The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
As an educator, avid reader, and fan of children's literature, I am so happy that Neil Gaiman was awarded the Newbery Medal for this fantastic, haunting, and sophisticated book. Having only read Gaiman's 'Coraline' and 'Neverwhere', I was in awe of his ability to grasp so acutely the power of a child's imagination, their fears and hopes and comforts and language. I felt at times like I was ready a Grimm Fairy Tale (though in his afterword Gaiman writes that he was inspired by Kipling's Jungle Book). The story follows many motifs of a fairy tale. Namely escaping powerful and evil enemies, good versus evil and the fine line in between, freedom versus entrapment, etc. Midway through the novel, I began to feel like I was reading a series of short stories, tied together by the protagonist (Nobody 'Bod' Owens) but by the last chapter I had become so attached to the inhabitants in the graveyard, and especially to Bod himself, that the book came full circle. I own my own copy and I admit that, yes, the last five pages are tear stained -- tears of joy, mostly, to have been so moved by a characters' growth and understanding.


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