When the Dolls Woke

When the Dolls Woke #2

by Marjorie Filley Stover

Children's

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Fiction, Mystery, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Kids

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Dolls Come To Life plot was a literary...lodestar of my youth. If there was a book in which any humanoid-shaped toys became reanimated, you can bet I fucking read it. And fortunately there were a shit ton of them.

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Following on from Midnight in the dollhouse this story skips forward in time about 100 years to a time when the doll's house is passed on to a descendant of the original owner. A mystery is solved again and treasure is found.

A 3.5 star book, my daughter said that this was an okay book, but I think it would appeal more to younger children, under 8 yrs perhaps. We did find it annoying how many times the author used the term 'vapours', we are not really sure what this means other than feelings ? Papa's vapours rose merrily, dipped and swirled, churned, frothed, and many other actions on nearly every page, it did become tiring, although we have had fun the last few days slipping the word 'vapours' into conversation!

This is an enjoyable book for young children who like dolls, doll's houses and treasure hunting.

[Stephanie A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wish fulfillment at its finest for any age: a young girl inherits an antique dollhouse passed down through generations, which just may happen to contain a treasure, and definitely contains a family of dolls who can move about when no one is looking and have long memories of the house's history and all its former owners. Along with the treasure mystery, there are nothing short of exquisite descriptions of the dollhouse's magnificent and intricately detailed furnishings. I haven't read this since elementary school, but the minute I saw the title it stirred up a rush of giddy nostalgia, and I'm pleased to discover upon rereading it that it is every bit as wonderful and cherished as I remember.

[Shelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jennie and I got to talking about books we'd loved as kids and we both remembered this one - although all we could recall was a doll family, one of which was from Martinique. A few google searches later and we had the title. A few days later, I had a copy - thanks ILL! I loved this book SO MUCH - and I still do. Come on, Christmas, history, family trees and lore, dolls and adventure. It's still stuff I love. I was so jealous of this dollhouse and Aunt Abby and how they decorated everything. Not to mention the dolls that could think for themselves, live their own lives outside and inside the parameters set by whatever little girl owned them, and go on adventures like getting their own Christmas tree and solving a century long mystery of a treasure in the dollhouse. <3

What I don't like is that the original owner was called "Lame Melissa" all the time, and the resolution for Martinique sucked. But still...pretty doll house. Christmas. Adventure.

Originally read 1989.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The dollhouse was built in 1890 by Captain Vance for his lame sister. It's current owner, 90 year-old Abby, decides to give it to her namesake, her great great niece Gail (both were named Abigail). The dolls who live in the dollhouse can think and hear. Abby has no money to move to a retirement home. The doll, Sir Gregory, has a vague memory of Captain Vance long ago telling him to keep a secret until a time when his daughter Abby is in trouble. And Gail is certain that there is a fortune hidden in the dollhouse. This is a nice imaginative story for middle grade readers.

[Courtney Perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a rare find, I loved it!

[Kat · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you really loved Midnight in the Dollhouse...maybe consider not reading this one. I was so excited to find out one of my favorite childhood books had a sequel, and so let down by it. It’s like the literary equivalent of “never meet your heroes.”

On the first page you see a family tree and find out Melissa, the main character of the first book, never married and has died. It also is upsetting that, while in the first book they try to tell Melissa that her limp won’t matter, in this one they refer to her repeatedly as “lame Melissa.” And beloved Vance and Rosemary have also passed on.

You also learn about a terrible plane crash that took the lives of many in the family, which is barely relevant to the story. Basically it only serves to be the reason Abby gives the Dollhouse to her niece and namesake instead of a grandchild. And why, for heaven’s sake, did we need to have a character marry their second cousin; again, not really relevant to the story?

As for the dolls... Martinique has turned into a bitter grump, although she does get redeemed. And while it is what would happen, it’s very sad to read about how the dolls have been abused (torn dirty clothes, matted and cut hair). Again, they get fixed up, but it just seems to take away so much of the magic.

From the very beginning, I expected the gold coin that Melissa got at the end of the first book to be the treasure they found in the fireplace, so that was a nice surprise that it wasn’t. The author had emphasized in Midnight that it was smaller than a dime.

I guess I just wanted a more magical and joyful story than a truthful one of age and decay.

[Kelsey Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even more charming than I remembered.

[Juliet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVED this book as a kid but couldn’t for the life of me remember the name as I got older. So glad to have found it here. It’s been long enough since I read it that I don’t know if I can give it the full five stars for something I’d recommend now (I’ll update this if I can get my hands on it), but it was imaginative and charming and I remember it had a sense of tension regarding a 100-year-old mystery that, looking back, I’m pretty impressed by.

[Lydia E Winters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another blast from the past. Apparently this book was written a few years before the other, I never knew that. I think Midnight in the Dollhouse is the better book, but this one was fun too, although it's a bit sad to find out what happened to Melissa, Vance, and Rosemary. Makes me want to pull out my old dollhouse stuff.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't give away spoilers in my reviews. I often read young adult and will read any children's book about dollhouses.
When the Dolls Woke was a fast read and was creative. The dollhouse was passed down through generations and held a secret only the dolls knew. I thought it was well written and a cute little mystery.

[Sharyl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a childhood fever dream that I reread multiple times. Who doesn't want an ancient dollhouse where the dolls are secretly alive and guarding a hidden treasure?

I had no idea this book was a sequel. I have no idea if this book would hold up to my adult expectations. Mom donated/tossed my copy when I got "too old" for kid's books and it's no longer in print.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

No doubt if I were still a young school child (RL4), I would have given this at least a 4-star rating. Rather dated for today's elementary kids, but perhaps that makes it a more valuable read for children nowadays.

[LuAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun story—enchanting, not spooky with a bit of character development. I foresaw a logical ending that would suit all the characters, and though the author didn’t carry the story that far, I’ll pretend that’s what happens!

[Adriana Bosma · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great and easy to read book!

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story with a little mystery.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read.

[Abigail · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not impressed. I get it's fantasy, and the concept was cute, but when you start getting into telepathy and voodoo, I'm not impressed.

[Marama · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a kid, I found this to be a lovely book to read. Intriguing, and I found each of the doll's characters to be very interesting (particularly Martinique).
A good children's book.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young girl receives an antique dollhouse from her great aunt that may hold hidden treasure. The dolls come awake and help her find it.

I remember loving this book as kid and so I decided to reread it. I loved my dollhouse as a child and I remember being enchanted by the idea that the dolls would come awake when people weren't looking. I still find the story charming, but now as an adult I can see that there are things that could be considered problematic. There is a disabled person referred to as "lame Melissa," which wouldn't exactly be PC today. There is also a doll who is from the french Islands with dark skin who practices Voodoo and is portrayed as mysterious and scary to start. As I did not pick up on these as a kid and just remembered the charming aspects, I think these can be forgiven or just maybe have a conversation about them.

[JoAryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't remember quite what age I was when I read this book, but I think I was about ten or so. The fact that my father actually had built a dollhouse for my sister and me back when I was four or five probably helped seal my interest in the story. Even now, nearly 30 years later, I remember the inscription that helped solve the mystery of the dollhouse:

"Build stone by stone" our motto dear;
Keep faith and seek thy fortune here.

Since it's been a while, I can't really speak to how well the story may stand up to modern sensibilities, but I remember it as having good pacing and feeling relatively imaginative and original.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book, and the prequel, Midnight in the Dollhouse over and over when I was younger. I hadn't thought about them in years, and I found this one on accident in a used book store and was estatic! Now, I just need the other one... But I loved them!

Read more about my thoughts, feelings and memories of this book on my blog, Books from Bleh to Basically Amazing.

[Bunny · Rating 3 out of 5]

This feels extremely familiar, but I can't say 100% I read this as a child. Midnight in the Dollhouse, the other book by Marjorie Filley Stover, sounds extremely familiar. If I recall correctly, the girl had one leg longer than the other because of her accident. There can't be more than one series involving the plot, right?

I do know I read a book about a dollhouse come to life, and it made me want a dollhouse with miniature furniture SO BAD. I've never quite gotten over that.

[Micaela · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only thing i did not like about this book was the vodoo they tried to incorporate into the book. Otherwise, the plot, characters, settings, and conflict were both interesting and believable (for being about dolls, of course ;) )

[Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am pretty sure that reading this book as a kid started my obsession with miniatures and dollhouses! I loved reading about the dolls' history and Abigail and Gail's family tree. The description of the antique dollhouse and its details is purely magical! This is one of my favorite childhood books.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a nice memory of reading this out loud to my Mom on a really long car trip. Very sweet story, and motivated me to get a dollhouse (although I never did much with it)!

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would the dolls tell Gail their secret?

[Dina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book and this author!! Very creative story and a fulfilling quick read! I love the hidden treasure aspect of this story! I'm interested in finding more books by this author.

[Amanda B · Rating 4 out of 5]

A favorite from childhood.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute story for girls about eight or nine years old. I will have to save this for my grand daughters.

It has themes of friendship, kindness, honor, and helping others.