The Graveyard Book

by Neil Gaiman

Book Overview

"Wistful, witty, and wise--and creepy. . . . Closer in tone to American Gods than to Coraline, but permeated with Bod's innocence, this needs to be read by anyone who is or has ever been a child." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

By turns macabre, uplifting, sinister, and heartwarming, Neil Gaiman's #1 national bestseller is an ingenious reimagining of Rudyard Kipling's classic adventure The Jungle Book. Called a "novel of wonder . . . a tale...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0062081551
• ISBN13: 9780062081551
• Release Date: September 2011
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.57 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.2" x 7.8"
• Age Range: 10 to 13 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 8

Customer Reviews

I love this book and have read it many times!

I read this every other year or so. It's fantastic! I bought my nephew a copy since he loves to read too.

So Happy To Have Read This

I'll say that this isn't as good as Never where, but I still highly recommend this book to folks who love Neil's voice- his ability to capture tenderness in the dark whimsical world that he builds is so captivating. I do agree with another reviewer that there are moments in this book, but not enough of them. I think my biggest complaint is that it DOES feel like a compilation of short stories (each chapter is a different age in the MC's life, which makes PLENTY of sense but it wasn't necessarily what I was hoping for), but still, it's not much of a complaint and it doesn't dampen my enthusiasm when I recommend this book. I loved the characters, I loved the environment, and it was a very fun world to explore. I had heard Neil read the first chapter of Graveyard in his Masterclass a few years back and I was so happy to finally be able to read the book myself, I read it while traveling and it took me about 7.5 hours- about 305 pages, a very easy read that was charming, satisfying, and very fun. I know that this book was geared more towards children, but I thoroughly enjoyed it all the same. If you're a fan of Neil's work, please do yourself a favor and give this one a read. It's a fun time <3

Sad and scary

A sad story of an orphaned child who fled to a graveyard an was taken in by ghosts. Great characters, engaging ghosts, and terrible villains.

Read and gifted to my 11 YO Grandson

An epic adventure through different eyes and exploring an unusual environment in the upbringing of a young boy on his odd, yet interesting, existence throughout childhood. Strange concept but filled with love, action mystery and humanity and a sense of intrigue with a cast of unique and well developed characters wrapped up in a heartfelt and intense plot. I purchased read this book myself and found that it would be an ideal read For my Grandson!

Love

💗

Great Read

Full of friendly ghosts, paranormal, and what I later realized to be a vampire guardian. Kept my attention all the way through.

Excellent

Highly recommend.

I loved it.

One of my favorite books.

Gift for my daughter

My 11yo daughter is a huge Coraline fan so I bought this on a whim for her and she loves it.

Great Book!

Excellent story telling!

Love it!

Love it!

Book condition

As described

Best Book Ever

I have given this book to some dozen people to read. Meant for teens, it's quite a read for adults. There are parts describing the difference between the living and dead that are brilliant (like how noisy breathing is in a room full of living people.)

Great read!

Such a good book, cannot put it down. Neil gaiman is such a good writer. I recommend this book to anyone who likes ghosts and other odd things.

Moments, But Not Enough of Them

This book had some moments, but not enough of them. Disappointed because I had heard so many good things.

This book was wonderfully spooky!

Wow! It felt like each chapter is a short story in and of itself. Loved the characters and how comforting the deceased were. There were moments where I was frightened but the courage of this stellar boy made me (the reader of course) feel as brave as him. Definitely recommend! Already lent it out! Worth reading again!

A little bit slow...

I think I just may not be that into Neil Gaiman's writing because this is the 4th book of his I've read and I felt I had to force myself to finish each of them. Disappointing as I love the subject matter, but they just don't do it for me.

Great ghost story

Even though this book is meant for middle schoolers, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! Very good characters and eerie atmosphere!

Loved it!

I tell all my reader friends to pick this one.

My favorite Gaiman so far

Previous to this I've read Coraline, Stardust, and American Gods, each seeming to target a different reader age group. The Graveyard Book probably targets readers somewhere between Coraline and Stardust, but as a 25 year old, I enjoyed this novel more than the previous three, and I loved those to begin with. It combines the darkness of Coraline with the magic of Stardust and the delightful contemporization of mythological lore in the style of American Gods. Highly recommended.

Beautifully Read

Some authors shouldn't be the one to read for their audiobooks, but Neil Gaiman is not one of them. His reading brings the story into vibrant life, making the humor funnier, the tension thicker, and the tender moments more touching. I have never bought a book and considered buying the audio version as well--it has always been one or the other--until now. I can't recommend The Graveyard Book or its audio version highly enough. In fact, I think I'll start listening to it again right now.

Another Gaiman Delight mixing humor, creepiness, fantasy, horror, and humanity

What a fun read. It kept me up 'til 7 in the morning yesterday, and I do not regret it a bit. The story of Nobody Owens--his adopted name, as this is a wee human child spared the murderous spree of a dreadful assasin, then taken in by a cemetery full of ghosts from assorted centuries, and guarded by them because the assasin has not given up the quest to kill him--is unputdownable. Every adventure as he grows from toddler to teenager mixes wonders and frights and humor. It's just such fun to see him learn ghostly ways and interact with humans and nonhumans. There's so much to recommend in the story (and my fellow reviewers cover plenty, so I need not repeat it), but I agree that the trip into the world of the ghouls was a wild ride. I have to give props to Gaiman for the total magic that he infused into the chapter on the Danse Macabre. It would have been a terrific short story--that strange, strange day--but it worked wonderfully in the tale, showing us clearly a thing or two about Nobody and his mysterious, powerful Guardian, Silas. (His particular fantasy niche, while never said specifically in so many words is , nevertheless, no great riddle.) The near-end brings Nobody into confrontation with the horrible killer, and Nobody comes into his own, but it costs him. It's a well-crafted ending that is inevitable given all Nobody's learned as the story progressed. If you don't figure it out pretty well in advance, you werent' paying attention. The bittersweet--but natural and fitting-- ending made me sad as I closed the book. It feels complete, yes, but I so want to see more written on Nobody Owens. I have no idea if Mr. Gaiman has planned another or several more novels with this character, but I can say that I would very much like to read more on Nobody and Silas. I should add that there are illustrations scattered throughout, however, I'm not a particular fan of all the included art. I normally really enjoy McKean's partnering with Mr. Gaiman, but several of the illustrations just left me unimpressed. Though, honestly, I was so wrapped up in the tale, I didn't give them that much of a lingering look. So, the fault may lie more with my impatience to read. A wonderful story. If you enjoyed the award-winning CORALINE, you're in for a treat. This one's better. Thanks, Mr. G. Mir UPDATE Jan 26, 2009: This book just won Gaiman the prestigious Newbery Medal!

The gravity of the situation

I've noticed that there's been an increased interest in the macabre in children's literature lately. Sometimes when I've had a glass or two of wine and I'm in a contemplative mood I try weaving together a postulation that ties the current love of violent movies into this rise in children's literary darkness. Is the violence of the world today trickling down into our entertainment? Hogwash and poppycock and other words of scoff and denial, says sober I. But I've certainly seen a distinct rise in the Gothic and otherworldly over the last few years, and one wonders if it's because kids want more of that kind of stuff or publishers are merely getting less squeamish. All that aside, generally I'll read a May Bird book or an Everlost title and they'll be fun examinations of the hereafter, but not the kind of things that touch my heart. Great writing doesn't have to transcend its genre. It just has to be emotionally honest with the reader. And The Graveyard Book is one of the most emotionally honest books I've yet to have read this year. Smart and focused, touching and wry, it takes the story of a boy raised by ghosts and extends it beyond the restrictive borders of the setting. Great stuff. It starts with three murders. There were supposed to be four. The man Jack was one of the best, maybe THE best, and how hard is it to kill a toddler anyway? But on that particular night the little boy went for a midnight toddle out the front door while the murderer was busy and straight into the nearby graveyard. Saved and protected by the denizens of that particular abode (the ghosts and the far more corporeal if mysterious Silas), the little boy is called Bod, short for Nobody because no one knows his name. As he grows older, Bod learns the secrets of the graveyard, though he has to be careful. The man (or is it "men"?) who killed his family could come back for him. Best to stay quiet and out of sight. Yet as Bod grows older it becomes clear that hiding may not be the best way to confront his enemies. And what's more, Bod must come to grips with what it means to grow up. Can I level with you? You know Coraline? Mr. Gaiman's previous foray into middle grade children's literature. Come close now, I don't want to speak too loudly. Uh... I didn't much care for it. WAIT! Come back, come back, I didn't mean it! Well, maybe I did a tad. It was a nice book. A sufficient story. But it was very much (new category alert) an adult-author-to-children's-author-first-timer-title. Gaiman appeared to be finding his sealegs with Coraline. He took the old Alice in Wonderland trope which adult authors naturally gravitate to on their first tries (see: Un Lun Dun, Summerland, The King in the Window, etc.). Throw in some rats, bees, and buttons, and voila! Instant success. But Coraline for all its readability and charm didn't get me here [thumps chest:]. I didn't feel emotionally close to the material. Now why it should be that I'd feel closer emotionally to a book filled with a pleth

Gaiman riffs on Kipling's Jungle Book

Gaiman's latest finds the popular author channeling Rudyard Kipling's 1894 story collection The Jungle Book, particularly the story of the boy, Mowgli, who was raised in the jungle by animals, specifically by his mentors, Baloo the bear, Kaa the snake, and Bagheera, the panther. As indicated by its title, Gaiman's take on the story involves a boy who is raised by the denizens of a graveyard. Like many ideas he's developed, it is one that occurred to Gaiman a long way back, and stayed with him over the years. In the author's own words: "Around 1985 or 1986, we lived in a house with no garden, but we had a graveyard just over the run, so that was where my son Michael (three or four at the time) rode his little tricycle. And I remember watching him, and thinking it would be fun to do The Jungle Book, only set in a graveyard instead of a jungle, and that was the start of it. Because I tend to be fairly slow about these things, it's taken me...twenty-two years to get to it." The first half of Chapter One (which I was fortunate enough to hear Gaiman read aloud at a November, 2007 gathering at the University of Minnesota) describes how a man named Jack enters a house and kills its occupants, except for an infant, a boy, who manages to escape the killing zone and ends up in a nearby graveyard. There, the denizens of the graveyard reach a momentous decision, deciding to raise the toddler as a member of their extended family. After much humorous and heated debate, they name him Nobody, because he's like nobody else in the cemetery. Bod, as he comes to be known, is still in danger, however, as Jack (like the lethal and murderous tiger Shere Khan in The Jungle Book) is still looking for him, hoping to finish his task of eliminating the members of Bod's family. That's the setup; to discuss subsequent chapters in any detail would be a disservice to Gaiman's constant readers. Suffice it to say all the praise lavished on the author in the blurbs above is justified: Gaiman deftly blends action, humor, horror, and a good deal of, well, humanity, into a suspenseful storyline, offsetting the grim goings on with a cast of irrepressible characters sure to strike a favorable chord with readers. Always an interesting, inventive, and intuitive storyteller, Gaiman has outdone himself with The Graveyard Book, creating a tale destined to be well received both critically and commercially. This one might have taken twenty-two years to finish, but it has proven to be well worth the wait.