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The dead can't hurt you, they're dead. Living things can hurt you, living people can hurt you but the dead can't.
This book is all about the story of a boy named Bod (Nobody Owens) who had to live in
a graveyard because all his family had been murdered. He is raised by
ghosts, Mr. and Mrs. Owens with the help of his guardian, Silas, who is neither dead nor alive. The evil killer we know for most of the story only as "Jack"
still wants to find Bod and eliminate him, but we don't know why until the very end.
Growing up Bod goes through both typical and atypical coming of age moments
since for the most part he is prevented from leaving the graveyard which is for his protection. As a sort of honorary dead person, he can “walk the
borderland between the living and the dead,” experiencing the supernatural
world that the living knows nothing about.
Nearly
every chapter is a self-contained short story about an incident in Bod’s life.
The graveyard beings mentioned in the novel have a dark sense of humour and
cover Bod’s life until he is 15 years old. ‘The Hounds of God’ is particularly very funny. Ghouls take the name of the dead person that they ate
first, like Bishop of Bath and Wells, the Emperor of China and the Thirty-third
President of the United States. Other chapters concentrate on what it is like
being an outsider when you are growing up. There was a lot crazy twist and turns most of them I was not expecting. Sometimes I found myself surprised by the situation that Bod found himself in like the way Bod
deals with the school bullies which was truly inspired. Also, it was quite interesting to learn how things work in the graveyard.
The
end of the novel is exciting and has a twist that I didn't see
coming. It won the Carnegie Medal in the year 2010 for children’s fiction, and
this novel deserved to win. It also won the John Newbery Medal in 2009 and SFX Award for Best Novel in 2010. Surprisingly, it is the first Gaiman book that I ever read but now I'm going to read more. I loved his writing style, it was somewhat simplistic and did not have an unnecessary description. It was quite to the point which I found effective in some of the darker scenes because it came across too casually. At the same time, Gaiman doesn't give away anything until it's necessary. I think it’s gonna make a great movie if ever made but if you want a better
experience then you must read the book.
Book Recommendation: 9.5 / 10
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