“A graveyard is not a democracy, and yet death is the great democracy.”
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Star Rating: ★★★★★ 5/5 stars
Format: library eaudiobook
Summary: Nobody Owens lives in a graveyard but he is not dead, he’s just being raised by them. As a baby he wandered into the graveyard after his family was murdered and the (dead) residents take him in to raise.
Review: I think this my favorite Gaiman book (that I’ve read so far), I think the fact that it takes place over most of Bod’s childhood rather than a short event that appeals more to me. I really liked all of the characters and I wasn’t confused by the magic of the book. Sometimes I get really caught up in how magic in a world works.
I liked following Bod’s life and seeing a lot of things in the book come back again at the finale. I wished that Scarlett hadn’t left in the end, I feel like Bod needed a living friend the very end. Which is another thing, I get how he needed to leave but how prepared is he to be in the living world? Where is he going to live? What is he going to do? He’ll need a job or to go to school… I don’t know I felt a little disappointed by the ending.
I would like to see how Bod does in the living world, we got a glimpse when he goes to school for a brief period but he has the protection of the graveyard and he had powers then. Fully going into the living world he wouldn’t have any, I’d like to see that Bod.
I’m glad I’d read The Ocean at the End of the Lane before this book, I was able to catch that Liza was a Hempstock like the family there. I googled it and Gaiman had confirmed they’re the same family, it’s neat to see small connections between books, but they’re still stand alone.
I read this is a sort of Jungle Book retelling which I could see, I thought it was very subtle but you can see it when you know that’s what’s happening. I think that’s what makes a good retelling, that it’s a good story even if you don’t know that it is a retelling of another.
Recommendation: This is a good stand alone book, I enjoyed the story a lot and even though it begins with a murder and takes place in a graveyard, I don’t think that it’s really scary or even creepy.
Pug and Books 
Gaiman does a great job of straddling the line between gothic creepiness and all-out horror. I really enjoy his children’s fiction as well as that marketed toward adults and this is one of his finest works. Fantastic review and thanks for the recommendation!
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