Thank you to Flux publishing and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this book.

I found this to be a little cheesy and middle grade might feel that way too but it's still a good scary story for middle grade. I really liked that it was based off Robert The Doll. Especially since he is real and even scares adults! That fact is bound to give a fright! There's also a lesson to be learned which is you should be nice to people (and things, even dolls).

Have you ever had a really, really bad day where everything (I mean EVERYTHING) went wrong? Al is having that probem. Is it just lack of sleep? Is it just the weather? Is it just because "Robert Did It?"
Curse of the Dead-Eyed Doll was a quick, easy and enjoyable read centered on the infamous and very real Robert the Doll and a fictional account of a middle-schooler who didn't pay Robert the respect he demands.
#CurseoftheDead-EyedDoll #netgalley

Having recently heard the story of Robert the Doll, I was intrigued by this book. I will also admit that I am a sucker for a creepy looking cover. Overall, I liked the cover better than I liked the book. I will say that it stayed at a nice middle grade reading level that is often hard to find in horror fiction other than Goosebumps. It was not too scary and I can see kids who like a milder form of horror getting into it. I think I was just missing the feeling of foreboding that you get from many horror novels, even those written for kids. I also got tired of all of the repeated arguments over whether the curse was real or not. Still, you can't go wrong with a creepy doll, and I can see how some kids would like it, especially with the pictures to give it some of the creepy feeling that the text overall lacked. It was fine, but not exceptional.

So! NetGalley and Jolly Fish Press were kind enough to let me receive an arc of this book for an honest review, and I was so excited to read about my favorite thing — spooky stuff — I dove right in.

When the book begins, I immediately got the feeling I was reading one of my treasured Goosebumps books, except this time it was about a haunted doll that I knew the history of. Being a past paranormal investigator, and currently constantly researching the paranormal, I was curious how the topic of good ‘ol Robert would be handled.

Quite well, and I was surprised!

The facts were well researched and true, even down to the letters people will send to Robert: deaths, divorces, losing money, home... all of this stuff does truly happen if you do not ask Robert for his permission to take his photo. And when Al didn’t ask, and insulted Robert on top of that? Even *I* wanted to yell at him. I knew it would be bad.

As Al goes through the curse of Robert the Doll, he spends so much time convincing himself all of it is fake; all of that is time wasted considering Al continues to face more and more trouble.

Overall, this was a fantastic elementary to middle grade book for kids who were like me, looking for a fantastic ghost story to follow up on later. Super creepy, and I’d suggest it to the younger ones in my life!

Curse of the Dead-Eyed Doll was a quick, mildly creepy read. The illustrations of the doll, though only in black and white, are pleasingly unsettling. This is a book aimed at middle-graders and kept solidly in that age range in pace of story, vocabulary, and content. I would have no problem letting my 10-year-old read it.


At the age that this book is meant for there is a belief that anything is possible, so the potential to be truly creeped out is a good bit higher than it is for adults.

I was happy to see that the protagonist was Hispanic, because representation is so important. I was equally disappointed to see that other than the name and depiction of darker skin in the illustrations the representation was absent. Still, it's not another Caucasian leading the story, so that's something.


This is my first read from Thomas Kingsley Troupe. I would be happy to read further work from him in the future.

*thank you to Netgalley and Flux Jolly Fish Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

4 stars.

Such a great, spooky and creepy MG read! It reminds me of the Goosebumps series by R.L. Shine that I use to absolutely LOVE when I was a kid. This is my second novel by this author and once again I am impressed. I think it's a wonderful introduction to the real life story of the famous haunted doll, "Robert the Doll." I can see this as making a great series and I would definitely give this a recommendation to everyone who likes the description of the story.

A delightfully entertaining reading experience, THE CURSE OF THE DEAD-EYED DOLL is aimed at middle-grade readers, but I found it quite enjoyable too. Based on an actual doll and actual events, the story focuses on an eighth grade class' trip to a Key West museum, and the odd doll kept there. Superstition floats around Robert the Doll, but 13-year-old Al refuses to believe--until a series of mishaps ranging from aggravating to scary make his life a misery.

I found empathising with the characters very easy, and the plot was tricky and intriguing. The contrast of belief in the superstitions and the skepticism of others was well-delineated and realistically balanced.