The Graveyard Book

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Neil Gaiman: The Graveyard Book (EBook, 2010, Bloomsbury Publishing)

eBook

English language

Published April 29, 2010 by Bloomsbury Publishing.

ISBN:
978-1-4088-0820-7
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5 stars (2 reviews)

Winner of the Newbery Medal When a baby escapes a murderer intent on killing the entire family, who would have thought it would find safety and security in the local graveyard? Brought up by the resident ghosts, ghouls and spectres, Bod has an eccentric childhood learning about life from the dead. But for Bod there is also the danger of the murderer still looking for him - after all, he is the last remaining member of the family. A stunningly original novel deftly constructed over eight chapters, featuring every second year of Bod's life, from babyhood to adolescence. Will Bod survive to be a man?

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Review of 'The graveyard book' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Starts off as a thriller, the assassin striking in the middle of the night. Hints are given that killing off this particular family is not a random act, so we get the idea that the child who survives is somehow special.

While this sounds like the start of the Harry Potter mythos, it is instead from a young adult novel published some 10 years later. The Graveyard Book is an excellent work, combining history and mythology, ghosts and prophecy into a growing up and coming of age story. Each of the characters here seems to have a solid backstory, though only a few are explored in the course of this novel.

Each chapter sees the main character grow a few years older, and each is almost a story unto itself. Each of Bod's trials help him to learn and grow, leading to a long final chapter and confrontation.

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