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The Graveyard Book

Image result for the graveyard book by neil gaiman 
I am an affiliate with Z Publishing House. I am not sponsored to write this review, I'm just doing it for fun.  

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman was published by Harper Collins Publishers in 2008. My copy was illustrated by Dave McKean. Gaiman is most famous for his Sandman comics, his novels like American Gods, Neverwhere, and children's books like Coraline, M is for Magic, and Stardust. 

The Graveyard Book follows the life and childhood of Nobody Owens, a human boy who lives in a graveyard and is raised by the ghosts and spirits who are buried there. His education comes from the older ghosts and a werewolf. His protector is Silas, a creature who can interact with the human world but doesn't belong to the living or the dead. Nobody-- called Bod-- has a variety of adventures including an ancient tomb with a monster, an encounter with ghouls, a human friend, a grave marker for a witch, and his time at a normal school. Meanwhile, the man who murdered Bod's family and continues to hunt him-- a figure only known as Jack-- is searching and waiting. 

I picked this up because I love Neil Gaiman's work and as I read, I had the strangest feeling that I knew the story already but I wasn't sure how. I think I'd listened to the audio book at some point in my life-- probably during a family trip. 

First off, I'm a little surprised this is a kids book. It starts with Jack murdering Bod's family and then hunting an infant through the streets to a graveyard. While there's nothing gory in the description, there is plenty about Jack's knife. He does seem to have some kind of supernatural power as well but we never learn much about him or the other Jacks.

This book is very episodic. Things do connect back to each other but it's more of a fun reference and less a tight plot. One chapter introduces the Sleer but this creature doesn't return until towards the end. There's also not a lot of expansion on certain things which makes me wonder if Gaiman had planned for other short stories that either didn't make it into the book or there was going to be another book that references these characters, creatures, and organizations that I don't know about or was just never published. I want to know more about Silas and the Jack of all Trades and the Sleer. Bod's story doesn't even "end," he's just ready to leave the graveyard and go on his own way into the world. 

But again, this is a kid's book so maybe I'm looking for more things than what was intended. 

If you want to get your kids started on some scary but not terrifying books, The Graveyard Book is a great place to start. It's episodic so there's no rush to finish the entire book (all 307 pages-- including pictures). Bod is fun and all of the creatures he encounters are interesting. I just wish there was more to the book, or a sequel, or something.

*I am an affiliate with Z Publishing House and I do get a small commission from any purchases through this site (http://www.zpublishinghouse.com?rfsn=1831564.e6264). If you're interested in emerging writers anthologies, this is a great place to use. Thanks.*


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