should 100% try this book. It will not disappoint.

If you like super intense grief horror as written by Clay McLeod Chapman read this. Stay on the Line (novella and in his new collection Acquired Taste), Kill Your Darling, or Ghost Eaters especially.

Doll Horror: The Motion fo Puppets by Keith Donohue is a backlist title that fits this one perfectly. How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix. The House of Small Shadows by Adam Nevill. The Doll Collection edited by Ellen Datlow. The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell.

This terrified my as much at THE NEST by Oppel. It's on that level. Enjoy!

[YSBR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creating truly scary but not gory horror for upper elementary and middle school readers is tough, but Ally Malinenko proves up to the challenge. Following the death of her beloved grandfather, 12-year-old Kaye, her little sister Holly, and their mom head to upstate New York for the summer to stay with the girls’ “Guncle” Stan as he renovates the family manse. Kaye mourns her grandfather’s passing and is experiencing selective mutism as she struggles with her grief, although she can speak to Holly. When the two excitedly tear through a local cheese festival, they stumble upon a mysterious magician who gives them a creepy porcelain doll bearing an uncanny resemblance to the younger sister. Soon after, Holly recruits Kaye to help her uncover two more dolls buried in the backyard, one a decapitated head with just a few strands of realistic hair clinging to its scalp. Although Holly begins whispering with the dolls and Kaye swears they can blink and even move, she has a hard time convincing her mom and uncle that anything is wrong. An ally emerges when Kaye befriends her neighbor Joey, a spirited, athletic redhead who believes her story and joins forces to fight the menacing horde. Malinenko cleverly weaves together her metaphors in a way that even young readers will appreciate. Kaye struggles to speak and the dolls, of course, are mute; the dolls are worn, chipped, and dirty while Kaye sees herself as broken. And the dolls are evil – is Kaye? She certainly feels bad about resisting Holly increasingly erratic demands as the little girl succumbs to the dolls’ malevolent control. 

Malinenko really knows how to build spooky set pieces. Initially, the creepy incidents occur at night, with Kaye isolated and frozen in place with terror. As the dolls multiply and gain confidence, they begin moving during the day, although only Kaye sees them. When she attends virtual therapy sessions to work on her mental health, something disrupts her Wi-Fi signal causing her therapist to glitch and appear like a creepy, jerky marionette on the screen.  A scene in which a seemingly benign Raggedy Ann torments Kaye hits especially hard, as does the mounting tension as Holly begins to mutter about finding the penultimate poppet – Miss Abyss. A flashback sends readers to the frightening 1919 flu epidemic to receive a brief but contextually plausible explanation of the supernatural events. The book owes a strong debt to Stephen King (a personal favorite), who contributed a blurb for the front cover! Characters cue as white. Link to complete review: https://ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2...

[Shanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book grabs you by the throat from the get-go. Every time you turn around, it’s finding new ways to creep you out, just like the dolls in the book. This one is atmospheric horror at its best and it packs a punch. See, Kaye and her family are all dealing with the loss of a family member. Kaye has taken the death of her grandfather particularly hard since he was one of her best friends and a person who understood her more than most.

That’s why, when Kaye’s mom takes her and her sister, Holly, down to Grandpa’s old house to help with renovations, Kaye is less-than-thrilled to go. Renovating the house and getting rid of Grandpa’s things just seems like her family is trying more and more to forget him. However, her mom thinks it’s a good idea because it could help Kaye with her mental health and it could be good for her to make new friends over the summer in a new town. One day, Kaye’s family convinces her to go to the carnival with Holly in hopes that she’ll have some fun. The rides are great, but Kaye can’t stop thinking about Grandpa. And when her sister wins a weird doll at the magician’s booth, Kaye gets a really bad feeling.

Soon, the feeling of dread that accompanied the doll at the carnival becomes something much more. Soon after the doll comes to the house, more dolls start to appear. And they aren’t friendly. Something sinister has arrived at Grandpa’s old place. As things start to get dangerous, Kaye wonders if she’s losing her mind. Dolls can’t hurt people, can they? Still, she worries about Holly and the effect the dolls have on her. There is no denying she’s changed and there’s no denying what Kaye has seen. But how will she convince anyone that what is happening is real if all they see are innocent little dolls?

This is first and foremost a book about family and the grieving process. The author wrote it while grieving the losses of her parents. Kaye’s pain (and everyone else’s) is evident on every page of this book. The author did a great job of really getting into the fears we have around death and how those impact others around us. The dolls are an effective and creepy way of showing how repressed feelings show up in our lives, especially when we lose a loved one. The dolls are about control. We want a way to control what happens in the future, but we can’t. In order to survive, we must learn to accept certain truths and somehow, keep going.

Having lost several people in my life, I related to this book so much and I am so glad it is here! Thank you, Ally, for writing this book.

#SpookyStories #Grief

[Chelsea]

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy

Broken Dolls by Ally Malinenko is a third person-POV Middle Grade horror. Since her grandfather's death, Kaye has been very withdrawn and has even stopped speaking in most situations. When she and her sister Holly go to the local fair and a man calling himself the Poppet Maker convinces them to play a game and awards them a doll, things start to get very strange very fast.

This book would have given me nightmares as a kid. My mom had this photo of a museum piece that included a doll and as a kid, at night, I was convinced I saw the doll’s head move to stare right at me. Even as an adult, I was still getting the heebie-jeebies because something about dolls moving is just unsettling at any age. That all being said, I didn't find anything in this book to be inappropriate for anyone over the age of ten and if a young reader really wants to get scared, this will probably do the trick.

A decent chunk of the book is about grief and how people mourn differently. Kaye takes her grandfather’s death exceptionally hard because they were so close but Holly, as far as Kaye is concerned, is doing fine. Part of that could be Holly’s age since she's only six and sometimes children that young don't fully comprehend death, which leads to Kaye feeling resentment. I thought this was very well-done and realistic for the age group as well as the ages of the characters.

Kaye is a bit more quiet and doesn't have a sarcastic or super strong voice like some readers might expect from an MG. She's a bit more distant and detached. Given the circumstances, I thought this was fine and I think MG should have a variety of voices for different kids to connect to. Her personality comes out more in how she counts numbers and in her interactions with others.

I would recommend this to young readers who want a scary book and can handle dolls coming alive and readers in the 9-12 range who are gravitating to shorter books

[Nikki Tucker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Broken Dolls is the kind of middle-grade horror novel that reminds you why stories have power—not just to scare, but to heal. Ally Malinenko has crafted a tale that balances goosebump-worthy chills with heart, grief, and an unforgettable exploration of what it means to be brave when your world feels broken.

At its heart, this is Kaye’s story. After losing her beloved grandfather, she is weighed down by grief and anxiety—feelings that are tenderly, authentically written. But when she and her sister discover eerie antique dolls in his old house, the line between reality and nightmare blurs. The dolls are not just creepy; they’re alive in ways that will have young readers wide-eyed and unable to turn off the light.

Malinenko masterfully weaves the supernatural with the emotional. The haunted dolls are terrifying in the best way, but they’re never just a gimmick. They’re symbols of Kaye’s inner struggles, embodying how grief and fear can twist into something monstrous if left unspoken. This makes the book both a spooky page-turner and a powerful meditation on mental health.

The prose is lyrical yet accessible, perfect for middle-grade readers who are ready to step into the darker corners of storytelling. The atmosphere is thick with unease, you can practically hear the dolls’ porcelain joints creak, but the warmth of sisterhood and love keeps the story grounded.

Broken Dolls proves that horror for young readers can be more than jump scares; it can hold space for big feelings, offer comfort through the fright, and remind us that even in the darkest rooms, light still exists. It’s haunting, heartfelt, and absolutely unforgettable.

A must-read for fans of middle-grade horror, haunted objects, or anyone who knows that the scariest stories are often the truest ones.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever since Kaye's grandfather died, she's been obsessed with counting things: the steps to her bedroom, the dolls on her sister's bed, even the threads on her favorite blanket. It's arithmomania, and with the selective mutism that sometimes prevents her from speaking, she literally can't find the words to talk about how she feels now that Grampa is gone. When they take the summer to clean out and renovate his old house, Kaye finds herself counting the days. At the Cheese Festival Kye and her Niger sister, Holly, meet a strange man who calls himself the Poppter Maker and what he makes. Kaye’s finds the dolls increasing aggression creates non-gory scares. Her younger sister, Holly, starts finding dolls. She finds them buried in the backyard, stuffed in the walls, crammed into the closets. From the first one, Kaye knows they aren't like normal dolls. They smile at her like they know something, and sometimes their eyes open and close on their own. Kaye hears her sister talking to them constantly—and she swears she's heard the dolls whispering back. Everyone assumes that Holly's just a kid with a good imagination. Kaye doesn't think it's a game, because she knows that Holly—and the dolls—are going to make her play with them. Forever? The answers are in an ancient diary and a villain’s flashback.

The novel is an excellent horror mystery. The story also touches on family, loneliness, courage, and how hard it is to start over somewhere new even though it is only for the summer. The story was exciting and mysterious. I could feel the dolls looking at me creepy and hear the whispers that I could not hear clearly. It gave me the shivers.

Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book from the author/pu

[John Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite a brilliant little work of fiction.

To preface, I haven't read mid-grade horror since highschool, so it took a bit of acclimating for me to get into the book. This is NOT the book's or the author's fault, merely my brain being out of practice for this reading level.

That said, the book is excellent, reminiscent of the old Fear Street and more harder-edged works of RL Stine.

What truly impressed me about the book is that despite its targeted audience, it bears within it the true essence of what makes Horror truly frightening, and stays with you; the horror of the human condition. True horror is not about scaring readers but giving readers the tools to scare themselves.

In the case of Broken Dolls, the true horror comes not from the spooky and creepy haunted Dolls. What sets it apart, especially in the subgenre of grief horror is that it focuses on the obstacles facing autistic and neurodivergent children as they try to navigate grief, loss, and trauma in seeming isolation, as frustrated parents look on, unsure of how to help or reach their child.

Ally does this quite effectively from the first scene, creating a sympathetic and vulnerable character that you can't help but want to protect, and fills you with helplessness as she tries to save her sister and herself, mirroring her own emotional state.

While these themes might be lost on kids who are just reading it for the creepy doll story, I absolutely would recommend this to adults, as I haven't felt an emotionally parental gut punch like this since Pet Sematary.
It's been a good long while since a kid's book made me think.

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ally Malinenko's latest middle grade book tackles the real life horror of dealing with grief along with the always classic haunted doll. This one hit pretty close to home because I had a very similar way of dealing with the sudden death of my own grandfather - Kaye retreats into what isn't named but is actually OCD. She counts things, sees a therapist, and is selectively mute. A change of pace is much needed for the family. Kaye goes to visit her amazing guncle and his boyfriend in her grandfather's old home with her mom and younger sister Holly in upstate New York for the summer. Things start getting a little weird when Holly wins a porcelain doll at a mysterious booth at the fair. Strange things start to happen when Holly starts conversing with the doll and finding more and more dolls hidden in the house in exceedingly creepier ways. Kaye is sure nobody will believe her when she starts seeing the dolls moving around and talking on their own. Can her new friend help her solve the mystery of the dolls before it's too late? Another thing that stood out to me about this book was a) Kaye knows that she likes boys and girls (again, I wish we could just put the label "Bi" on it but that's a whole other story) and b) Kaye's family is not religious so her struggle to deal with her grandfather's death is from a secular point of view. Her uncle's boyfriend David tells her about what his branch of Judaism says about the afterlife when Kaye asks and he also tells her about energy and how it cannot be created or destroyed, which helps her a bit. Highly recommend to horror fans of all ages!

[Lauren Yorks · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate to be that girl, but this wasn’t it. Not at all. I disliked a lot more than I did, and I was shocked. I’ve read Ghost Girl & This Appearing House, and they were impressive. Broken Dolls? Nope

The characters are bad, one way or another. The further we went, the less I liked Kaye. She gets more selfish, and little snippy and too impatient. I get her trying different coping skills, and feeling frustrated with her sister’s clinging. But we go too far in the other direction. The moment where the book totally lost me was here; when Kaye finds Abigail’s journal , confirming all her dreams with the dolls as real danger “let me go for a bike ride first” that’s the worst moment in the book. I also get Kaye’s grief is giving her selective mutism of sorts, but that’s also too much, considering there’s a legitimate threat in the house she won’t point out.

Which brings me to the parents , who dock the story another star in their own right. For a story about coping and grief, the adults in Kaye’s and Holly’s lives vanish out of the plot. They don’t contribute to the climax, they never find out about the dolls, or believe Kaye. On top of that, Mom doesn’t do much, and David? I feel like anything he did, you could’ve had the mom or Uncle Stan say. He doesn’t contribute ANYTHING plot relevant. The adults aren’t very likable , they held it back as a whole

The story is paced more like mystery than horror, something I didn’t enjoy either. Kaye keeps debating with herself if she’s hallucinating the dolls’ chaos which only burns time they could’ve better spent elsewhere. Especially because we the audience know the occurrences are real. The themes are good at times, I thought they just didn’t come together. Like Kaye listening to the naive adults instead of her gut. But when lives are at sakes, it made her feel like a moron after a while.

Two stars for me. Cannot recommend

[Stephanie Carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

**My thanks to HarperCollins Children’s Books for providing me with an advanced review copy via NetGalley**

4 stars

I quite liked This Appearing House and so was eager to see what Ally Malinenko came up with next for middle-grade horror; this spooky tale of malevolent dolls did not disappoint. Malinenko neatly balances the trials of growing up with the horror of discovering that your house is haunted by cursed, possibly possessed dolls.

Our protagonist, Kaye, is easy to root for. Kaye is struggling under the pressure to be a dutiful daughter to her mom and a responsible older sister to her little sister Holly; the pressure only compounds when her beloved grandfather and best friend in the whole world dies. Kaye feels like she’s being pushed to move on when her world has been rocked to its foundations, and renovating grandpa’s old house is just rubbing salt in the wound. But when Kaye finds her family under attack by an ever-growing contingent of not-quite-normal dolls, which seem to be targeting her increasingly uncooperative little sister Holly, she finds that she still has a life and family she wants to protect.

I really like how Malinenko is able to combine classic horror tropes with the already scary reality of being a young person, and how combatting the horror often requires working through the very real challenges of growing up. I think this book will be especially appreciated by any children or young adults struggling with grief or with their parents/peers not understanding their neurodivergence, and especially appropriate for older siblings.

[LL Garland · Rating 4 out of 5]

My rating: 4.5
Kaye has been struggling ever since her grandfather died, and spending the summer renovating his former house with her family isn’t likely to improve things. Kaye feels stuck in her grief while the rest of her family seems to have moved on. After her sister Holly wins a creepy doll from a strange magician, they begin to find more dolls hidden around the house – buried in the garden, hidden within the walls – almost as if someone didn’t want them to be found.
As Holly’s doll collection grows, so does Kaye’s discomfort. Kaye begins to doubt her senses when she sees the dolls blink, move, or speak. She tries to warn her mom and uncle, but they accuse her of making trouble. When Holly starts acting strangely, Kaye knows it’s up to her to protect her family from the creepy dolls and whatever they’ve got planned for her little sister.
Kaye’s struggles felt realistic and grounded, making the creepy moments all that more effective. Ally Malinenko does a masterful job of building dread, and there are quite a few good scares. Broken Dolls will have you watching porcelain dolls with suspicion. I would absolutely recommend Broken Dolls for any young reader who enjoys a good scare and a relatable heroine.
Thank you to Harper Collins Children’s and NetGalley for providing the e-arc for my honest review.

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Kaye Prescott has struggled since the death of her beloved grandfather, and her stress has manifested itself in arithromomania (needing to count objects) as well as some selective mutism. Her mother Deena takes Kaye and her younger sister Holly to spend the summer in the grandfather’s house, which is now owned by her Uncle Stan. He and his new boyfriend David are glad to have the girls there, and even take them to a local Cheese Festival in their town of Monroe, New York. There, Holly plays a game and wins an antique porcelain doll from the Poppet Maker. The doll looks eerily similar to Holly, and she even calls it “Holly-doll”. Their grandfather apparently collected dolls, so when Holly is insistent that they dig up the yard looking for “treasure”, it’s creepy but not surprising that they find two doll heads that Holly named Tamzin and Eudora. There is a neighbor girl, Joey, who befriends Kaye, and is patient with her quiet ways. She had a friend who lived in the house, and who said creepy things went on there; she had a breakdown and moved away with her family. As Holly finds more dolls, and as those dolls get stranger and stranger, Kaye becomes concerned and starts investigating. She finds a journal that belonged to Joey’s friend, and it talks about the dolls “taking over”. Kaye’s mother and uncle don’t seem to notice the growing number of dolls, or Holly’s odd behavior. Uncle Stan is doing renovations on the house, and they turn up a secret room, where there is a picture of the Poppet Maker… from the early 1900s! Kaye is alarmed to learn the history of the Poppet Maker, but it does explain why her sister seems to be turning into a doll. Kaye, who still thinks about her grandfather and can’t get over his loss, wants her sister to live forever, but has this wish been misinterpreted? Is it too late to save Holly?
Strengths: The Poppet Maker had an interesting historical background that gave a lot of depth to this story, which had plenty of horrific moments as well. Tying in the 1919 flu epidemic with Kaye’s fear of death was rather brilliant. Being at her grandfather’s house probably made dealing with his death more difficult, but she was seeing a therapist virtually, and Dr. Shante helps her process some of her emotions and reactions. Holly’s obsession with dolls is laughed off by the adults, who claim that it’s perfectly normal behavior for a six year old to have a fantasy world surrounding her dolls, so of course Kaye is the only one who can save her sister. I was glad to see that Kaye was able to befriend Joey, and the two could work together on the mystery.
Weaknesses: Malinenko’s lyrical writing often combines creepiness with allegory and mental health issues, and my students seem to prefer straight, cheesy horror like the works of K.R. Alexander or Chris Krovatin. Creepy dolls are something people either like or will absolutely not touch, so decide what is best for your library collection. I won't be buying this.
What I really think: There have been so many books about creepy dolls since Hahn’s 1989 The Doll in the Garden that I was surprised the book description didn’t reference a newer title. Readers who are fond of this author’s work will want to pick up this title, and add it to a “creepy doll” story collection that includes Sutherland’s Night of the Living Dolls, Mott’s Hush-a-Bye, Ford’s The Headless Doll, Alexander’s Speak for Me, Cohen’s The Doll’s Eye, and Bell’s Frozen Charlotte.
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[jlynmac · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this middle grade horror book. 😮‍💨 Creepy dolls have always fascinated me, and this cover? Unbelievable!

Without giving any spoilers away, please note that this book is just as heavy on grief as it is horror. Our fmc Kaye struggles a lot, and the author did a great job slowly releasing her pain and dread throughout the story. I could feel it..so life like.

For someone like me, who has had a lot of loss and loves horror, this was the perfect mash-up.

I, too, lost a very important person in my life around the same age Kaye did. The struggle of coming to terms with that and the emotional damage of coping of such a tremendous loss at that age is terrifying enough. Therefore, when adding the horror element of dolls, it magnifies the story, leaving anyone who has ever been down that road of heartbreak utterly engrossed in the pages with true fear.

This book reminded me of one of my favorite episodes of Are You Afraid of the Dark, "The Tale of the Dollmaker" only with much more heart and depth. What a story from a new to me author! Perfect for spooky season that's quickly approaching. 5✨️

👇🏻 This line had me choked up 👇🏻

"They wouldn’t even know she was broken because they wouldn’t compare her to her old self."

Thanks for this e-galley @netgalley @harpercollinschin @allymalinenko ~ pick it up on September 30th! 🩷📗🛍

[Merri Cash · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is why I’ve always been afraid of dolls. From the time I was first introduced to Chucky in Child’s Play, I was horrified that my own dolls would come to life. This story definitely plays in to that ever present fear I’ve carried with me since a child. It follows Kaye and her younger sister, Holly, as they spend the summer with their mother and uncle. After recently losing their grandfather, the children navigate a terrifying maze of loss and living dolls. This book has some legitimately scary moments in it that made me almost not want to turn the page. Ally Malinenko uses grief to amplify the trauma and horror of the story. As someone who lost a very important grandparent at around Kaye’s age, I related to her in a way that I, usually, do not to most literary characters. The emotions, guilt, anger, and especially fear that she felt were very familiar. Now, if I’d had to experience that and deal with living dolls, I don’t know that I would have survived. This book is a great read for YA readers that is sprinkled with life lessons among all the chaos and terror. The descriptions and details of the dolls as they get scarier throughout the story is disturbing, to say the least. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a great book to introduce children to the genre of horror. And, who knows? It might even scare the adults too!

[Spring (Infinite Ink Society) · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️¼ – Broken Dolls by Ally Malinenko

Spoiler-Free Blurb:
Kaye’s summer should’ve just been about dust, grief, and maybe some family bickering. Instead? The house coughs up dolls with cracked faces, eyes that don’t stay shut, and whispers that don’t respect personal space 🪆👀. Toss in a magician who clearly missed the “entertain children, not traumatize them” memo 🎩✨, and you’ve got a middle grade horror that’s tailor-made for brave kids (and adults still side-eyeing their toy chests).

My Review:
Creepy dolls? Check. Emotional gut-punch? Check. Anxiety and grief mixed with supernatural chaos? Double check ✅. Honestly, this feels like Goosebumps’ creepier cousin who showed up at the sleepover uninvited and stole all the snacks 🍕👻.

The first half pulled me in fast — unsettling and eerie in the best way. But the middle sagged just enough that I worried the target audience might wander off to make slime videos before the dolls started acting up again 🧪📱. Thankfully, the ending stitched it back together (stitched… get it? dolls… okay, I’ll see myself out 🪡😈).

Overall? It’s exactly what middle grade horror should be: spooky but safe, emotional but not preachy, and just enough nightmare fuel to keep your dolls locked in the attic forever. Sorry Barbie, you’re banished 🪆🔒.

🩸 4.25 stars — perfect for haunted kids and the adults who secretly still sleep with one light on.

[Sacha · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

The cover got me, and I was not disappointed. Don't let the middle grade audience fool you. This is creepy for all ages (though, to be clear, ENTIRELY age appropriate for its target population).

When Kaye's grandfather dies, her grief manifests in several ways, but her mom is extra concerned about Kaye's selective mutism. This new development lands Kaye in therapy and it earns her some extra careful supervision when she joins her mom and little sister, Holly, to meet their uncle and his boyfriend at their grandfather's former home in upstate New York. You know who was NOT invited to this family gathering? A whole collective of terrifying dolls. They invite themselves.

I enjoyed so much about this. It's an authentic but creative approach to grief in young people, the conversations around mental health are meaningful, and the horror element is top notch. I did want a little more character exploration at the end, but for the genre, this is also well articulated.

This was a wild one in a good way, and many folks will find this useful in addition to being highly entertaining.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for this arc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.