The Graveyard Book



Gaiman, Neil. 2008. The Graveyard Book. New York, NY:HarperCollins. ISBN: 978-0060530945. Paperback $7.67 Age 13+

“A graveyard is not normally a democracy, and yet death is the greatest democracy, and each of the dead had a voice, and an opinion as to whether the living child should be allowed to stay, and they were each determined to be heard that night” (p. 29). Nobody (Bod) Owens is a living child, and so it might come as some surprise to most that he has spent his life in a graveyard. In fact, not only did he live in a graveyard, but he was raised by the dead themselves. Of course such strange circumstances would stem from equally strange events. Indeed, Bod found himself in the care of a pair of ghosts after his family was killed by an unknown assailant when he was but a toddler. After being discovered by the dead, it was decided that the young boy would be given the Key to the Graveyard, a great gift that allowed him to freely walk among the dead as well as gain full access to the graves that made up his newfound home. In order to protect him, his newfound family teach him many extraordinary tricks such as Fading-the ability to hide from the penetrating eyes of anyone he didn’t want to know of his existence. He also learns about other inhabitants of the world, such as ghouls, werewolves, vampires, and other beings. As he grows up, it becomes clear that these talents will be increasingly important when the assailant who killed his family returns to finish the job.

While this was not particularly a challenging read, as one would expect in a YA book, it does incorporate some dark themes that would be more understood by its older readers. It is a quick, fun, and imaginative read that I highly recommend to anyone looking for a slightly darker fantasy novel.

Awards Won

Graveyard book-2009

John Newbury Medal-2010

Carnegie Medal-2009

Hugo Award for Best Novel-2009

Cybils Award for Fantasy and Science Fiction-2008

Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book-2009



Videos

This HarperKids booktrailer advertises the Graveyard Book and is narrated by Neil Gaiman himself











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