A Little Dark For a Children's Book, But a Really Good Read!

books:

	• The Graveyard Book Neil Gaiman HarperCollins, 2008 - 320 pages average customer review:based on 363 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book
By Neil Galman

Publisher:HarperCollins
# of Pages:307
Age Rating:+12
My Rating: 4 Stars

Synopsis:
Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy.

He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a sprawling graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead.

There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a boy-an ancient Indigo Man beneath the hill, a gateway to a desert leading to an abandoned city of ghouls, the strange and terrible menace of the Sleer.

But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under attack from the man Jack--who has already killed Bod's family...

Beloved master storyteller Neil Gaiman returns with a luminous new novel for the audience that embraced his New York Times bestselling modern classic Coraline. Magical, terrifying, and filled with breathtaking adventures, the graveyard book is sure to enthrall readers of all ages.

Review:
The first Neil Galman's books that I read was Coraline and I LOVE it so much that when I saw that Neil Galman had more books, I just had to get one to see if it was good as Coraline. Coraline is still my top favorite Neil Galman's books but I really,really like The Graveyard Book. People who like their stores to be neat and in order will not like this book as much because this book is kind of loose and easy, fun and random, what ever you want to call it.
I really like Bod, he was the kind of boy that makes you want to help him and cheer him on even when he makes mistakes, you still want to help him and not yell at him so something.
The plot was a very fun idea, being raised by the ghosts in the graveyard (most of them are nice) but I wish that author had more of the "Jacks" in the book, it would have been nice to know more about them.
This book is amazing, it's a easy read,
I give it 4 stars.

Enjoy! :D:D:D

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A Little Dark For a Children's Book, But a Really Good Read!

I somehow was locked in a closet and had never even heard of this book before it won the Newbery. So yes, I hopped on the Newbery Band-wagon and checked it out from the library.

I was going to read it with my 7 year-old originally, but when I skimmed the first chapter and we open with the murder of an entire family, excluding a toddler who wanders into a graveyard, I decided this one would be a solo read. The grade level is list as 5th and up. I think that is pretty appropriate, not based on reading level, but subject matter. I was thinking about what genre this would fall into and decided the it needs to be something like "children's horror". I wasn't aware that "paranormal romance" was a genre, so children's horror, or thriller would be where this fits in.

I'm split on this book. There were parts I REALLY liked and parts that were....lackluster. I can't think of a better word. I'm glad my husband was here, I knew quickly the author was british by some of the words in the book, i.e., anarak, oh and some cockney rhyming slang, but I can't remember what it was, it was something like "up the apples and pears" (stairs) or "the trouble and strife" (wife). I'd love to go back and find it, but I am getting sleepy and my book is due back tomorrow.

I did have to look up a word, which seems uncommon when reading a children's book that was written in 2008. I did not know what apoplexy (the cause of the demise of Thackeray Porringer in 1734) was, until I looked it up. My husband didn't know what it meant until we looked it up either, which made me feel less dumb!

I wasn't a huge fan of the illustrations either. I did notice however, if you look at the cover, the negative image of the headstone, in the blue is a boy's face. I would be interested to see what the inside illustrations by Chris Riddell look like in the UK version as Gaiman himself states in his authors note that they, "both drew wonderfully and differently." I've seen the cover, but not inside the book.

I didn't think of the comparison to Kipling's The Jungle Book until I read the authors note. The Jungle Book wasn't quite as dark as this. After all, fuzzy animals vs. ghosts and spirits....a bit different.

I would recommend this 2009 Newberry Medal winner, with caution. Some children may not be ready for the dark and sometimes quite scary themes. I ended up with the 4/5 rating because I felt the good outweighed the bad.

~Jenn

Topics: death, murder, ghosts, witches, ghouls, werewolves, bullying, hauntings, graveyards, scary situations

Main Characters: Nobody (Bod) Owens, Mr. Owens, Mrs. Owens, Silas, Mrs. Lupescu, Scarlett, The Jacks of All Trades

Setting: a graveyard in modern day England

Theme: After the murder of his parents and sister by the man Jack, a toddler escapes to a graveyard where he is adopted by ghost parents and given the name Nobody Owens. Bod stuggles to find out where he fits in, in the spirit world or in the human world. With the man Jack still on the loose, Silas, his guardian, and his group of ghostly friends do everything they can to protect him.

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Hard To Put To Rest

A coldblooded killer, with an unknown motive, murders all the members of a family except a young toddler. The child escapes to a nearby graveyard where he is given sanctuary by the ghostly residents. Thus begins a rather intriguing tale of young Nobody Owens. He was named by the ghosts and denizens who protect and raise him in the local graveyard. Over the years,as his family's killer narrows the search for him, he gradually learns the reasons he is warned not to leave the shelter of the burying ground. An enjoyable book about a boy coming of age in a rather unique setting. I must admit I was at first creeped out by the description of the killer purposefully pursuing the toddler with the intent of killing him.

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I'm Torn! Loved the book, hated the last chapter.

"Torn. That's probably the best way to sum up how I feel about this book. After reading multiple reviews, primarily positive, I felt I had to give it a shot. Also, with the added benefit of being able to add it to my reviews for the 'A World of Awards' feature for the Newbery Award, I thought why not? But now I'm not so sure. Let me just say this, if I could leave out the last chapter there wouldn't be a question, it was great! But there it is, the LAST CHAPTER. It had me balling through every last page and wishing beyond hope that it wasn't so. I won't say more about it than that, because I won't spoil it, but I'm almost wishing there was a next book.

"Sticking with the first seven chapters of the book I'll give some honest thoughts. In the first chapter Gaiman grabs your attention right away and it's almost hard to believe a story could begin in such a way, but it's so original. To even imagine that a small child would survive an attack from someone I initially considered to possibly be Jack the Ripper, crazy. Your heart breaks in almost the very first two or three pages, but quickly is healed by some very incredible moments ahead. I also held my breathe a lot during those first few pages, just hoping that things would go well and they do. Really, they have to or there wouldn't be much of a story.

"Every person involved in the undertaking of raising a mortal child in the graveyard is unique and has a history that spans not only decades but centuries. There are ghosts, ghouls, werewolves, vampires, witches, plain old every day human beings, and of course The Jacks. My favorite character by far would have to be Silas, Nobody's guardian and maybe that's because (as it's been hinted by Neil himself) he's a vampire. I love a good vampire character, always have (long before the sparkly versions in today's books came to be). It's the mystery and elusiveness that he brings to the scenes. Always just enough, but not too much. But truly all of the characters are wonderful and it's neat to see how Bod interacts with each of them.

"There is a scene where Silas and Bod are talking about the unconsecrated section of the graveyard, where the 'bad' people are buried. At the time Bod is only eight years old, but asks a question about people who commit suicide:
'Does it work? Are they happier?'
"And Silas responds by saying something so poignant that it affects me even now:
'Sometimes. Mostly, no. It's like the people who believe they'll be happy if they go and live somewhere else, but who learn it doesn't work that way. Wherever you go, you take yourself with you. If you see what I mean.' p.104
"In these simple sentences something that I have struggled with for some time was worked out and I have an even deeper peace about something I could do nothing to prevent. It seems silly to me that a simple middle grade fiction book could do this for me, but it did.

"This is a story for someone looking for a little mystery, a bit of adventure and even (believe it or not) some romance. There are silly parts and deep parts depending on what you chose to get out of it. What I liked best about it is that I could really see a young boy getting into it. I'm positive that it's because of The Turkeybird, I'm always on the lookout for books I want him to try out when he's a bit older and this is definitely one of them. Even with the ending how it is, I look forward to talking with him about the results and how it affects his own life and relationships.

"There are a few slow parts, but for the most part it's a quick read that will entertain many. I'm still torn about it, but I'm still recommending it. It's a book that with time will grow on me I'm sure, but for now has me thinking."

The1stdaughter Recommends: Age 10 and up, especially for boys, but not only.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy.

He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a sprawling graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead.

There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a boy-an ancient Indigo Man beneath the hill, a gateway to a desert leading to an abandoned city of ghouls, the strange and terrible menace of the Sleer.

But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under attack from the man Jack?who has already killed Bod's family. . . .

Beloved master storyteller Neil Gaiman returns with a luminous new novel for the audience that embraced his New York Times bestselling modern classic Coraline. Magical, terrifying, and filled with breathtaking adventures, the graveyard book is sure to enthrall readers of all ages.

for more information click here

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