|
The Graveyard Book | 
 enlarge | Author: Neil Gaiman
Creator: Dave Mckean
Publisher: HarperCollins
Category: Book
List Price: $17.99
Buy New: $10.01
You Save: $7.98 (44%)
New (49) Used (12) Collectible (6) from $9.50
Avg. Customer Rating:  40 reviews
Sales Rank: 75
Media: Hardcover
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.7 x 1.2
ISBN: 0060530928
EAN: 9780060530921
ASIN: 0060530928
Publication Date: October 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: SPECIAL PURCHASE LIMITED TIME ONLY Brand New Factory Sealed, (We do not ship to HI, AK, NY KS, WA, ND)
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a sprawling graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead. There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a boy-an ancient Indigo Man beneath the hill, a gateway to a desert leading to an abandoned city of ghouls, the strange and terrible menace of the Sleer. But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under attack from the man Jack—who has already killed Bod's family. . . . Beloved master storyteller Neil Gaiman returns with a luminous new novel for the audience that embraced his New York Times bestselling modern classic coraline. Magical, terrifying, and filled with breathtaking adventures, the graveyard book is sure to enthrall readers of all ages.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 35 more reviews...
 the graveyard protects its own in an eerie coming-of-age story November 17, 2008
Neil Gaiman writes with a light touch, tenderly drawing back the curtains on his stories. "The Graveyard Book" is an eerie tale of a boy who grows up in a graveyard, but the eerieness is not where you would expect it to be. His adoptive ghostly parents and the other residents of graveyard are normal to the boy. Outside the graveyard (both in the world of the living and in the supernatural world), though, the adventures are frightening. The boy tackles these adventures, as well as his own advancement towards adulthood, and finally leaves the graveyard to learn more about the world and his place in it.
Any weaknesses in the story are where the curtains were left firmly in place. The murders that start the story are never explained. The inscrutable Silas, the boy's primary protector, is allowed in the graveyard but for unknown reasons. There is a bigger story to be told, but it is unclear whether Gaiman is going tell it. I enjoyed every second of the book, and would love to know more about what happens to him.
It Takes a Graveyard November 14, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
There is a moment in Gaiman's opus Sandman which stands out to this day. As punishment to a writer, a power curses him with an endless flow of ideas which he can neither control nor even pause to write (the two that I remember were about a "were-goldfish" and a man who inherits a library card to the great library at Alexandria). What stood out was how each of the ideas was intriguing as it was bizarre. Reading the Grave Yard Book I am reminded of the question that occurred to me at the time - how close is that character's experience to Neil Gaiman's real life?
Long recognized by those readers who appreciate his extraordinary imagination and his gift for prose, The Grave Yard book serves as a case in point; how does Gaiman come up with these ideas? A series of linked short stories, the novel features the protagonist of "Nobody Owens," who as a toddler after the murder of his family wonders into a grave yard where the Ghosts in residence adopt him agreeing to raise him as there own. What follows are a series of linked short stories, each bearing the author's trademarks of dark humor, a deep understanding of a variety of topics mundane and arcane, and an ability to take common myths in uncommon new directions.
No one would be surprised at the gallows humor which run through this work, yet it is Gaiman's sensitivity to his characters which marks this work with a tenderness not found in much of his other work (Sandman standing out for me as a notable exception). In his treatment of Nobody's struggles Gaiman show's a tenderness for his circumstance, while at the same time tapping into a number of universal themes of the challenges of childhood. Gaiman famously composed his Stardust as a sort of homage to a time when distinctions of genre were far less severe and high fiction fantasy was noted more for the former description than the latter (such as Tolkien's day). In the same way, the Grave Yard Book shows flashes for Gaiman's appreciation of the Brother's Grimm.
In the end, the highest two points of praise I can give this book are that not only could I not put it down, but also that I seem unable to stop recommending it to near everyone I see. As is so often the case in his work, Gaiman has crafted a world at once unique, familiar, scary, and wholly mesmerizing.
Macabre and Fascinating -- A Modern Grimm's Fairy Tale November 12, 2008
I find it fascinating that so many reviewers think that darkness and grim plot devices are anything new in children's literature. L. Frank Baum, who gave us The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: 100th Anniversary Edition (Books of Wonder), was especially fond of decapitations, and no one can say that the Brothers Grimm shied away from blood or gore in telling their "happily-ever-after" ditties.
But a well-told story is not as common as a merely scary one -- and the story of Nobody Owens, raised by ghosts and a benevolent vampire after the grisly murders of his entire family is a very well-told story. This imaginative tale had me from the first ghostly whisper of "Who goes there?" after the barely-toddling hero of this novel wanders into an ancient graveyard and falls into surprisingly friendly, but very dead, hands. The novel follows the adventures of Nobody (nicknamed "Bod") as he matures from a small boy to a teenager of sixteen, as he tries to become both human, and protect himself from the evil Jacks who are intent upon his death. The novel stands on its own, although I would not be surprised to see more adventures of Bod in the future.
Neil Gaiman's wonderful world of ghouls, werewolves and eerie secret parallel universes grabs the reader and never lets go. I loved this book, and I'm not usually a fan of the paranormal. But after reading The Twilight Saga in order to find out what my teenage daughters were raving about, I am going to be watching these authors very carefully.
I recommend this book highly.
Ghosts adventures November 11, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Reviewed by Neha N. Kashmiri (age 14) for Reader Views (11/08)
Nobody Owens, or as his friends call him, Bod, was raised by ghosts. When he was a toddler a man named Jack killed his parents and sister. He was found by a kindly ghost named Mrs. Owens. Ever since then, Bod has grown up with the Freedom of the Graveyard, though he doesn't grow up like most children. He is easy to miss, and learns the way of ghosts rather than living people. He has his guardian Silas, who is not quite a ghost but not living either, taking care of him.
"The Graveyard Book" follows Bod as he has a variety of adventures, including making a living friend whose parents think he's imaginary, getting into trouble with ghouls, and getting a headstone for a witch -- and a lot more. He goes to regular school for a while, forgetting to stay in the background and ruining a bully's schemes. He attends a dance where the dead and living dance together, and finds an ancient grave inhabited by the Sleeth.
All the while, the man Jack is looking for Nobody. When they do find him, will Bod and his friends protect him from becoming one of them?
"The Graveyard Book" isn't one you come across often. Nobody is easy to relate to but you can see how differently he is raised when he states that he isn't afraid of dying because all his friends are dead. Neil Gaiman is one of my favorite authors and "The Graveyard Book" was really up to my expectations. It is definitely one of my favorite books from now on.
Another great story by NG November 11, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I picked this book up knowing that it was the "New Neil Gaiman". What I didn't know, was that it was for 9-12 YOs. I'm 25 YOs and still LOVED this book. It was a quick easy and entertaining read. NG is a great story teller and he does it again with The Graveyard Book. I love the characters in this one, especially Bod and Scarlett. They have a great chemistry. I was sad to see her character go at the end but something in my heart tells me that they're not done ("...for the world is a bigger place than a little graveyard on a hill; new friends to make, old friends to rediscover"). I also loved Silas's character and kept picturing him as Gary Oldman for some reason haha. Overall, I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good story.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
