The Graveyard Book
HarperCollins, 2008
Fantasy Fiction
ISBN-10: 0060530928
320 pages
Newbery Award Winner
Synopsis
Nobody Owens, known as Bod, is like any normal boy his age, except that he’s been raised by a graveyard full of ghosts. When he was just a baby, the man Jack was sent to murder him and his family, but Bod solely escaped. Largely taken care of by a guardian who exists neither within the living or the dead, Bod has to navigate a mysterious and different world than most people, and as a result, growing up can be difficult at times. As he hits his teenage years, he must decide what to do once the man Jack knows his whereabouts again.
Critique
As always, Gaiman’s imagination reaches nearly no bounds. However, what makes him such a great storyteller is not the ability to imagine, but to take those concepts and ideas and flesh them into an enjoyable story. One of the largest flaws with books in the fantasy and science fiction genres is that the imaginative concept is great, but the story itself is poorly written and can’t carry the concept to its fullest spectrum. Gaiman’s work, on the other hand, is both imaginative and well conceived.
The Graveyard Book is no exception. Bod seems to be a true to life character who still struggles with the same problems that face any teenager growing up. His, though, are often compounded by the heightened danger that accompanies being sought after by a murderer and raised in the world of the dead. I recommend this book to all readers 11+.
Rating Rubric
Enjoyable Read: Original Fantasy: Original Plot: Language: 
Asthetics: Depth In Characters: Depth In Story: Social Commentary: Layers/Complexity: Classroom Text: Overall Rating:
For the Classroom
Although there are many interesting references to the past, this book doesn’t have a lot that can be used as a classroom companion.
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