Spooky Review: The Graveyard Book

Read: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaimon
Stars: Five

Drinking: Green Tea, Bigelow

Neil Gaimon is a master at all he puts his pen to, and The Graveyard Book is no exception.  Technicaly, it is a children's book, but I try not to let labels like that get in the way of good literature.  This book has become a Halloween staple, to the point where Gaimon himself does a yearly All-Hallow's Read event initiated by it.

The Graveyard Book is the story of Bod, a mysterious child living in a graveyard, and his ghostly guardians.  Bod has many adventures as a resident of the graveyard, and it this way the book has an unusual structure - each chapter is a stand-alone chapter recounting an adventurous episode.  For example, Bod's friendship with a little girl who lives near the graveyard and their spooky exploration adventure is an early chapter.

Underlying the fun of living in a graveyard is the mystery of what happened to Bod's family that resulted in his residence at the graveyard.  When all is revealed, Bod uses his wits to defeat the villain.  Sadly, like all defeats of evil villains, there was great cost.

I highly recommend this book to anyone, but particularly those with children.  It is a great read-aloud book with just enough spookiness for Halloween.  If you don't have children, just read it aloud to yourself or your pet.  It is a book that is intended to be shared.