Reviews with content warning for Child death - The Graveyard Book

Absolutely love this book, in case it wasn't obvious by the fact that I've read it 3 times now, ha ha! The characters are fantastic + I loved the spooky yet cozy vibes of the graveyard setting. It's quite lighthearted, but also manages to touch on some really heavy themes. Would absolutely recommend, especially to read around spooky season!

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florecita_lectora's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious 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

4.0

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torismazarine's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

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billyjepma's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious reflective tense

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

I can’t believe I’ve gone this long in life not knowing that Neil Gaiman wrote a retelling of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book with ghosts. If that’s not a book tailor-made for me, then I don’t know what is. And now that I've read it and loved every page, it's my contractual obligation to force everyone I know to read it and experience the emotions it gave me when I finished the final chapter in bed last night. An instant, all-time favorite that I might have to start revisiting every October.

Gaiman describes the book as a novel made up of short stories, and the approach works beautifully. Each chapter captures a pivotal experience in the protagonist's childhood, allowing us to watch him grow up without needing to spend 16 years with him. Gaiman's writing is as lovely as ever and expertly balances melancholy with tenders and adventure with scares. It's spooky without being scary, nostalgic without being trite, and is yet another example I can use in my argument that Gaiman's YA-leaning novels are his best works. This is a treasure of a novel. ❤️

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miss_vonnegut's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

WOW. I know Neil Gaiman is a great writer so I was expecting to enjoy this book, but I wasn't expecting to love it so much and so intensely. It was all good but the last two chapters are what brought it up to five stars for me. A lot of it did feel like a story written for kids/young adults (as it was), but it felt like the book grew as the main character grew in such a beautiful way. Also, as someone who loves "spooky season" but does not love horror or gore, this was a perfect level of spooky.

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gemstonejasper's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.75

It's Neil Gaiman. What more is there to say? I loved this cozy story about a boy raised by ghosts in a graveyard. The book itself deserves 5 stars. I gave it 4.75 because I listened to the audiobook and sometimes the music was too loud to understand what was being said.

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svangleboyer's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Neil Gaiman delivers another exceptional piece of work with The Graveyard Book. It is a bit spooky, full of ghosts, and a pleasure to read.

I LOVE Neil Gaiman's writing style because I feel like I am right there experiencing everything along with Nobody.

The Graveyard Book throws you right into some action that keeps a hold of you until the very last page. Each chapter is basically a story of Bod's life and I enjoyed each one. I definitely stayed up late finishing this one because I could not put it down.

The characters are all amazing and vibrant. Nobody is the sweetest kid that has to learn things a bit differently since he is raised by ghosts and a guardian but he does pretty well. Silas is a very strong presence but I wish we could have learned more about his actual background. Of all the fun characters we meet along the way, Miss Lupescu will always be my favorite. I wouldn't mind eating some of her more interesting food choices while participating in her lessons.

I highly recommend this to any Neil Gaiman fan, someone looking for a light spooky read, and/or anyone who liked Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas.

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leanne_miron's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional lighthearted medium-paced

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

5.0

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