"The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman

Illustrated by Dave McKean

Face your life

Its pain, it's pleasure, 

Leave no path untaken

These words mark the beginning of Bod Owens' life amongst the living, and the close of his childhood in a solemn graveyard. The Graveyard Book is the story of a young boy who, at the age of 2, is orphaned after the tragic murder of his entire family. Narrowly escaping the grips of a man known as Jack, the young boy escapes to a nearby graveyard. He is saved by a dark figure that lacks a shadow. His savior's name is Silas and he was born hundreds of years ago. The boy is adopted by two ghosts named Mr. and Mrs. Owens. Nobody Owens is the name given to the boy for secrecy. 

Neil Gaiman documents the development of Bod Owens from an infant to the age of fifteen. Bod is given the ability to roam freely in the graveyard. His conversations with men and women who died many years ago serve as educational tools. Mrs. Lupescu, Bod's instructor, teaches Bod to Fade, Haunt, Dreamwalk, and open portals to ghoulish dimensions. At the age of 5, Bod befriends a young girl named Scarlett. This friendship is the only living human friendship that Bod discovers in the graveyard, for his other friends are all most surely deceased. One such presence is named Liza, a supposed Witch. Liza was buried in unholy ground for her living actions and lacks a headstone. Eight-year-old Bod believes that she is deserving of such a necessity, and therefore gets into mischief out of the goodness of his heart to give Liza what she has always wanted. As Bod grows, he develops the ability to fade amongst the living and move between objects in the graveyard. This ability proves helpful upon early excursions into the living town nearby. Bod eventually goes to a local school and gains unwanted attention after being bullied. The development of Bod continues as he begins to question the tragedy of his living family. After reuniting with Scarlett, the girl from his youngest memories, the two discover that the house where his family was murdered is located nearby. Scarlett then learns that the adult man who has begun a courtship of her divorced mother may not be who he claims to be. The tale of Bod Owens reaching a gripping conclusion when violence erupts as the men who could not finish the job of killing Bod when he was 2 return to seek closure. Bod's dead friends step in give a helping hand as peril ensues. After the violence is resolved time passes and Bod loses the ability to walk amongst the dead. At the age of 15, Bod must go out into the world and begin life with the living. 

"Bod said, 'If I change my mind can I come back here?' And then he answered his own question. 'If I come back, it will be a place, but it wont be home any longer.'"

Gaiman's The Graveyard Book is an overwhelmingly heartfelt tale of a young boy who is raised by the dead. "The living have the opportunity to change the world," are the encouraging words of Bod's mentors. Bod Owens is a hero because he fights for the opportunity to live a life that was taken from his late family. His relationships with the non-living are incredibly fascinating. Many of the non-living characters in the book bring different historical events to light for the reader. Gaiman includes several characters who use ancient languages and diverse dialects. Worthy of the Newbery award Gaiman won in 2009, The Graveyard Book is excitement from the very beginning. Gaiman's lively tale is so cleverly written amidst the tombs of the long deceased. I was not able to put this book down after I was introduced to the characters. For any child or adult that was once a child, The Graveyard Book is a wonderful treat for this Fall season. 

An insight into the childhood of Neil Gaiman, from his 2009 acceptance speech for the Newbery Medal:

"When I was a boy, from about the ages of eight to fourteen, during my school holidays I used to haunt my local library. It was a mile and a half from my house, so I would get my parents to drop me off on their way to work, and when the library closed I would walk home. I was an awkward child, ill fitting, uncertain, and I loved my local library with a passion...I wanted books and made no distinction between good books or bad, only between the ones I loved, the ones that spoke to my soul, and the ones I liked."