Lost on Doll Island

Ramos-Gomez, Cassandra. Lost on Doll Island
August 26, 2025 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Diego would rather be at home in Texas, but his parents are trying to work out their marital problems, and have sent him to live with his Tia Maria and Tio Tony in Mexico City. He has made himself at home, and even walks around the city, even visiting a creepy antiques store run by a woman, Ximena, who knows his name even though he hasn't told her. His school has a class trip to Isla de las Munecas, and he becomes obsessed by the idea of the Wishing Doll. If he could sneak away and find the doll to make a wish, he could be back home with his parents. He partners with classmates Itzel and Jandro on the trip, and the three decide to sneak onto the boat of the caretaker, Don Jamie, to see if they can travel to a further island where the Wishing Doll is probably located. Don Jamie is NOT happy to find them, and takes them to his house, where they meet his sister... who is the same woman whom Diego had met at the antiques store. They explain that the kids can't go wandering around because it is too dangerous. They can't take the kids back right away, so Diego and his new friends snoop around, finding newspapers from the 1990s, and hearing a warning from a doll in a trunk that they should leave. They need to beark three Hechizos (spells) to set the doll free. Diego thinks this is a good idea,  but the three end up in all sorts of predicaments, including getting caught in the nest of a man eating spider and almost drowing in a blood red river. Jamie and Ximena tell the children that they should not fee the doll, but he doesn't trust them and feels that they want to keep the wishes for themselves. Eventually, Diego finds the doll, who demands to be freed. Of course, this doesn't go the way that Diego expects it to go, but the children manage to escape. Or do they?
Strengths: Dolls are frightening. And an entire island of dolls hung in trees, rotting in the humid climate, terrifying. Isla de las Munecas is a real place, and the books gives a short history of it, and it's a great setting for a horror book. Diego's obsessions with making a wish so that he can go back home to Texas will resonate more with younger readers, but I did enjoy the fact that his two new friends were more than happy to help him out in his somewhat misguided attempts to find the wishing doll. The plot moves quickly, and all of the descriptions of the creepy island and dolls will appeal to readers who liked Mott's Hush-a-Bye,  Alexander's The Collector, or Acevedo's The Curse of Spectacle Key. 
Weaknesses: I'm not sure the cover will attract many readers. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like creepy tales like Averling's The Ghosts of Bitterfly Bay , Bourne's Nightmare Island, or Howard's Bumps in the Night. 

A 6th grader wanted a book with a chocolate chip cookie recipe, but none were available. I wrote down my own recipe on an index card, and we chatted about cookie strategies. She brought me this masterpiece. Now, I want to travel back to 1952 and teach home ec with a friend, who rightly pointed out that I would do much better at the sewing classes, due to my lack of attention to detail. 

One thing I REALLY don't want to do, however, is to have games in the library. There was quite a thread on Bluesky about it, and yesterday there were e mails from other librarians about "calming stations". In my ancient mind, both entertainment and calm are best acquired, in an academic setting, by READING BOOKS. That's why I have a library collection. If people want Legos and fidgets, that's a home thing. 

I know the push now is for social emotional learning and... all the things. I'm sticking with books. 

Wanted to post this on social media, but felt I would get rude feedback. Very few people read my blog, but please be nice if you disagree. I hate games even more than I hate reading aloud! And the minute I have a bucket of Legos in the library, someone will throw up in it!