Ella has never known a life outside of the professor's attic. She loves trees, painting, and, most of all, to dance. Ella is also a doll who, the professor says, was once human. The professor dresses her in a new tutu everyday, and her life, while limited, is happy. Then the professor introduces her to another doll named Lisa. Lisa is not happy. Lisa is quite possibly crazy ad tries to kill Ella. Lisa runs away from the attic and discovers secrets about the professor, secrets that make Ella question everything about her existence. She also begins to wonder if the professor is really a gentle man that wants to help those that are broken, or if he is a mad man that turns girls into dolls for fun.
The concept of this novel is very unique. While wild cures for terminal diseases have definitely been written before, a transference of consciousness while the body heals was something new for me. The professor has to wipe the dolls' memories clean so the stress of their memories doesn't hinder their human body's ability to heal. This complicates things. Some dolls, like Lisa, remember just enough of their old lives to resent their dollness. Others are maddened by the transformation and have to be deactivated. The author gave each doll a unique activation experience and backstory. The reader cares about all of them, even Lisa.
I think the most interesting twist came when I realized I didn't like the protagonist. At all. When she is a doll, Ella is lovely, but as a human she's selfish and hateful. It isn't often that a book makes me dislike the narrator this much. Kudos to Puxty for making the transition so gradual that I didn't even realize how my feelings had changed until I had nearly reached the end of the book.
With a cast of very interesting characters, some real, some less human, and a very unique concept, Broken Dolls is a captivating read. Four out of five stars.
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