A review by riverofhorton
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This book was unexpected. I went into it knowing nothing, apart from that it was written by Neil Gaiman, only assuming that a significant in some way. My only concrete expectation was that it would enjoy it, as I have almost all of Neil Gaiman's other books. That expectation was definitely met, and I will be re-reading this in the future. I am a little surprised that this is considered a children's book, it handles some very difficult topics, opening with a description of a man murdering two parents and a child. Thankfully, the murders themselves aren't described, just the moments after the final one. That said, it was an incredibly enjoyable book, following the childhood of a boy growing up in a graveyard with an adoptive family who are all either dead, or on the border between (I took that to mean a vampire). Ironically, I found the ghosts to be more fleshed out than the living characters of various other books by different authors, truly a testament to Gaiman's writing.
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