Reviews with content warning for Death - The Graveyard Book

This book is lovely. It's dark but witty, heavy but charming. The prose of this story is so beautiful, never unnecessarily flowery or complex but you can tell that each word was chosen with care. The structure of the book is almost an anthology of short stories, but all with the same chronology, setting, and main characters. Without spoiling anything, I'll say that the ending does a great job of tying in most of the previous stories in surprising and entertaining ways. The only things I would change are

I wish we had more information about Silas and what he is. I've seen a lot of people say he is clearly a vampire and maybe I'm just oblivious but that was not at all obvious to me

and

the Danse Macabre. Every other chapter somehow tied into the ending, but nothing from Danse Macabre ever came back or had any impact on the ending

. Other than that, it was pretty much perfect. I would highly recommend anyone who's interested in this book to check out the audiobook, read by the author himself. Gaiman gives a fantastic performance, bringing the story to life in a truly remarkable fashion. It's difficult to decide whether he's a better author or voice actor.

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grrr8_catsby's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

A fast, fun read and modern adaptation of The Jungle Book that at times focuses too much on its source material rather than exploring the world that it created.

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booksthatburn's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Nobody Owens ("Bod") is raised by the denizens of a graveyard after the rest of his family is killed when he's a baby.

Bod grows from a baby into a teenager over the course of the book, and he feels distinct at each age in how he interacts with the world and what kinds of questions he asks. His world is built from his relationships with the others in the graveyard, whether they're consistent visitors or permanent residents. It's also shaped by his attempts to be around living people, most of which go poorly and all of which are complicated. Because Bod’s perspective is the main (but not quite only) one in the book, his understanding is the filter for most of the worldbuilding. There are things he’s told but lacks additional context to understand, and some things he knows intimately but which are just mentioned.

The first two-thirds of the book is a series of vignettes of events which happened to Bod as he grows up. The episodic pacing culminates in one major event which comprises the final third of the book and is built on everything that happened until this point. It makes this large section feel important, tense, and distinct from the other sections while complementing them perfectly.

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toffishay's review

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adventurous dark funny mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Such a fun middle-grade read that was emotional and exciting with some surprising twists. Neil Gaiman, at his best (which he isn't always, in my opinion), has a great writing style and it makes his work very readable.

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veerau's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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marareading's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I have loved reading more of Gaiman's catalog recently. The wit, and cozy feeling fo this story was fantastic. He has a way of writing these stories that pulls you in and lulls you into a welcomed trance.

This story is about Bod. Short for Nobody Owens. A Strange man killed his family when he was a baby and he was raised by the ghosts in a graveyard. He also has a mysterious guardian. As we watch him grow, we learnore about the graveyard, these amazing characters, his guardian, and all of the interesting dealings of the worlds we cannot see as the living.

I love the way Gaiman pulls things together in his novels. Every detail makes sense. Nothing is there that doesn't need to be. Everything is in it's place. Every character has their distinct voice and purpose. I enjoy his writing SO MUCH. If you haven't read his books I highly recommend starting with this YA novel or my favorite, Neverwhere.

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kylajaynebooks's review

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adventurous dark emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

This gave me spooky stories around the campfire vibes and I loved it so much. Neil Gaiman books are like reading a Tim Burton movie and I’m obsessed

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