The Graveyard Book

I've not been disappointed by any book I've read by Neil Gaiman and this one is no exception. The full-cast production I bought from Audible made it even better. I've decided that all Gaiman books should be read with the ears.

The Graveyard book has several stories covering Nobody Owens as he grows from a toddler into a capable young man. Each episode covered is entertaining and kept me completely engrossed. The actors made Gaiman's fantastic descriptions and dialogue really come to life. I couldn't help but feel like I was right there with them.

The individual stories were interesting but they all brought us closer to the over-arching story line - finding out who killed Bod's family and why. Along the way, we got to meet so many wonderful residents of the graveyard, as well as some very interesting visitors.

I obviously recommend reading this one. And if you've got a young person in your life, it's safe to read it together. No sex or gory bits at all.

A baby boy narrowly escapes to the graveyard up the hill after the rest of his family is murdered. Adopted and raised by the spirits of the dead residents there, he struggles between the need to stay in the graveyard for safety, and the desire to go out in to the living world, finding adventures and lessons on both sides of the fence.

I absolutely loved this book; a real page-turning, heart-warming, seat-gripping tale. As a parent, and perhaps more so simply as a mortal, I was moved to tears by the moral of the story as it was delivered to us in one last, beautiful package at the end.

I felt that a critical plot point was a little weak, and a major subplot was vastly unexplored and perhaps a bit unoriginal, but these weren't big problems for me.

Simple enough (if not too scary) for children, I can hardly wait for my daughters to be old enough for me to read this with them.