The Graveyard Book

Reader reviewed by Rachelle Knight

I have mixed feelings about recommending this book, mostly based on
the subject matter and the marketed age group. The publisher has a
minimum age of 9 listed for this novel. My little boys are young and I
dont know exactly where a 9 year old is as far as understanding death
and murder, but it does seem a little young to be tackling some of the
harsher subjects of death, suicide, afterlife, etc.

I would recommend the book to older teens and adults. It is
intriguing story of a graveyard (patterned after the Highgate Cemetery
in London?), with characters as old as the Roman conquerors, and
including a witch, a werewolf and a vampire. And, although there are a
myriad of creatures and mythical settings, the novel approaches some
serious topics; murder of a family, loneliness, being an orphan, being
an outsider, suicide, religion, the afterlife, and separation. It is a
very emotional ride (I cried at the end!) that is at times
entertaining, scary and sad.

Memorable quotes:

He imagined a future in which he could read everything, in which all stories could be opened and discovered.

Where ever you go, you take yourself with you.

I thought this was a very powerful quote (and great for a young person):

Youre alive Bod. That means you have infinite potential. You can do
anything, make anything, dream anything. If you change the world, the
world will change. Potential. Once youre dead, its gone. Over. Youve
made what youve made, dreamed your dream, written your name. You may
be buried here, you may even walk. But that potential is finished.

Definitions:

proconsul a governor of a province in ancient Rome

gorse a yellow-flowered shrub of the pea family

augur portend a bad outcome

groat any of various medieval European coins

lummox a clumsy, stupid person

imperturbable unable to be upset or excited

susurrus whispering, murmuring, or rustling

Comments and thoughts:

Miss Leticia Borrows, Spinster of this Parish (Who Did No Harm to No Man all the Dais of Her Life. Reader, Can You Say Lykewise?). I loved how each time a person of the graveyard is mentioned, his or her epitaph is also mentioned. Very clever.

The brooch and the mans reaction to it (from the pawn shop) reminded me of Gollum from Tolkiens books.

The suicides or those who were not of the faith. This seems a harsh
thing for a YA book. But, then maybe suicide should be addressed? Im
so torn about what a tween audience should be introduced. When my kids
are older, I will have a better understanding of where children at that
age are emotionally.

Reader reviewed by Misty

The graveyard book tells the story of Nobody Owens (called Bod), who
escapes to a graveyard as a toddler after his family is murdered. Bod
is given the freedom of the graveyard, allowing him to pass freely
through the graveyard and learn the ways of the ghost inhabitants who
are helping to raise him. This graveyard family teaches Bod how to see
at night, to Haunt, Fade and Dreamwalk; they protect him from the
outside world, and from the man who killed his family and would like to
finish the job. But they cannot protect him forever, and Bod knows that
one day he will have to confront the world and the dangers in it,
embracing his destiny for good or bad.

I was really excited to read this book, and even though I was in
the middle of another, I found myself repeatedly picking The Graveyard
Book up and opening to the brilliant first page. I finally caved in and
set my other book aside so I could read this, and at first I was
entirely disappointed and didnt think I was going to like the book at
all. I found Bods toddler years to be only tolerable. There was
occasional cuteness, but nothing to hook me and make me want to keep
reading (aside from the fantastic Gorey-esque illustrations). That all
changed when Bod went to Ghûlheim; from then on I was absolutely
hooked. The writing is clever and has a certain brightness mingled with
the dark of the story. The book is sprinkled with interesting
characters (with amusing epitaphs). The worlds Gaiman created are vivid
and intriguing, with interesting and original takes on familiar
mythology. Bods journey is relatable, even in all of its surrealness,
and the overall message is incorporated well without being didactic.
This is the sort of story I know I would have become completely lost in
and obsessed with as a child.

A warning to parents that there are some dark themes and scary
elements, but overall I would recommend this to any child/young teen,
especially those who like fantasy and darker elements. This would also
make a fun read-aloud for parents and children, or a classroom, and the
illustrations add to the story immensely.

Reader reviewed by Dede

I was so excited to read this book after reading the reviews and although the book was initially interesting, by the end I was disappointed.  Bod is a boy whose family was murdered.  On the night his family was murdered he was about a year and a half and climbed out of his crib, down the stairs, out the door and up the hill into a graveyard.  The killer "Jack" follows the babies smell to the graveyard but is outsmarted by the dead people and his would be guardian, Silas, and walks away from the graveyard without finishing the job.  An elderly dead couple decide to raise Bod as their own.  Silas is a part of the graveyard but is not truly dead, so he can go out and get food or anything else Bod may need.  He is taught things as he grows, how to fade and other ghostly things, as well as being taught "human" things.  When Bod is 5, he strikes a friendship up with a little girl who comes to the graveyard with her mother.  The girls parents think that Bod is an imaginary friend.  She eventually moves away.  When he is older, a strict woman comes to teach him more while Silas goes away.  Later in his teen years, the little girl from the beginning moves back and becomes friends with him again but it doesn't go well.  During all of this "Jack" is still trying to find Bod to finish the job he started.  That is basically the premise of the book. 
Why I didn't like it:
It was disjointed:  None of the characters were ever written with much depth so I didn't really care about them.  I also didn't feel the strong emotions they were supposed to be feeling because it was written with a shallow edge. 
Didn't answer any questions and there were a lot of questions:  Only one example:  When the schoolteacher and Silas go somewhere to try to protect Bod in the future, you are not really told when they left, how long they were gone, what happened, or how they knew where to go and what to do. 
Bod was not written well for his age - a one and a half year old climbs out of bed and doesn't go to his parents room and has the energy and sense of mind in the middle of the night to go to a cemetary?  When he's 5 and meets the little girl, he talks and thinks like a teen, I thought he was until the book pointed out otherwise.   
Bod never listened!  Every time Silas or his ghost parents warned him not to do something or to stay away from here, etc, he always did the exact opposite.  It was exasperating and not believable. 
To me, Bod was just not a well written, likeable character and it tainted the book for me. 

Reader reviewed by Alana

Nobody "Bod" Owens is a living boy growing up with ghosts. He remembers nothing of his past with the living world. He's got a family, the Owens, a gardian, the mysterious Silas, and many friends, including an 18th century poet and the ghost of a witch. However, the living world, and his real family, keep creeping in. 

Reader reviewed by Amy

A baby crawled away from his home after his family was murdered.  Ending up in a graveyard a ghost couple became very found of him and decided to take him in to raise naming him Nobody Owens. Nobpdy was raised and educated by the ghosts.  He meets a girl along the way, who he becomes friends with, but was alone again after she moved away.  Years later she returns and the meet up again.  Little does the girl know that she is being used by someone to get to Nobody.  Read to find out what happens to Nobody.

Reader reviewed by Jinxie

Nobody Owens--a funny name for a child, but when you consider that he is being raised by "people" in a graveyard, maybe it fits.  This Newbery Award winner lives up to its reputation as a fascinating read.  A baby boy being raised by those who haunt a graveyard--what types of lessons would he learn?  What special talents would he develop?  Does he look at the world differently?  Will he be able to make "live" friends?  The finale touches on a bigger question:  Is murder ever justified?  I don't know if there will be a sequel, but the door was left open for one.  It would be interesting to see how Nobody Owens makes his way in the real world.

Reader reviewed by Thomas A. Wills Sr.

              I am an English teacher.  My school is far from my home, so I often listen to audiobooks on the way in.  I had read Gaiman's adult fiction before (fantastic!) and wanted to try one of his "younger" books.  So I picked up The Graveyard Book.  The  first day I found myself taking the long way home because I was so addicted to the story, the characters, and the reading (Neil Gaiman reads the book, and he is brilliant).  

Reader reviewed by Booked Books

In Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book, ghosts, werewolves, ghouls, witches, night gaunts and other supernatural creatures do not daunt Bod (short for Nobody) Owens at all. In fact, he has ghosts as foster parents, a werewolf as a teacher, and a witch as a friend; to him, the graveyard dwellers are the closest thing he has to a family. As Bod grows older, he starts to abandon the safety of the graveyard to venture into the living world. Ironically, it is there that he realizes the value of his learned ghostly skills as he tries to blend in with humans and discover the truth about his biological parents' deaths.


Ultimately, this book consists of Bod's many ghostly mini-adventures, a timeline of his life. Bod is a well fleshed-out dynamic character; his thoughts and feelings are always relatable whether he was a toddler or a preteen. I felt that I really got to know him, and that's what made the story so hauntingly beautiful. In fact, all the other characters are lifelike and convincing as well. What I love about Gaiman's writing style is that it's always so authentic and natural; nothing ever sounds forced or out of place. Gaiman also never slows down the pace of the book. Each chapter is filled with suspense, creativity, and most important of all, clever wit. This is what I call a page turner. Another thing I loved about this book is the subject matter itself, the idea of a boy being raised by ghosts. It's fresh, quirky, and attention-grabbing all at once. Who would've thought?

However, the main conflict's resolution wasn't quite what I had expected; I wish the explanation for the death of Bod's family was more elaborated upon though it was satisfactory enough. I also wish Bod had a stronger connection with the Lady on the Grey, a ghost who initially convinced the graveyard citizens to raise Bod&but I'm just nitpicking.


Reposted from: booked-books.blogspot.com


I definitely recommend this novel to everyone. Even though this book was inspired by The Jungle Book, I felt that The Graveyard Book was definitely in a class by itself.

Reader reviewed by TheBookworm

Okay, What?
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
2 out of 5 stars

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman was a depressing, lifeless book.

Nobody Bod Owens has lived in the Graveyard with his dead ghost adoptive parents for as long as he can remember. As he grows, his studies expand. He learns more about his Freedom of the Graveyard, and its privileges such as the art of The Fade, The Fear, The Dreamwalk, and etc. But it doesnt take long for Bod to realize that he enjoyed being surrounded by breathing, living people rather than the dead of the Graveyard. As Bod roams farther from the Graveyard he learns more about the dangers in the living world. When his Guardian disappears for longer than usual he dwells more and more in the thought of searching and destroying his faceless enemy. But could a no name, parentless, lonely boy win?

This book was very creative and original, but I didnt really enjoy it. All it seemed to do was depress me.

I loathed the fact that every time Bod made a friend they left him, feared him, or died. Why did he have to be so alone?

With no one to talk to, why did he not fall into a pit of despair? A pro of the character Bod was that he is strong. Not physically strong, but mentally strong. No matter how bad things got he tried to move forward.

At the end, I wasnt sure where the author was going with the story. Bod had no friends or great knowledge to survive in the living world. He left the Graveyard with nothing, but his name, heart, and mind. One small speck in a big world. It felt rather depressing. Especially when you read that he left the Graveyard to live his small life until he to would ride the Ladys horse to his finally resting place, the Graveyard.

The Graveyard Book was a dark, one-of-a-kind story.