The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. 2008.Audience: 5th or 6th Grade and up; 10 and up
My Rating: 3.5*s of 5
Summary: The orphan Bod, short for Nobody, is taken in by the inhabitants of a graveyard as a child of eighteen months and raised lovingly and carefully to the age of eighteen years by the community of ghosts and otherworldly creatures.
Comments: I first picked up this book right after it's release in Sept. of 2008 being a big Gaiman fan and eager to read his newest. About the time I got to the ghoul scene, I lost interest and put it down. Now, since Gaiman himself narrates, I made it through the entire audio book much more easily (though I still found the ghoul scene boring and somewhat pointless). This is not my favorite of his books (I much preferred Anansi Boys) and is often too reminiscent of Coraline. However, it carries Gaiman's usual charming voice; the "Dance the Macabre" chapter is enchantingly well written. The beginning is quite scary, especially in print with the dark illustrations. The setting and characters are certainly original for a younger, coming of age story and I appreciate the overall message of the value of life as well as the cost of living in fear.
Awards: Newbery Medal winner, 2009!
Read-alikes: Coraline
Awards: Newbery Medal winner, 2009!
Read-alikes: Coraline
2 comments:
I'm so glad you said that about the ghouls. That's the chapter I got stuck on in the book and was in the middle of forcing myself to finish it in the audiobook when I read your post. I successfully finished that chapter and am moving forward. Huzzah!
Okay I finally read it. I will admit that I was thinking do I really want to go on until I read Chapter 4. Chapter 4 is when Bod leaves the graveyard to go and do something nice for someone (purchase the witch a headstone)at that point, I became absorbed until the end. The chapter with the ghouls dragged on but they were necessary as the author mentions "one grave in every graveyard belongs to ghouls." And too toward the end when the Jacks are chasing Bod, three of them end up falling through the ghoul gates where I'm sure they have met their match. I guess there has to be good and bad in the cemetary too.
A graveyard as sooo much of the setting and a child raised by ghosts pretty unique.
I wanted to know why was it necessary to kill Bod. That unanswered mystery to me the reader also kept me going.
Themes I loved included the power of family and I am with you Bonnie regarding the theme, the value of life. I just loved the song Mrs. Owens sang to Bod as an infant,and them again right before he leaves the graveyard for good, in a sense this song is her hope for him but also a foreshadowing of his future and what would be his deepest desire; to experience life fully both the good and the bad. Bod said, "I want to see life.I want to hold it in my hands." There's more of this on page 304. I thought this haunting, humerous, orginial book was amazing.
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