This review is about the book, The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman. This novel is one of the best books I have read, and its creepy, imaginative plot story line is an entrancing one. It all started in the way the best horror books do – with a murder……

One cold, dark night, a man Jack was attending to some business – killing an unsuspecting family in their beds. He had just one person left to attend to – a little baby boy. The most important of the lot. Not a very difficult task. Or so he thinks. However, his satisfaction on a job about to be well done turned into panic and fury, when he discovers the child is not to be found in the house. He hurries out into the dark, misty lane, to try and find the boy, and salvage the job before it was too late……..

What of the boy, then? An adventurous boy, he had fallen out of the cot and stumbled out of the house, in hope to explore. He goes into the graveyard next to the lane, and stumbles into an unsuspecting ghost couple. Mr and Mrs Owens have been quite happily married for about a few hundred years, in life and now death. Suddenly the spirit of the baby’s mother appears, and begs Mr and Mrs Owens to take the child, hide him and raise him as if he was their own. A kind-hearted couple who had wanted a child to raise, but had never had one, the Owens agreed. The entire graveyard pitched in to take care of the child, and Silas, a friend of the ghosts, agreed to become his guardian. They agreed that the child should draw as little attention to himself as possible, and the christened him as Nobody. Nobody Owens, Bod for short, who would be raised, taught, and educated by ghosts. He was given the Freedom of the Graveyard and was allowed to go anywhere and meet any ghost in the graveyard. He was safe, and the man Jack was thwarted. At least for now….

Bod grows up, quite happily, amidst the ghosts and Silas and even makes a living friend, Scarlett. He has some interesting adventures, with ghouls, an underground monster, a witch and a dance. But soon Scarlett has to leave for Scotland. He soon wants to learn more. He wants to go to school, out of the graveyard, and be around other living people. However, the outside world is not safe for him. The man Jack is still looking for him. But he still goes to school and nothing untoward happens.

Scarlett moves back from Scotland to her old city with her mom when she is about fifteen. She meets Bod again and become friends again. However, danger is lurking around the corner, and Bod’s enemies are closer than anyone realizes……

Can Scarlett and Bod save themselves and end the threat of their enemies?

This creepily fantastic novel is an amazing one. It has beautiful descriptions that make you feel as if you yourself are in that situation, with touches of sarcastic humour in between. You get lost in this book as take a journey in Bod’s world. This is an awesome work of Neil Gaiman’s. I will definitely read more of his books if they are this good. My favourite character was Liza. A beautiful story, slightly creepy with a bittersweet ending, this is definitely one of the best books I have read. It is perfect for a rainy afternoon, or if you are bored since it will certainly shake the boredom away. It’s originality makes it a must read, and even the people who do not like reading, will like this book.
I hope that he continues writing such good books. It is perfect for people liking creepy, fantastical stories, and I really hope you read and like it. You won’t regret it.

I recommend this book for 9+.