The Graveyard Book
Nobody is a boy who grows up in a graveyard. His family was murdered when he was a kid. He is being raised by ghosts and other beings which are "‘neither dead nor alive" and learns many secrets of the graveyard along the way.
BTSYA / Teen Reader (17):
I found this book absolutely spectacular. I loved every second and couldn’t stop once I started reading. [In fact, I read it all in one day.] The characters are so well written you can find yourself relating to each and every one of them. The more serious topics are handled with a sense of mystery, but in no way was it hard to handle at all.
As much as I loved it, I have to say the plot is hard to follow at times. Not in an I’m absolutely certain I have no idea what’s going on sense, mostly a wait a minute, was this mentioned before? sense. Although everything comes together and makes sense at the end, it would’ve been much nicer to have a little bit of an explanation on why we were reading about some of the things beforehand. That may just be me being a bit picky.
Lovers of spooky stories and ghosts won't be able to leave the graveyard until the story is done.
Although the audience is listed as 9 to 12, some of the material may be too mature for the younger end of that range. Teen says "As I was reading it, I was thinking to myself that some kids may be a bit scared by some of the things happening in the book or have questions about some things that parents of younger kids may not be all too comfortable answering."
This is a suspense novel for middle grade readers.
Read this for the enjoyment of it.
6.5
11 and Up
10 and Up
Teen STAR Review Team, Be the Star You Are!™ . Reviewer age: 17
Buy! This is a book to make a Halloween tradition. Our teen reader says "borrow, just to make sure its the type of thing you would want to read. It is not a book that will appeal to everyone. "