The Graveyard Book
The Graveyard Book won a Newberry and has been reviewed in about a gazillion places, so I don’t have much to add about this fascinating and original work. I haven’t found a bad review yet, so clearly there is consensus that this is a good book. I won’t rehash the plot here, or even wax eloquent about what works and doesn’t work, since you can find better jobs of that elsewhere*. It’s got some classic kid-lit conventions – main character is an orphan, there’s a bad guy who is after him, there are some magical/metaphysical elements – but the basic plot seems fresh and the characterization is well done. Apparently, it’s a sort of retelling of The Jungle Book, just a weird, dark, modern version. That’s kind of cool, and I didn’t catch on to that until I started to read reviews (although that explains why Gaiman commented in the acknowledgements about how Rudyard Kipling was a huge influence!).
While I am huge fan of series fiction (both the old-fashioned formula stuff as well as newer middle-grade adventure fiction, although not so much at all the young adult mopey-dopey angst-ridden teeny-bop stuff), one thing that I really like about The Graveyard Book is that it is just one book. No hint of a series to come. The plot arcs completely within the book, and the reader is not left waiting for the next book in the series.
Gaiman has written a lot of stuff, and he is immensely talented. Comic book geeks know him for the Sandman series. Middle-grade readers know his book Coraline, that has been quite popular (both the original novel and the graphic novel version), especially as it is tied into the movie. As a side note, I was quite pleased to note that The Graveyard Book does not read like a novel written for the sole purpose of turning it into a graphic novel and a movie (although I have no doubt we’ll be seeing both down the road).
Gaiman is a British dude, so some of the ways he uses language reflects that. This lends a slightly creepy and old-fashioned air to the story (although it is clearly and completely set in the present). I read middle grade and young adult novels for my own enjoyment, so I am rarely concerned about violence or scariness or even just general creepiness. I’d say, despite the assassination scene, the scary underground tomb of ancient pagan earth worshipper kind of guys, the bad-guy-chases kids scenes, and the general fact that the book is set in a graveyard inhabited by ghosts, the book isn’t particularly scary. Would I let my 7-year old son read it? Sure, but he wouldn’t – he likes kids graphic novels, non-fiction, and formulaic goofy easy readers (can anyone say “Captain Underpants”?). The book appears to have been intended for a middle-grade audience (based on reviews, publicity information, etc.) but I’d say it’s probably more for kids about 10-12. And adults of course…
P.S. The illustrations are nice, and I like novels with illustration woven in. That said, if I were to buy this book for myself – which I probably will – I will get the Bloomsbury edition (the regular, not special edition) because it is illustrated by Chris Riddell, one of my favorite illustrators.
Like all heavily-publicized books, there’s a website:
http://www.thegraveyardbook.com/
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*A few good full reviews:
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog/1790000379/post/1970030997.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/books/review/Edinger-t.html
Below, you'll see some things I intend on including with every review. First, my custom content-o-meter, which gives you an at-a-glance view of what kind of fun is in store, and second is an Amazon link. I know it's a little cheesy, but hey, if any one of you was actually thinking of buying the book, why not just use this link? That way, I get 12 cents. Woo hoo!
