children's book review: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

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Summary:  The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman is the story of Bod, a boy who was orphaned as a baby when his parents and older sister were murdered. He escaped to the cemetery, where he lives and is able to see the ghosts who dwell there. 


Review: The Graveyard Book is both dark and funny, which is a difficult combination to achieve, but Gaiman does. Bod is smart, and given his interactions with dead people from hundreds of years, he was a fantastic grasp of history, the history of language and customs. All the ghosts speak and act in the manners of their times. The mystery was compelling, even for me as an adult reader. The story is accessible, but isn't elementary. I adored The Graveyard Book, and I think it has the crossover appeal for teens and adults the Harry Potter books do. 


Award: winner of the 2009 Newbery Medal (I'm ready for the 2010 Newbery Medal announcement now!)


Rating: 4.5 stars (out of 5 stars)
Pages: 320 pages
Publication date: 2008
Source: I own it (thanks to my mom!)


As an Amazon affiliate, if you purchase this book through the above links, I will receive a small commission. Thanks!


Comments

  1. neal callMay 23, 2012 at 11:59 PM

    I think your 6-star system skews some of these books a little higher than I would put them...but I agree that the Hunger Games is superior to quite a lot out there. On my rating scale, I put it at about 7/10, probably superior to the first Harry Potter novel, certainly superior to the Hunger Games.

    http://englishmajorversustheworld.blogspot.com/

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