The Graveyard Book

Title: The Graveyard Book

Author: Neil Gaiman [Website][MouseCircus][IMDb][Twitter][Tumblr]; Illustrated by Dave McKean [Twitter][Website][MouseCircus]

Publisher: HarperCollins

Obtained: Library copy

Why this book?:

This was one of my eBook selections for my England trip.  I've been meaning to read it since I first bought my hard-copy at the library book sale room a few years ago.

Comments:

The book was a mixture of cute and interesting, light and dark.  It starts with most of a family being coldly murdered.  But the baby happens to crawl off and ends up in the graveyard before the murderer can get him too.  There he is named (Nobody or Bod for short), raised, and taught by ghosts.  He has been given the power of the graveyard.  That is, as long as he stays in the graveyard he is protected.  he can remain hidden and do other things like the dead.

Each chapter is like it's own little adventure.  Like a serial, really, but combined to make one book.  Everyone in the graveyard contributes to his education and development.  Of course, he's a young and curious boy and so he gets into his share of scrapes.

I enjoyed the book and the characters.  It has won a number of awards, and though I'm not sure about all that, I'm glad I read it.  I'm also glad to have finally tried something by Neil Gaiman, and I wouldn't hesitate to read more.

Trailer: