Book Review: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

The Graveyard Book is the strange tale of Nobody Owens, Bod for short, who is raised by the ghosts in a graveyard. After his family is killed, he is taken in by Mr. and Mrs. Owens, his ghostly adopted parents, and raised by members of the spooky cemetery. But, eventually Bod's past catches up to him.

As I mentioned earlier, The Graveyard Book is 2009's Newbery Medal winner (see the shiny gold sticker on the cover?) I must admit straight up, I had a hard time getting into the story. At first, it just seemed like random episodes from the strange childhood of Bod - doesn't get any weirder than growing up with the dead. However, as the story unraveled and came to its climax, I began to understand better where each episode fit in. The language is really beautiful and almost seemed like poetry in places. I love Bod, who really is the only character that was developed to any extent. I also really like how the themes resonate with me and with real people, despite its obviously fantastic background.

RATINGS:
s-factor: none.

mrg-factor: none.

v-factor: ->
Murder is mentioned, but not described. Some parts are a bit scary.

Overall rating: ****