Thank you all for your incredibly helpful suggestions. Sometimes I don't say anything about having such a remarkably pleasant group of readers here, for fear of jinxing it (I'm mature and reasonable that way), but it must be said: You are all quite wonderful.

And since you all recommended Doll Bones to me, I went out to my local library, which was very helpful, having three (!) copies in stock. I borrowed it and read it right away, pausing only because the dastardly Chestnut filched it from me.

What a lovely book it is! Told from the point of view of the boy in a trio of friends (two girls, one boy), it is spooky and heartfelt and it represents oh so clearly the muddled, conflicted, joyful, fearful state of being in 7th grade and being pulled in a million directions, not knowing who you really are yet, not being quite ready to grow up but here it comes anyway. And it's scary, but not terrifying, more creepy than outright horror. As with so many books, the age of the protagonists seems about three years older than the age of the ideal readers—or maybe that's just my vision?—but it's sweet and, more important, it seemed to thrum with truthfulness: the jealousy towards the kid whose parents never clean the house, the constant conflict among the friends, the wish, so painful and poignant, for magic to be real.

Anyway, this book is another thing to thank you all for. And for those of you who have readers in the house, or awaiting you at holiday gatherings, this is an excellent thing to bring them.