Middle-Grade Review: The Headless Doll (Mike Ford)

Jen’s parents send her to her Aunt Liv for the summer while they’re busy working. Liv designs realistic art dolls and also runs a doll hospital in a small island town in Maine. On the ferry over, Jen meets Joe, who lives on the mainland, but visits his uncle, who runs a restaurant. Joe tells Jen that the only other kid on the island is Maddie, and she’s a bit of a character. Jen is charmed by her aunt’s house, which was owned in the early 1800s by Captain Pratchett, but a little creeped out by the dolls, especially when she finds a stray fake eye in her dresser! Things get even weirder when Liv’s doll workshop has items moved around in it. Joe tells Jen the story of Pearl Pratchett, who was waiting for her father to come back from sea, and after the ship was wrecked, found the body of the doll he was bringing home to her… but not it’s head. There is also something going on with Aunt Liv; she is stressed, and there seems to be money problems. Some of these are due to the evil plans of Chester McKiser, who wants to buy up properties on the island and open a hotel. Jen has met Maddie, who is standoffish at first, but then wants to befriend her, but only because she is spying for Chester, who is her uncle. When the head of a doll ends up in a lobster trap, it looks like the one in the portrait of Pearl still hanging in Liv’s house. Since Jen has heard creepy singing and felt the presence of Pearl, she takes this as a sign that Pearl’s ghost needs her help to move on. She’s hanging out with Maddie, even though she overheard Maddie talking to her uncle, and actually likes the girl. Will Jen be able to put Pearl’s ghost to rest but also save her aunt’s property from being sold?