China Doll By Ginger Mann...A Review

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The following is a review of the second story in the upcoming Shades And Shadows Paranormal Anthology, to be released Halloween Day, 2013 from Xchyler Publishing. There are nine short stories focused on the paranormal, as well as a forward by the multi-talented Ben Hansen of SyFy Channel's Fact or Faked. This story in the anthology is titled China Doll, by Ginger Mann.

The second story in this paranormal anthology differs greatly from the first. Where the first focused on creepy things going "bump" in the night, China Doll takes another path. It's a more cerebral. Mann introduces us to the item after which the story's named, and Kris, the owner of the precious doll. 

I suppose the picture I've used on this blog post is a small spoiler alert, and I apologize for that, but the doll is a device Mann uses to develop a strong central character in Kris. We see life through the eyes of a young girl who loses the one thing she loves more than anything in life. We feel her joy, her pain, the choices she must make. The story is well-paced and the chapter breaks move the story along. When I finished I was surprised at how quickly I read through the entire thing.

China Doll takes its reader on a journey where family love, a child's heartache, and magic take center stage. The ending allowed my mind to explore the possibilities. Ginger Mann did a great job on a sweet and sometimes sad story.

* Photo Saving Face, by Amy Haskins used without permission from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/91571659@N03/8394028863/in/photolist-dMKAkz-5HLSCJ-5CZzcj-dWMd6k-7V6W8W-qWqKZ-8LDmBi-5QZ8vm-6qE612-5FAB67-WaSmN-5e2FCH-bEeg1r-6jJAs2-cDj14G-unMk-dguyrz-7HSPYt-ekHriW-7HSP3K-bp8oaR-4YsRQy-7M6Prm-72jyj7-dRDyJw-8GaPen-8GdZt3-8GaPoc-9oQCtg-9gHKYP-9p7b4h-brjrKJ-eqowVP-6t8Qrc-6tcYoG-6vGUL-Jezav-fsEtH7-3RLNYb-eABkCY-8jYWP-e1cUMR-68Uitg-6tcYw7-2CvAJ7-dXFZfa-uTvKG-7BFw2P-bYMPPN-9pg48r-bbDNjK?reg=1&src=sharev3#