"The Graveyard Book" is Gripping!

"The Graveyard Book"
by Neil Gaiman

6

Nobody Owen's life is far from ordinary. When he was just a baby, a mysterious man killed his family in the middle of the night. He escaped into a graveyard and was found by the souls living there. The graveyard's residents decide to take him in and figure out a system to care for him. Mr. and Mrs. Owen, a married couple who never had children, take the baby as their own and give him the name Nobody. The graveyard’s “caretaker”, Silas, takes special interest in Nobody bringing him food and supervision. Even though Silas and the other souls look after the young boy, he won’t stay a child forever. As Nobody grows older he yearns to interact with the living; however, he has no protection outside the graveyard walls and a man from his past is still looking to finish the job he started many years ago.

I really loved this book! It was so original that I didn’t really know where it was going to take me next, but I was totally up for the ride. This review is hard to write because I do not want to give anything away. I’ve only read “The Graveyard Book” and “Coraline”, but I feel like Gaiman is a wonderful storyteller who develops an alternative world that seems like something out of a dream; however, he makes the dream world a reality. I truly believe this book deserved both the Cybil and Newbery awards. Nobody’s story is worth a listen; it is filled with mystery and adventure that I could never have imagined.

I have to admit that I could be slightly biased because I do enjoy exploring graveyards. It may sound weird, but they all have different personalities. I bet I’ll be thinking about this book on my next excursion.