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The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
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The Graveyard Book

by Neil Gaiman

Other authors: See the other authors section.

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations / Mentions
11,188808214 (4.19)1 / 880
2009 (145) audiobook (88) cemeteries (202) children (126) children's (269) children's literature (128) coming of age (178) death (195) family (97) fantasy (1,537) fiction (1,074) gaiman (81) ghosts (852) graveyards (343) horror (284) murder (193) mystery (110) Neil Gaiman (103) Newbery (230) Newbery Medal (263) novel (107) orphans (187) read (157) read in 2009 (87) signed (79) supernatural (295) to-read (92) vampires (151) werewolves (78) young adult (841)
  1. 261
    Coraline by Neil Gaiman (FFortuna, moonstormer)
  2. 233
    The Jungle Books by Rudyard Kipling (veracity)
  3. 141
    James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl (ut.tecum.loquerer)
  4. 144
    A Fine and Private Place by Peter S. Beagle (lorax)
    lorax: Beagle's work is not YA, but it is a classic, beautifully written love story involving ghosts and a man living in a cemetary.
  5. 91
    Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (ut.tecum.loquerer)
  6. 158
    The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman (ut.tecum.loquerer)
  7. 61
    The House With a Clock In Its Walls by John Bellairs (timspalding)
  8. 50
    Un Lun Dun by China Miéville (heidialice)
    heidialice: Both are fantastical YA at its best. Gaiman is an acknowledged inspiration for Mieville, and it shows, though he has his own distinctive style and voice.
  9. 84
    Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger (heidialice)
    heidialice: Similar in setting, and both ghost stories, these are very different books, but fans of one should be interested in the other.
  10. 51
    Wolves in the Walls by Neil Gaiman (moonstormer)
  11. 40
    The Thief of Always by Clive Barker (kawika)
  12. 30
    Abarat by Clive Barker (kawika)
  13. 20
    The Palace of Laughter by Jon Berkeley (FFortuna)
  14. 42
    The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly (jonathankws)
  15. 20
    Down the Mysterly River by Bill Willingham (keeneam)
  16. 20
    Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman (PghDragonMan)
  17. 20
    Johnny and the Dead by Terry Pratchett (brianjungwi, fugitive)
  18. 10
    A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny (MyriadBooks)
  19. 10
    The Stone Child by Dan Poblocki (bookymouse)
  20. 21
    From the Dust Returned by Ray Bradbury (Ape)
    Ape: Eerily similar stories...

(see all 30 recommendations)

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English (793)  Finnish (2)  German (2)  Spanish (2)  Portuguese (Brazil) (2)  French (2)  Italian (1)  Hungarian (1)  Dutch (1)  Catalan (1)  Romanian (1)  All languages (808)
Showing 1-5 of 793 (next | show all)
There are a lot of other reviews that say more than I can about this book, so I'll be brief - it's by Neil Gaiman, and it's about a little boy who lives in a graveyard. That should say it all, but just in case, I'll add that it's charming, intelligent, dark and yet uplifting, and I totally loved how each chapter takes place in a different year of the boy's life, and yet it all ties together quite well. Despite the setting and the murder that starts the story, the writing style is warm - if "warm" even makes sense in that context.

I do agree with the general consensus that the motives of the villain are a little hazy, but it only bothered me a smidgen. I largely attribute this to the fact that the previous three books I read left me hoping something would delight me again. ( )
  BrookeAshley | May 21, 2013 |
Book:The Graveyard Book
Author: Neil Gaiman
Characters: Nobody Owens, AKA, Bod, his graveyard family and Jack
Setting: graveyard
Theme: Adventure, mystery and fantasy
Genre: Fiction
Audience: ages 8 +
Curriculum: Good book for imagination and could be good for high/low students since Gaiman is also a famous graphic novel writer and has been transitioning into children’s literature. I could see this being used
Summary: Bod, AKA Nobody Owens, escapes the assassin Jack who killed his parents while he was an infant was spared. But was only kept alive because he was raised by ghost and another guardian who is neither a ghost or human. Eventually, Jack finds Bod is still alive and comes after him again. This time Bod must be willing to fight his own battle.
Personal Response: Another great tale by Neil Gaiman, who is a magnificent story teller. A man who creates stories of fantasy and adventure like no other contemporary author. The story almost reminds me of Harry Potter’s story line. Just not as long of a series and little more morbid, a blend between his Coraline and Harry Potter. Good, all the same. So if you liked those books you’ll definitely enjoy this one. The ending a like many children’s books have a that happy ending but with a Gaiman twist. ( )
  Je2nif4 | May 20, 2013 |
Next, I want a book all about Silas. I pretty much hung out for the parts where he appeared, although the rest is up to par with what I expect from Neil Gaiman. An interesting take on the coming of age story, but there was something lacking that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Something missing. But recommended for a nice, light read. And the illustrations are adorable. ( )
  thessaly | May 8, 2013 |
WATCH BOOK TRAILER

After losing his family, a toddler wanders into a graveyard, where he will be raised by the groundskeeper and the ghosts that dwell there. As he grows up, he learns that his family’s killer is still out there looking for him.
  KilmerMSLibrary | Apr 30, 2013 |
Wonderful read! You can read my review of The Graveyard Book on my blog (contains some spoilers): http://www.rulethewaves.net/blog/?p=2102 ( )
  caffeinatedlife | Apr 26, 2013 |
Showing 1-5 of 793 (next | show all)
Gaiman writes with charm and humor, and again he has a real winner.
added by lampbane | editVOYA, Rayna Patton (Jul 24, 2009)
 
Gaiman's narratives tend toward the episodic, and there are chapters of The Graveyard Book that could stand alone as discrete short stories. All the better for reading at bedtime, though, and what's lost in forward momentum is more than made up for by the outrageous riches of Gaiman's imagination
added by timspalding | editGuardian, Patrick Ness (Oct 25, 2008)
 
Like a bite of dark Halloween chocolate, this novel proves rich, bittersweet and very satisfying.
 
This is fine work, from beginning to end, and the best bedtime story read-aloud material I've encountered in a long time. Can't wait until my daughter's old enough to read this to.
added by lampbane | editBoing Boing, Cory Doctorow (Oct 10, 2008)
 
While “The Graveyard Book” will entertain people of all ages, it’s especially a tale for children. Gaiman’s remarkable cemetery is a place that children more than anyone would want to visit. They would certainly want to look for Silas in his chapel, maybe climb down (if they were as brave as Bod) to the oldest burial chamber, or (if they were as reckless) search for the ghoul gate. Children will appreciate Bod’s occasional mistakes and bad manners, and relish his good acts and eventual great ones. The story’s language and humor are sophisticated, but Gaiman respects his readers and trusts them to understand.
 

» Add other authors (17 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Neil Gaimanprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
McKean, DaveIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Parpola, InkaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Plouhinec, Valérie LeTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Riddell, ChrisIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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People/Characters
Important places
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Epigraph
Rattle his bones
Over the stones
It's only a pauper
Who nobody owns


-- Traditional Nursery Rhyme
Dedication
First words
There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife.
Quotations
Fortinbras Bartleby, ten years old when he had died (of consumption, he had told Bod, who had mistakenly believed for several years that Fortinbras had been eaten by lions or bears, and was extremely disappointed to learn it was merely a disease), now apologized to Bod.
“You’re always you, and that doesn’t change, and you’re always changing, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Nehemiah Trot said, “Ah, list to me, young Leander, young Hero, young Alexander. If you dare nothing, then when the day is over, nothing is all you will have gained.”
“And for that reason, if for no other, it is vital that the child be raised with as little disruption as possible to the, if you’ll forgive the expression, the life of the graveyard.”
"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." p. 104
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Book description
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Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0060530928, Hardcover)

In The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman has created a charming allegory of childhood. Although the book opens with a scary scene--a family is stabbed to death by "a man named Jack” --the story quickly moves into more child-friendly storytelling. The sole survivor of the attack--an 18-month-old baby--escapes his crib and his house, and toddles to a nearby graveyard. Quickly recognizing that the baby is orphaned, the graveyard's ghostly residents adopt him, name him Nobody ("Bod"), and allow him to live in their tomb. Taking inspiration from Kipling’s The Jungle Book, Gaiman describes how the toddler navigates among the headstones, asking a lot of questions and picking up the tricks of the living and the dead. In serial-like episodes, the story follows Bod's progress as he grows from baby to teen, learning life’s lessons amid a cadre of the long-dead, ghouls, witches, intermittent human interlopers. A pallid, nocturnal guardian named Silas ensures that Bod receives food, books, and anything else he might need from the human world. Whenever the boy strays from his usual play among the headstones, he finds new dangers, learns his limitations and strengths, and acquires the skills he needs to survive within the confines of the graveyard and in wider world beyond. (ages 10 and up) -–Heidi Broadhead

(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 03 Jan 2013 07:00:53 -0500)

(see all 5 descriptions)

Nobody Owens is a normal boy, except that he has been raised by ghosts and other denizens of the graveyard.

» see all 7 descriptions

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Audible.com

Two editions of this book were published by Audible.com.

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An edition of this book was published by HarperCollins Childrens Books.

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