The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (Guest Review)

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place-he's the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians' time as well as their timely ghostly teachings-like the ability to Fade.

Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the dead? And then there are things like ghouls that aren't really one thing or the other.

This chilling tale is Neil Gaiman's first full-length novel for middle-grade readers since the internationally bestselling and universally acclaimed Coraline. Like Coraline, this book is sure to enchant and surprise young readers as well as Neil Gaiman's legion of adult fans.

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Although this might be marketed somewhat as a children's book, The Graveyard Book was an enjoyable read for me as an adult. The writing is very descriptive and the characters have personalities. I could easily picture the settings and action as it played out. There are monsters, ghosts, fights, and murder so you may want to read it yourself to determine if it's acceptable for your child. For the most part, vocabulary is simple but there are characters of different eras so young children may miss out some of the dialogue. My opinion is that a child of 4th grade or later could quickly read and enjoy this book. I say that because by that time, a child should have enough basic knowledge of mythology and history to understand the characters and some of the scenarios. As I said before though, it should be an enjoyable read for adults as well. It's not so long and has some nice illustrations. You might decide to read it with your younger child (or children) if you don't think ghouls will upset them.


View all my reviews.

The above review is a guest review by my enginerd husband. *grin*

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; Later printing edition (September 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060530928
• ISBN-13: 978-0060530921