The Graveyard Book

Title: The Graveyard Book

Author: Neil Gaiman

Date Finished: April 26, 2009

Personal Book Count: 34 out of 100

Rating: 4 out of 5

Genre/ Subject: Young Adult

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

Summery: taken from the dust jacket-

“Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy.

He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a sprawling graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead.

There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a boy-an ancient Indigo Man beneath the hill, a gateway to a desert leading to an abandoned city of ghouls, the strange and terrible menace of the Sleer.

But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under attack from the man Jack—who has already killed Bod's family. . . .”

Why did I pick this book? : I am a fan of Neil Gaiman, and it was this years Newbery Award winner. Need I say more? ;)

Review: This was a great book. It was everything I had heard and more. I like that I got so much out of it as an adult, and think I would have gotten MORE as an early teen. A lot happened in this story, and that helped it move FAST. At one point I checked where I was, and I was surprised to see that I was about 100 pages in. And yet I never found it confusing, or like there was too much. It was just a good pace I think. And it feels well tied together at the end. There would be things that happened 200 pages ago, that you have almost forgotten about or figure you are done with, and the they come up again, because it affects another story line. Bod is character that is presented as very loveable, but serious and innocent. And very trusting. I wouldn’t say he was particularly relatable (but that is not such a bad thing, do I want to be able to relate to male child who lives in the graveyard?) but he does have a way of charming you that makes you want to read on. My one gripe would be the ending. It felt very sudden. The way the author chose to end it was not unexpected, but the way he did it felt abrupt to me. It didn’t take anything away, but I was just left with a feeling of… I don’t know. Jarring maybe? Like it was over, and I had closure, but it was so sudden, I felt a little smacked with it. Anyhow, I have American Gods on the shelf, and I have a feeling it’s going to have to move a little higher on my TBR pile. =D

Agree? Disagree? Recommendations? Any insights, suggestions, or comments on the book or format, or blog at all are most welcome. If you have read this and/ or review it yourself, please let me know. Can you think of any books like this? Give me a recommendation! =D