The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book
Neil Gaiman
Published by Harper Collins, 2008; ISBN 0060530928
Recommended reading age: 12 and up

Summary:
One night, a toddler was meant to be murdered. But while three other murders went as planned, the toddler managed to escape. So it came to be that a baby took up residence in a graveyard. Orphaned and friendless, the graveyard’s ghosts christen him “Nobody Owens,” Bod for short, and take care of him. And this is where the comparisons to The Jungle Book come in: Bod is raised away from human society, learns lessons about living from ghosts rather than people, and must eventually confront his demons in the real world. It’s a classic coming-of-age story sprinkled with ghosts, murderers, and crazy, fantastic humor.

Review:
I was actually not the biggest fan of Coraline. I wanted to be! After all, I’m a big fan of sci-fi, fantasy, and children’s literature, and I can appreciate dark humor. But I found Coraline to be somewhat thin and unsatisfactory. This time around, Gaiman’s done a much better job. He finally found his grove in children’s literature, and creates a wonderfully dynamic world in the graveyard. Bod feels realistic, both in his actions and mistakes, and the premise manages to feel believable despite its insanity. I can’t imagine anyone picking up The Graveyard Book and putting it down disappointed. I’d pretty much recommend this to anyone, but particularly to Gaiman fans, fans of the macabre, older readers who still like kids’ books, and fantasy fans in general.