Curse of the Dead-Eyed Doll

by Thomas Kingsley Troupe

[Charli G.]

I don’t normally read middle grade fiction, but when a book is marketed as both middle grade and horror, I give it a read. I’m happy to say that Curse of the Dead-Eyed Doll is a great example of both genres.

Now you might be thinking “How scary can middle grade horror be?” and from an adult perspective, you’re quite right! To an adult, middle grade horror isn’t going to be scary. But to a child in the middle grade reading level, it could be quite scary.

I actually found the book to be quite creepy. Were the things in it believable? Probably not. At least not if you’re someone who watches a lot of shows like A Haunting, Haunted Hospitals, or Paranormal 911. But not everything needs to be realistic to be scary. If it did, we wouldn’t have horror films, now would we?

I found the story to be well-written for the age group it is intended for. There aren’t big words middle grade readers won’t understand. The book also isn’t scary enough to cause nightmares unless your child is particularly sensitive.

The only issue I had was Al’s dad just isn’t a believable parental figure. He just doesn’t strike me as a real parent. Some of the things he does just don’t add up. You’ll see what I mean if you read the book before letting your child read it.

I think this is a great introduction to the world of horror for middle grade readers. It isn’t so scary as to cause a nightmare but it isn’t bland either. It’s a perfect mix of middle grade and horror.

***I received a copy of this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are 100% my own.***