Nobody Owen's entire family was cold-bloodedly murdered in one night. Luckily, Nobody (also known as Bod) was saved by ghosts in a nearby graveyard and was adopted by the Owens couple. Silas, a mysterious being that is neither living nor dead, becomes his guardian. Because he was given sanctuary in the graveyard, Bod is able to do special things that no human knew how to do. The graveyard and Silas do their best in protecting Bod from the outside world, and from the killer that killed his family.
Review:
The Graveyard Book is a bittersweet fantasy book about Nobody’s coming of age that will leave readers thoughtful and appreciative of Gaiman’s skills in interweaving the dead with the living. Bod searches for his identity and learns a lot from the inhabitants of the graveyard. Though the writing as a bit weird at times, it adds to the tone and feel of the book. It helped to create an other worldy and paranormal feel that suited the book. What I liked most about Bod was how strongly he believed in what was right and what was wrong. When he made a decision, he stuck with it. Also, the author did a good job in expressing how Bod felt. When Bod was regretful or felt sorry for disappointing his adopted parents or guardian, as a reader I felt it too. The mistakes that he made was what was endearing to me. The Graveyard Book is not a typical book that. After finishing it, I had a bittersweet feeling but found that I enjoyed the book. It's definitely a nice book to recommend to tweens.
Gaiman, N. (2008). The Graveyard book. New York: Harper Collins Publishers.
Grade: 3-8. Sunlink noted 5-8, but my cousin read this book when he was in 3rd grade, thus I’m stretching the age range.
ISBN: 978-0-06-053092-1
Cover art link from librarytalker.blogspot.com
