Gaiman, Neil. (2008). THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. PLOT SUMMARY
Nobody “Bod” Owens is a normal young boy that loves his family and enjoys playing with his friends. The only difference is that all of his family and friends are dead, and he is living in a graveyard. After his family members are murdered, Bod wonders into a graveyard and comes under the care of its inhabitants. All the while, the murderer, Jack is still hunting Bod to finish the job he started. The people of the graveyard not only protect Bod, but they teach him tricks of the graveyard like fading and dreamwalking. His guardian, Silas, who is neither living nor dead, provides him with an education, but Bod desires more. He decides to go to school with the living, but he quickly regrets that decision as he is haunted by the evils of the living world. Jack discovers Bod’s secret and he comes after him, as Bod continues to search for whom he truly is and which world he belongs to.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Gaiman has readers hooked from the first sentence, “There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife,” which is accompanied by a dark, sinister picture. The old graveyard, though it is Bod’s safe haven, also keeps readers on edge as spirits, ghouls, and other creatures are presented. Bod loves his adopted ghost parents and his guardian, Silas, but he also is curious to interact with humans and he gets a brief chance when a young girl comes to play with him in the graveyard. Then she is taken away by her parents and Bod is lonely once more with only the dead to comfort him. Bod grows up adapting to the graveyard and respecting its inhabitants, but as he reaches adolescence he is longing for more. Like any teenager, he wants to discover who he truly is and what became of his birth family. Throughout the novel there is an underlying suspense of when the man Jack will return to find Bod, and when the moment comes, readers will not be disappointed. This Newbery award winner is a very different twist on the coming of age story. One that is sure to leave readers feeling a little uneasy at every turn.
REVIEW EXERPTS
School Library Journal (October 01, 2008)- “Bod's love for his graveyard family and vice versa provide the emotional center, amid suspense, spot-on humor, and delightful scene-setting.”
Booklist (September 15, 2008)- “This is an utterly captivating tale that is cleverly told through an entertaining cast of ghostly characters.”
Voice of Youth Advocates (August 01, 2008)- “The conclusion is satisfying, but it leaves room for a sequel. Everyone who reads this book will hope fervently that the very busy author gets around to writing one soon.”
CONNECTIONS
- Have students illustrate tombstones with epitaphs describing made up characters from another time period.
- Have students predict what they think Bod will do once he has left the graveyard.
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