jdintr 's review for:

Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman

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There is no better place to learn about life than a graveyard. That's the idea behind Neil Gaiman's classic tale of Nobody Owens, a boy who waddles into a graveyard as a baby and grows there, raised by two ghosts, a mysterious guardian and a dozen spectral friends.

This is pretty packed territory. Like Harry Potter, "Bod" must solve the mystery of his parents' deaths and bring justice to their murderer. Like Lemony Snicket, there is a glorious gothic quality to the settings. But Gaiman really takes this book a step beyond, thanks to big ideas about life--what it's all about, why it's worth following through with. I really enjoyed this book--I couldn't put it down--and I would recommend it to readers from 11 to 17.