Reviews with content warning for Death - The Graveyard Book

“You’re always you, and that don’t change. And you’re always changing, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

A middle grade book tackling the topics of death, grief, and growing up, Neil Gaiman has beautifully woven these themes together into a short tale that is both spooky and hopeful, as is characteristic of his middle grade works.

A great introduction into Gaiman’s books, every chapter felt like it’s own short story featuring the same characters and a thin narrative thread, rather than one 8-chapter book.

We watch as Nobody Owens is adopted by the ghosts of the graveyard, and grows up before our eyes, learning to stand up for himself, and making some friends along the way. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Gaiman book without spooky characters chasing after young Bod…

It’s fun, short, sad and uplifting. Will definitely be going back to Gaiman’s books, and I’m excited to try out some of his more adult novels

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albasapri's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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laurynreadsbooks's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

An enjoyable read.

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arlingtonchamberofgay's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

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xosirenox's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional fast-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

5.0

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surdiablo's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious sad 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

4.0

I didn't really feel or think much about anything for the most part while reading this book (excluding the ending ofc) but now that I finished it, I find myself pondering about everything that happened and how saddening it was overall. Of course, I do the same with every book I read but this feels different, its as if I didn't recognize how meaningful and important some of the moments were to me until now. The writing style is very accessible, elegant and thought-provoking. The story itself has a bit of everything in general and was also rather wholesome, at least more than I imagined it to be, considering the beginning. We see several 'adventures' of Bod as he grows up and these events altogether build up towards a well-written bittersweet conclusion. There were some questions that I didn't get the answers for, but I feel like this is one of those books where it's done well, where some things are best left to the imagination of the reader. It was also my first Gaiman book and I think I can see why he's so well-regarded.

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