The Graveyard Book

Children's Book and Media Review Volume 38 Issue 10 October 2017 Article 52 2017 The Graveyard Book Olivia Noli Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cbmr BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Noli, Olivia (2017) "The Graveyard Book," Children's Book and Media Review: Vol. 38 : Iss. 10 , Article 52. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cbmr/vol38/iss10/52 This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Children's Book and Media Review by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact , . Book Review Noli: The Graveyard Book Title: The Graveyard Book Author: Neil Gaiman Illustrator: Dave Mckean Reviewer: Olivia Noli Publisher: William Morrow Year: 2008 ISBN: 9780062081551 Pages: 289 Interest Level: Intermediate Rating: Outstanding Review The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman is the story of a boy who is cared for by the residents of a graveyard after his family is murdered. Named “Nobody Owens” to protect his identity, he is raised by the ghosts and a vampire, all the while hiding from the real world outside the borders of the graveyard. Silas, his vampire guardian, investigates throughout the novel who wants to murder “Bod” (short for Nobody). As he grows up, Bod learns many things about life from the ghosts and Miss Lupescu, a werewolf who occasionally visits. In the end, he learns why his family was murdered and begins life in the outside world. Gaiman is a master storyteller and this novel is no exception. Bod is relatable throughout the novel, even though it spans the years of his life up to when he turns fifteen. Most of the novel is just windows into his existence, but the real plot comes at the end. Despite this, it is still enjoyable to watch Bod grow throughout the novel. The end of the novel is interesting in that not everything is explained, not from a lack of writing talent, but that Gaiman chooses not to explain some of the supernatural elements of the story. Similarly, it is not completely clear what “power” would be gained from the murder of Bod’s family, but the most concrete reason is a prophecy that states that Bod would cause the end of a secret organization, which came to pass only because of the prophecy. Gaiman takes the reader into a world where all of this is possible, yet not completely understandable because it is not our world; it’s the side of our world where the dead reside. *Contains mild violence. Published by BYU ScholarsArchive, 2017 1  (...truncated)