Neil Gaiman is a master of mixing the elements of dark and whimsy to meet every reader's needs. His uncanny retelling of Kipling's The Jungle Book is no exception. The Graveyard Book is essentially the same format and plot outline as the 1894 classic, but with one major difference - instead of the jungle, it takes place in a graveyard. So, when an orphan baby boy winds up in a cemetery, who should raise him but the inhabitants there? Ghosts!
Nobody "Bod" Owens escapes from his nursery just before a killer named Jack (or "the man Jack") kills the rest of his family. The baby finds his way to a nearby graveyard and is adopted by the ghosts Mr. and Mrs. Owens. He is given free reign of the grounds and is provided for by a man (implied to be a vampire) named Silas.
Bod grows up in and around the graveyard, learning the ghoulish arts of Haunting and Dream Walking. He makes friends with both the living and the dead, and has countless adventures around the haunted property. Just as in The Jungle Book, the killer does return years later to finish the job of killing Bod. This culminates in a battle involving Silas and the others against the man Jack and his Order.
Winner of the Newberry Medal, the Hugo Award, and several other notes of prestige, Neil Gaiman is a living legend. A number of his works have been adapted for film, television, and radio, and met with great success. He is not only a novelist, but writes children's books, comics, and television scripts as well.
"I heard great things about The Graveyard Book, and finally had some time to sit down and read it. Nobody Owens is an intriguing protagonist whom I rooted for throughout the novel, but simultaneously couldn't help but feel sympathy for given his unique circumstances. I really enjoyed the ending once everything started to come together. Filled with interesting characters with equally interesting names (the ghouls were my favorite), Gaiman has written a wonderful new children's tale. The beginning was a bit slow for my taste, but it's still an engaging tale nonetheless."
—
T. (4 out of 5 stars)