Module 6 Book Review #2: The Graveyard Book

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*This book review was written for a MLS course at SHSU.*

Image result for the graveyard book

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Gaiman, Neil. (2008). THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. Ill. by Dave McKean. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 9780060530938

PLOT SUMMARY
Nobody “Bod” Owens lives at a graveyard with many other ghosts. The thing is, he is not dead. He is the only living resident, for he was taken in by some of the graveyard’s inhabitants whenever he escaped his house as a baby. A man named Jack killed his whole family, and he was determined to find Bod and kill him too. In order to protect him, the ghosts allowed Bod to be raised there and be away from the living outside world. As time goes on, Bod begins to question his different worlds, and it becomes even more dangerous for him to leave the graveyard and uncover the mysteries from his past.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The Graveyard Bookis definitely a thriller from the beginning. A knife is being described, and the readers can immediately infer that a murder (or murders) literally just happened, and the man was not ready to stop. The suspense grows throughout the novel, even though Jack, the man who was determined to find and kill Bod, was not always mentioned. The reason why this part of the story tends to grab the readers’ attentions is because this is something that is usually not part of the plot of a children’s chapter book. In addition to this, the sketches within the book are black and white and appear to be gloomy, which is perfect for the story’s graveyard setting. It then becomes evident that the story will probably remain ominous and not be filled with constant happy moments, which makes the readers want to keep reading for some more.

Bod was raised by ghosts of a graveyard, so it makes sense that he learned how to adapt to the environment by learning and developing various supernatural powers. This is interesting to read and think about, for the boy is a living human being, so readers start to question how it’s even possible for Bod to be able to see and do what his ghost family members are able to do. In the acknowledgments section of the book, Neil Gaiman highly praised The Jungle Bookby 
Rudyard Kipling, and he even noted that he used it as an inspiration when writing The Graveyard Book. It is clear how the protagonists in each of the texts are similar when it came to being raised by an unusual group after losing their own parents. That was the world they were familiar with the most, so of course they needed to learn what to do to fit in. Gaiman did an excellent job with this parallel, and he even threw in the theme of “identity” while at it. The Graveyard Bookrepresents Bod’s fifteen years of life, and within each period that was noted, he became more and more curious of who he truly was and what other things he was capable of doing. He wanted to include the living world into his world. Gaiman then shows how families tend to worry about their children going too far into the world; therefore, they keep them close in order to protect them from harm. This happens to Bod, but it was just a matter of time before he was going to have to be on his own.

REVIEW EXCERPTS
*2009 Newbery Medal Winner
*Horn Book Starred Review: “Lucid, evocative prose and dark fairy-tale motifs imbue the story with a dreamlike quality…this ghost-story-cum-coming-of-age-novel as readable as it is accomplished.”
*Kirkus Reviews Starred Review: “Wistful, witty, wise—and creepy. This needs to be read by anyone who is or has ever been a child.”
*Booklist Starred Review: “This is an utterly captivating tale that is cleverly told through an entertaining cast of ghostly characters. There is plenty of darkness, but the novel’s ultimate message is strong and life affirming….this is a rich story with broad appeal.”

CONNECTIONS
*Coraline is another fantasy book by Neil Gaiman. Readers who enjoyed reading about ghosts and the supernatural world in The Graveyard Bookwill enjoy this other book of his since it is about a young girl who discovers an alternate world of her own.
*The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling was said to be an inspiration for Neil Gaiman. Readers can also read this text and then compare and contrast it to The Graveyard Book.
*Since Bod learned how to fit in with his graveyard family and developed different supernatural powers, readers can come up with some other things Bod probably would have been taught to do during his lessons. Students can research different supernatural powers and either find one and explain it in detail, or simply just use their research to create their own.

PICTURE SOURCE
https://www.amazon.com/Graveyard-Book-Neil-Gaiman/dp/0060530944 

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