The Graveyard Book Review

Probably the first thing that I noticed when I began reading this book was just how strange it was. A bizarre plot that takes itself seriously combined with the unique writing style of Neil Gaiman makes this a joy to read. The sentences are stringed together almost poetically, and the fear factor is through the roof around every turn. After reading only the first chapter of the book, my expectations for the rest of the book were high. And I was glad that this book ended up delivering on them.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman is a deep book with many morals that can be taken from it, but the arguably most apparent one is that everyone and everything has a story behind it. What would your reaction be if you stumbled upon a kid in a graveyard? Would you ever guess that, as an infant, he barely escaped a murderer who was out to kill his family, thanks to the help of some lost souls in the graveyard up the hill? Because that is exactly the plot of The Graveyard Book. Bod Owens is raised by specters, who are afraid to let him into the outside world, because of a man named Jack out to kill him.  Bod eventually convinces his caretaker to let him go to school in the outside world, but Jack is close on his trail.

Epiphanies:Around a third of the way through the book, Bod’s caretaker, Silas, finally tells him about his true past. About how his family was murdered, and Bod barely survived. Bod had an epiphany, and, contrary to how Silas expected him to react, Bod wanted to go to school and see the outside world. With the mindset that; he shouldn't fear Jack, but rather Jack should fear him. This short, yet surprisingly powerful scene sets up the groundwork for the remaining two thirds of the book.

Character Development: Character development is actually very interesting in the terms of this book. The dead never change, never age, never grow. This is great when contrasted to the human characters, such as Bod or his one friend, Scarlett. We get to see bod growing up, how he started off as a curious boy unaware of the world outside of the graveyard, and later becomes a brave 14 year old, mindset on avenging his family he never knew.

Outside Connections: This book uses the orphan trope, which is far from uncommon, making it similar to other novels about orphans being raised by other families, such as Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, or about people feeling as if they don’t belong.

Recommendations: I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of intense mystery books, or anyone who hates getting attached to characters, as if you find one you like in this book, they won’t be around for much longer. But seriously, this book has a whole new set of thrills every chapter, and will permanently keep you on the edge of your seat. Even if you are standing. That is just how brilliant this book is.

 Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_UUVwTaemk

Neil Gaiman Reads Chapter 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOF01vb4Rec