Beautifully written reinterpretation of Kipling's 'The Jungle Books.' Gaiman rocks. ( )

I just finished The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. It was another delightful tale with that particular flavor that Gaiman brings to his works. So many other people have gone into details, that I won't do so here. It was certainly worthy of the Newberry Award it received this year. It would make a delightful movie right up there with Coraline.

I must say that the composition and layout were just as original as the story itself--interspersing Dave McKean's illustrations and the opening chapter segments. The only thing close to this approach that I've seen lately is The Monsters of Templeton. The portrayal of Silas in one of the drawings reminds me of Dream himself in the Sandman characters, and the Convocation here is very reminiscent of the "cereal" convention in that series.

This story certainly does an admirable job of instilling various virtues and wisdoms. While it is set in an unnamed small town in England, and the majority of characters can safely be presumed to be white and English, there is a smattering of diversity, from Miss Lupescu who appears to be Eastern European or Russian, to extremely minor characters--Haroun the Afreet, Alonso Tomas Garcia Jones, the man with the turban and beard (Sikh?), many of the unnamed attendees of the Convocation, and there's one Japanese name mentioned among the gravestones, but I can't find it again. Neil Gaiman also excellently portrays the speech patterns of various eras and social classes in English history as our hero Nod interacts with the ghosts in his home, ranging from the single Roman buried there until the early modern era. And I think he captured foibles and troubles of every age of childhood as Nod progresses from baby to independent teenager. As I said, a charming story, definitely a keeper. My querido might not notice that it never goes home...but then, he's such a rabid Gaiman fan, probably has a microchip installed. ( )

Imaginative and unique, the Graveyard Book tells the story of a baby "adopted" by the occupants of a graveyard. Neil Gaiman certainly has a dark imagination, but the story is very entertaining. Perfect for middle-school students, who all seem to be interested in ghosts, monsters, and of course vampires right now. ( )

At first, I wasn't sure if I would like this book, but it turned out to be one of the most unique and fascinating books that I've read recently. It starts out with a bit of a jolt, following a murderer who is hunting for a child in order to complete the elimination of a certain family. However, Nobody, or "Bod" Owens escapes death that night and is protected and taken in by the ghosts of the graveyard he wandered into. It is great fun following Bod as he grows up here and has various adventures meeting ghostly characters from all different places and eras who are buried in the graveyard. He also meets a witch, some goblins, a werewolf, and the mysterious "sleer." I especially liked the mysteriousness that surrounds Silas, Bod's guardian, and the way the author gradually gives us clues to who he is yet never comes right out and tells us. Although the setting is unconventional, Bod faces many familiar issues such as trying to fit in, and wondering who he is and where he belongs. He deals with bullies at school, finds joy in making friends, and experiences the hurt and sadness of friendship lost. The end of the story is satisfying in that we finally learn who murdered Bod's family and why they have been hunting him, but it is also a bittersweet end as growing up and accepting change tend to be. ( )

Everything I’ve read by Neal Gaiman lately has been fabulous and The Graveyard Book was no exception. His latest work has that wonderful mix of elements – love, loss, humor, fear and above all, that understated quality of things left unsaid that is just SO compelling. We first meet young Bod (short for Nobody Owens) the night his parents were killed. Toddling about with his family’s killer hot on his trail, Bod happens across a local graveyard where a couple of ghosts decide to raise him as their own with the aid of the mysterious Silas who becomes his guardian. So Nobody Owens is raised in a graveyard and like any little boy must learn through school and his mistakes and as readers we are witnesses to both. More often than not, Bod’s mistakes are quite serious and require some major rescuing by various graveyard inhabitants in order to fix. Each instance brings new information, skills and truths to light while morals are discovered and friends are made without being sugar-sweet or forced upon the reader. His formal education is overseen by various ghosts who recount firsthand life in times long past which give Bod a unique understanding of history but provide little help in dealing with the technology or challenges of the present day. Perhaps it is because he was raised by ghosts but Bod is fearless and fearless kids are always wonderful to read about. They have an innate understanding that the whole world is completely open to them to do or be anything they want. Bod embodies this spirit of discovery and I am so glad a book such as this won the Newbery Award. I hope it will encourage children to venture out into the world to make mistakes, love others, learn new things and above all experience every bit of life they can. ( )

I originally bought this book to read with my ten year old. After some thought I decided he may be a little squeamish about the subject matter so I read it myself. I know the story is inspired by Kipling's Jungle Book, even so, I thought it was original. I am excited to have discovered Neil Gaiman and will be sharing Odd and the Frost Giant with my ten year old instead. ( )

2009 Newberry Medal Winner
The Graveyard Book is a story of Bod, short for Nobody, Owens who is raised in a graveyard. His family is murdered when he is young. He wanders off while the murderer is still in the house. While the murderer is looking for him he wanders to a graveyard that is no longer used. His recently murdered mother pleads with one of the ghosts in the graveyard to keep her son safe. The ghosts hold a meeting and finally come to the decision that they will care for the child. He is given “Freedom of the Graveyard” and is adopted by Mr and Mrs Owens. He is also appointed a guardian, Silas. Most of the ghosts in the graveyard participate in his upbringing and teaching. This is about the adventures he has as he grows up in the graveyard with friends, both ghosts and living people.
The idea of a living child living in graveyard, being raised by ghost did not seen like it could be wound into a good story. I have obviously never read any of Neil Gaimean. I absolutely loved this book. It was nothing like I expected. It was so unexpectedly intriguing that once I started reading I could not put it down (literally). Bod’s adventure from when he is a young boy, all the way through his reaching an age where he can go out in the real world, are wonderfully woven and however unrealistic they may be, are no less intriguing. Silas, as his guardian, is such a mystery that you can’t wait to find out more about him. The ghosts that live in the graveyard (and Potters Field) have all lived in different era’s. This makes Bod’s learning more difficult as speech, technology and many other things change throughout the members of the graveyard. It is illustrated by Dave McKean. He used black and white depictions that fit in fantastic with the whole idea of the story.
This is not a book that I would normally pick up and read. I am so pleased that I had it on hand to read in a crunch because I cannot say enough good things about it. I would recommend this book to anyone. Even though some of the themes-adventures in this book are a little scary, the language that Neil Gaiman uses to describe them would make it appropriate for just about any age. This would be a great book to read to kids ( )

I love Neil Gaiman's way of telling stories. They are dark, but always have a great message to them. This would be a great young reader.

When I started this book, I was surprised, too. Typical of Gaiman, it has a horrific beginning. Atypical of awarded books for older children/teens, this begins with a frightening chapter about the murder of a family. Because this is a fantasy novel, the baby escapes, though, and toddles to a nearby graveyard, where he is taken in, named Nobody Owens (Bod for short), and cared for by its denizens.

As he grows, Bod meets creatures both human and non-, and discovers there is good and evil in all. He’s a typical boy raised by ghosts, though, and thus his childhood is unique and fascinating, featuring fascinating adventures and encounters courtesy of Gaiman’s celebrated imagination. The book is aptly illustrated by frequent Gaiman collaborator Dave McKean, in atmospheric black-and-white ink spread out over three pages.

In many ways, this is the oldest story of all, about an orphaned boy growing to his destiny to fight forces of evil. In its particulars, though, it’s unique and quite wonderful, often funny, frequently moving and thought provoking. By the end I could easily see how this alternately simple and complex tale won over the Newbery judges. Not just an unconventional, challenging book for older children, it is an impressive book for adults as well. ( )

When a sinister man Jack seeks to forestall a prophesy by killing a family, he is stonewalled in his quest by the nighttime wanderings of a toddler. Nobody Owens is growing up in the graveyard on the hill, protected by the dead, his guardian, Silas and the graveyard itself. Through his young years Bod has adventures and discovers secrets held for centuries, but the darkest secret of all is the one of those who continue to plot his murder and endlessly seek his hiding place.

This is another book I had little interest in and only picked up because it was in audiobook form. I have to say that Neil Gaiman is quite an exceptional orator and listening to Bod's story of his growing up the son of the graveyard ghosts was amazing. I even found my eyes watering at the end, something I attribute mainly due to the feelings brought out by the excellent narration. Including Bod there is a host of interesting characters and even though we don't really know much about their personal details they still come to life in the context of the story. I adored Silas and never had a clue exactly what he was until I caught a review when I was about halfway through. I felt kind of foolish after that LOL! Ms. Lupeski was another very wonderful character that I thought was a lot of fun.

The story itself, for the most part was very episodic as we followed Bod through his various stages of growing up and his monumental moments during them. Usually I would feel that the tale itself was disjointed being told in this way, but here it was very enjoyable with everything being tied together at the end when Bod uses all the knowledge he has gained to help himself out.

Even though this is a story I wouldn't have picked up to read and probably wouldn't have enjoyed it half as much as I enjoyed having it read to me, I have to say it is quite imaginative. I do have to remark that the opening chapter was very of disturbing and I was unsure that it really would be a good tale for the ages it is directed at (from what I read ages 9 and up), but the remainder of the book wasn't too bad at all.

If you're unsure of whether you want to read this or not I'd highly suggest at least checking out this audiobook. As an author he is good but as a reader he is simply magical :-) ( )

 I liked the chatracters and the interesting plot and setting for this book. Well desrving of its awards including the Newbery Medal.

It was ironic for me that I started this book for young adults right after finishing Her Fearful Symmetry, because I kept detecting parallels between the two books. It was fun to discover in the "Acknowledgments" following the story, that Gaiman actually mentions a debt to Audrey Niffenegger.

The Graveyard Book tells the story of Nobody Owens, whose family was murdered at home when he was a toddler of 18 months. The boy wandered through the open door and up to the cemetery, where the dead decide to rescue him and raise him. The long-dead Mr. and Mrs. Owens become his parents, and the mysterious wise and kindly Silas, who isn’t quite either dead or alive, becomes his guardian.

The evil killer we know for most of the story only as “Jack” still wants to find the boy and eliminate him, but we don’t learn why until the end.

As Nobody, or “Bod,” grows up, he goes through both typical and atypical coming of age moments, since for the most part he is prevented from leaving the graveyard (for his own protection). As a sort of honorary dead person, he is able to “walk the borderland between the living and the dead,” experiencing the supernatural world that the living know nothing about. When he reaches adolescence, his world undergoes a huge metamorphosis, and it is time to meet his destiny with the skills he has learned in the graveyard.

Discussion: The graveyard in this book has much in common with the one central to Her Fearful Symmetry. Gaiman also acknowledges his debt to Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book and I assume this references at least in part the story of Mowgli, who was raised by a pack of wolves in the jungle. I think there is even a bit of "Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom" in this book.

The dead characters in the cemetery – the ordinary people, not the supernatural aberrations – are quirky and most likable. Bod too is extremely likeable. But most of the other living characters besides Bod are not. I don’t know quite what to make of that!

Evaluation: My reaction to this book was mixed. I thought the very beginning was a bit scary, with the whole family being killed. I didn’t like the section with the ghouls in this book; I didn't find it scary, although I did think it was silly. But I can see how this part might appeal to younger readers. I very much liked the frequent lessons, subtly told, that fear is a mental construct that can be conquered by knowledge. I didn’t like that many aspects of the story simply were never explained; it was as if Gaiman was trying to avoid spoilers of his own book!

I grew to like the characters in this story, but never quite love them. We never really know enough about them to feel a strong attachment. This in turn limited my emotional investment in the book.

Favorite quote:

"Silas said, ‘Out there, the man who killed your family is, I believe, still looking for you, still intends to kill you.’

Bod shrugged. ‘So?’ he said. ‘It’s only death. I mean, all of my best friends are dead.’

‘Yes.’ Silas hesitated. ‘They are. And they are, for the most part, done with the world. You are not. You’re alive, Bod. That means you have infinite potential. If you change the world, the world will change. Potential.” ( )

Nobody ("Bod") Owens fortuitously wandered away from a tragedy and landed in the unexpected safety of an old graveyard, whose ghostly inhabitants (along with a few other supernatural types) promise to raise and protect him. I fully expected this book to be very good, but the nimbleness of the plot (nicely done twists and turns) and fully-drawn characters kept me riveted until finished in only a couple of days. Well, that and the library due date was looming! I really liked Neil Gaiman's use of elements of ghost stories, haunting, mythology, history etc. Along the lines of FALLING ANGELS by Tracy Chevalier, this book makes the graveyard or cemetery not a creepy place, but one filled with people, stories and lives. ( )

When a little babies family are brutally murdered and he wonders into a graveyard the resident ghosts swear to protect him. What follows is a touching account of a little boy growing up amongst the dead and slowly discovering the evils of the living world.

I really enjoyed this. It was a nice easy read with wonderful illustrations. The story was fast paced and I even had tears in my eyes at the end. ( )

Bod, short for Nobody Owens, escaped his own death when he was just an infant. Though his attacker had not given up Bod has remained safe in the graveyard, whose inhabitants have taken him in. Bod learns what he can through the years from the different ghosts and other folk who reside in the graveyard. Now and then he ventures out into the real world but nothing good usually comes from those escapades. This is the story of him coming into his own, after being under the watchful eye of his Guardian.

This was an enjoyable book. I loved the illustrations, even though some of them looked unfinished I think they went with the text very nicely. This wasn't a flowing novel really, each chapter was like a different clip from Bod's life. The chapters progressed in order and Bod was a little older in each one until the end. It was interesting to read about Bod in the real world and how he reacted and how people reacted to him, because he was a little different than they were. The relationships that Bod made were interesting, some of them good, some of them bad, most of them weird. The writing was spot on for being a book about a graveyard filled with dead people from decades ago in England. I don't have any bad things to say about this book. It's Neil Gaiman, it was a good story and that is pretty much all. I liked it. Read it. You have the time, what are you reading right now? LAME, read this instead.

First Line:
"There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife."

Favorite Line:
"A voice by his ear said, ' Say you'll miss me, you lumpkin.'" ( )

A young boy grows up in a graveyard, surrounded by spirits and ghouls.

I love me some good children's lit, and I love me some Neil Gaiman even more. Put the two together, and I'm a happy girl indeed.

THE GRAVEYARD BOOK is a creepier take on THE JUNGLE BOOK, but you don't need to have read Kipling's classic to enjoy Gaiman's version. It's a wonderful little book that reads like a collection of interconnected short stories. Bod ages at least a year between chapters, and one - "The Witch's Headstone" - was in fact published as a short story a couple of years before the novel was released. His adventures are episodic, but there's a definite sense of growth and change running beneath the narrative. Gaiman shows us how Bod matures as the story unfolds, and we see how his potential for change sometimes puts him at odds with his ghostly friends. There's a lot of flashy surface stuff here, but there's also a deeper thread that parents and educators are bound to appreciate.

Be aware, though, that it is a darker story. Gaiman writes horror, and he doesn't pull many punches even when his books are for younger readers. The book begins with a murder, and many of the ghosts died unpleasant deaths. Bod's adventures are scary as well as fun. Religious families may also take issue with the fact that the graveyard seems to be the final destination for most folks.

I'd certainly recommend this, though. It's an entertaining read with a lot of heart, and the more I think about it, the more I like it. I'd love to read more about Bod, but I don't imagine there'll ever be a sequel to this. I suspect that the anticipatory feeling the reader gets as she finishes may be part of the point.

(A slightly different version of this review originally appeared on my blog, Stella Matutina). ( )

Novel ( )

Wonderful, beautiful, hilarious. Almost makes the Harry Potter series look clunky and contrived in comparison. ( )

After his family has been killed and the killer has failed to find the baby, Nobody Owens is granted refuge in a old graveyard which has been turned into a nature preserve. As he is raised by the Owens and helped along by a host of other spirits, a witch, Silas, and a Hell Hound/Russian tutor, Nobody grows up.
There was humor and cleverness throughout this book, although it was a pretty dark story about trying to protect a boy from a power-hungry group of Jacks who were determined to kill him. ( )

Plot Synopsis
The man Jack failed in his mission to kill the boy, lost him in a graveyard, which is where this boy stays. Called Bod, short for Nobody, this boy lives between worlds, a graveyard where strange beasts live in deep hills, ghoul-gates guard other worlds, and young girls come to play. But Bod is alive and belongs in the world of a living, a place he can not go because some still want him dead.

My Thoughts
I caved. I completely, utterly, and uncontrollably caved. I had promised myself - no buying books. I have more books in my TBR pile than most have in their homes, so I was determined to get through a large chunk of them before buying a book. But everywhere I turned, there were wonderful reviews of this book. And I thought, well it does count for like three of my challenges, and I do so love Gaiman, and then I caved. Just this one book, I promised myself. Then at the bookstore, three other books managed to jump into my hands...but more on that later. Back to this book.

While many gushed compliments like the Las Vegas Bellagio Fountains, my compliments are a bit more tempered. I enjoyed the book, absolutely enjoyed it, but when it comes to Gaiman, I'm a bigger fan of American Gods, Good Omens, and the like. As a rule, I enjoy 'adult' books more than 'kids' books.

The Graveyard Book, a kid's book, tells a wonderful story in a unique setting with memorable characters. I felt a part of the graveyard community, found myself wanting Freedom of the Graveyard, and more than anything I wanted to know more....more, more, more. The mini-plots and adventures ended too soon and begged for more detail, the characters cried out for further exposition; I wanted backstory, mini-plots rich in detail and action, intricate weavings of history and present. In other words, I wanted something that isn't a kids book. I do think it is a mark of a master creator for a book to capture me so intensely that I don't want it to end, that I am unsatisfied with what I've been given.

Memorable Scene: *PLOT SPOILER* I can't get the end scene out of my head. The image of Bod leaving the graveyard in burned in my mind. It is a moment bittersweet and yet filled with such potential.

Memorable Quote: You're always you, and that don't change; and you're always changing, and there's nothing you can do about it. ~ I love the seeming contradiction in this quote; it's obviously perfectly correct and perfectly contradictory at the same time. ( )

I love Neil Gaiman's books, and this is no exception. A young boy escapes the slaughter of his family and ends up taking refuge in the local graveyard, where the ghosts bring him up.

The book dips in and out of his life as he grows up and learns, each chapter being a particularly important part of Bod's life.

I found this charming, an easy read, and entertainingly quirky. ( )

I've read so many things that advertised as being the new Harry Potter. This does not, yet it seemed so reminiscent, but that minimizes the brilliance here. Gaiman is a master storyteller and I loved this. ( )

i loved this book! it was easy to read, and catches your attention form the very beginning. the first page is a very simple, but strinking sentence..."There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife...". oooooh, spooky. in reality, this book is exciting because its a spinoff of the jungle book classic, only its not in a jungle, its in a graveyard raised by friendly ghosts. a samll boy escapes form his home during his family's murder, and wanders to the graveyard on the hill and is greeted by an old ghost woman who convinces the rest of them that it is their duty to protect the child. the boy grows into young adulthood with full access to the graveyard and its inhabitants and secrets. children 4th grade and up could appreciate this book as a quality alternative to goosebumps...no offense mr. stine. it would be awesome as a precurser to halloween, and an interesting silent reading core book sure to grab attention. ( )

Raised in a graveyard after his family is killed, Bod (short for Nobody) Owens has ghosts for parents, a werewolf for a teacher, and a strange not-quite-dead, not-quite-alive man for a guardian. But all is not entirely well in the graveyard, because the man who killed Bod's family has never given up searching for Bod in order to complete the job, and in any case, a living boy can't stay in a graveyard forever. Written in Gaimain's usual charming and imaginative style, it's a delight from beginning to end. ( )

Yeah, this was definitely good. I do not, however, understand the people who say they desire a sequel. There is no way to continue the story without diminishing it. It ends exactly where it must. ( )