The Graveyard Book

Book Name: The Graveyard Book
Genre: Horror and Mystery
Pages 312

         To start off, this is a novel that gives a unique effect by joining a multitude of genres. The book not only contains horror and mystery, but it is a fairytale that portrays supernatural people throughout the novel. The book begins with a murder scene where Nobody’s, the main character, family was killed by a man named Jack. However, when Jack went to kill Nobody, who was an infant at the time, he was nowhere in sight. He actually managed to escape by crawling towards a cemetery, which embarked the start of his new life. Nobody or Bod for short was being looked after by ghosts who lived in the Graveyard, and he was able to see them throughout his early life because he was given certain abilities. The ghosts managed to teach Bod life skills even though they were unable to go out of the boundaries of the cemetery.
          Later on in the novel, he was still being targeted by Jack who managed to go through great measures to ensure that he had completed his job of killing him and his family. There are constant battles and various scenes where Bod’s life is threatened. Even, Bod's friend Scarlet had a knife at her throat and encountered an unexpected turn of events ...
This book was different from any other book that I had read previously. It had more of a supernatural, mysterious genre to it that I never really read before. I liked how the book was not predictable and in each chapter, there was a different obstacle. Also, Neil Gaiman is suspenseful throughout the book. He portrays a balance of good and evil, as he shows villains such as Ghouls, Jack, and Bolger, but emphasizes how the good of the spirits will overcome some obstacles. However, one thing that I did not like about the book is that the beginning caught me by surprise. The main reason for the murder is unclear, which made it frustrating. But, this book was good overall, and I recommend it for anyone. It is a good read and you are able to see the two sides of reality and the supernatural in Bod’s life. You are also able to connect with the main character throughout the story because the story begins with him as an infant and ends with him being an adult. Through that he goes through many of the same experiences that we go through such as losing friends, learning about the world around him, and growing up.