The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaimen

Fiction: YA/Sci-Fi. Audio from HarperChildren’s. Published in 2008. Read by the author. 7 hours, 47 minutes. Purchased from Audible.com.

This 2009 Newbery Award Winner is written for 9-12 year old kids. It is a bit simplistic because of that fact, many things not completely explained that a “full grown” sci-fi book would certainly go into. Despite this, which can be a bit of a let down if you’re used to having every character and all the background activity completely explained, it is an enjoyable book. Gaimen does a great job narrating.

I’d only like to mention, that if you are considering it for one of your kids, just be aware that the story does begin with the murders of three people, and has some mild violence as the story is coming to a close, so it might be a bit scary for kids at the lower end of that age range, depending on the child.

Publisher’s Summary:

Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn’t live in a sprawling graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead.

There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a boy. But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under attack from the man Jack – who has already killed Bod’s family.

Beloved master storyteller Neil Gaiman returns with a luminous new novel for the audience that embraced his New York Times best-selling modern classic Coraline. Magical, terrifying, and filled with breathtaking adventures, The Graveyard Book is sure to enthrall readers of all ages.

Prefer a hardcopy? Check it out on Amazon.com:
The Graveyard Book

~ by bibliophilist on Friday, 8 May 2009.