(I am the author of "The Porcelain Doll" and I am posting this review sent to me by Coralie McCormick, who previewed my book before final editing. I have removed spoilers but it is, otherwise, as it was recieved.)

At first, I have to admit that this story had me a bit confused. The anachronistic modern-day expressions that peppered the language were coming from a seemingly primitive/historical group. It was disorienting, but as I read I came to realize that this was entirely deliberate. The juxtapositions and incongruities of this story are all very effective literary devices to unmoor the reader, by confounding the easy assumptions readers are all prone to make. As I read more and understood the reasoning behind this dissonance, I was intrigued rather than confused.

What is clear is that some human-generated apocalyptic event had taken place, but what happened was left deliberately vague. I came to realize these details were omitted because they really didn’t matter because why/what/how was so irrelevant to the tribe and Doll. The tribe’s story seemed to parallel what had happened at that time so long ago. Various war artifacts littered the landscape, grimly put to use by similarly minded people, highlighting these eerie parallels.

Of course, everyone (including Doll) seemed like customers lingering too long after last call at a bar. The party was long over, and everything wanted to shut down.

As they faced the pitfalls and hazards of their journey, I found that Parker, Daniel, Ish, and the others had come to embody all that was great about humanity. They faced their trials bravely without sacrificing their values, while people like Prescott have done in the name of expedience and survival. The value that the tribe places in camaraderie and children remains intact when they meet tragedy. Even the challenge from the obviously volatile Emre leaves the solidarity of the tribe intact.

Everyone cooperating and making sacrifices for the good of the group.

It seems somehow right/predestined that something like Doll would end up with this group, herself and her survival is an artifact of the most ennobling aspects of humanity; she is a crystallization of a society’s dreaming that has mutely endured the demise of that society itself. She’s very powerful, very moving, (literary) device. A ‘living’ fossil transformed by the tragedy that has befallen her caregiver and the tribe.

It was very a very engaging story, almost hypnotic. There is a definitive, powerful momentum to it. However, it’s the dangerous momentum of a herd headed for a cliff. The whole story seemed spooky somehow, haunted by the many ghosts of the previous civilization (as embodied by Doll).

The primitive way they spoke, the names, the setting, and the characters were all very strong. I felt like I was a part of that landscape, and that place/those characters were all vivid and alive. It was a great read, a story that refused to fall into the literary stereotypes from beginning to end.