The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Published by: HarperCollins
Date of Publication: September 30th 2008
Genres:
Pages: 312
Format: Audiobook (self-narrated)
Rating:★★★★ (4 Stars)
Goodreads Synopsis
After the grisly murder of his entire family, a toddler wanders into a graveyard where the ghosts and other supernatural residents agree to raise him as one of their own.
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. 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.
The Audiobook Experience…
I’ll keep this one short and sweet since i’m beginning to believe that Uncle Gaiman can do no wrong when he begins to spin his tales. You would be sadly mistaken if you were to think that you can resist the magic of his worlds once they begin to reel you in. The Graveyard Book By Neil Gaiman is now the 2nd book i’ve read by this author and it has only served to cement my feelings towards him…I simply LOVE Uncle Gaiman! It has now become the norm for me to reach for the audiobook vs. physical or even digital format for Gaiman’s books. Treat Yo self to a feast for your ears & imagination with the audiobook narrated by Gaiman himself. Not only is his voice truly one of of the most soothing story telling voices i’ve come across but he also has a few other talents up his sleeve. Gaiman gave each of the characters in this book their own distinct voice without sounding over the top. I truly enjoyed listening to his audiobook and often found myself wanting to return to the graveyard at all hours of the day.
The book opens up right after the murder of a mother, father, and daughter. Baby Nobody Owens aka Bod, managed to crawl over his crib railing and out of the house, too little to know he had just escaped his families murderer. Bod wanders off into the street and eventually walks right into the cemetery where he meets all sorts of interesting characters no longer of this world. The Owens, a married couple who were never able to conceive children of their own take to “adopting” Bod who is still a baby. They grant him full freedom of the cemetery to wander off & also get Silas who is neither living or dead (believed to be a Vampire) to become his guardian. Together, the many characters in the graveyard, raise Bod and protect him from outside dangers by providing a safe home for him amongst the tombstones. We get to see Bod the baby grow into a young man who becomes curious about the outside world & experiencing it for himself. Just like any child his age, Bod gets into a bit of mischief (more like adventures lol) that teach him theres more than just the dead…there’s the living he has yet to experience. All the while, The Man Jack (Bod’s families murderer) is out and about looking to tie the loose ends of the night he intended to kill baby Bod in his crib.
The characters in The Graveyard Book all played a role in educating young Bod and keeping him safe. I thoroughly enjoyed The Owens as well as the other supporting ghosts Caius Pompeius and Scarlett Perkins to name some of my faves. I found out later on while blog hopping that some of the characters in Gaiman’s books crossover one way or another. In this book we get an appearance from a relative of Daisy Hempstock from Stardust, my 1st Gaiman & favorite thus far. With such descriptive story telling & imagery, Gaiman’s ghosts/characters will probably stick with me for many years to come. It really doesn’t matter what age you are, if you’re young at heart and are looking for a heartwarming story then The Graveyard Book is the book for you 😉
“Kiss a lover,
Dance a measure,
Find your name
And buried treasure.
Face your life,
It’s pain,
It’s pleasure,
Leave no path untaken.”
― Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book
LairOfBooks 
I think you’ve definitely convinced me on the idea of trying this out as my first audio book! I’ve been seeing Gaiman’s books around for years but never picked one up so i’ll have to amend that soon, the storylines seem so quirky and unique!
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Awesome! Oh Gaiman is the perfect person to start with for your first audiobook! Be warned though, you may end up going on an audiobook binge afterwards & the bar will be set high for narrators 😂😂 I hope you enjoy it when you get around to it 😊💕
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Wonderful review! These characters sound like the type of dark I can get into. I like eerie tone this book has and you gave that off in your review as well =)
So question, since there’s an appearance of a character from Stardust, would you recommend me reading Stardust first and then this one?
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Thank you Gretchen! it was the perfect listen for this season. I would recommend you start with Stardust simply because it is AMAZING & although I loved The Graveyard Book, I have a special place in my heart for Stardust 😉
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AWESOME!! Will do then =)
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This is an awesome review, but I couldn’t read Stardust! It’s still in my shelf at home, just didn’t get into it as much as I did the movie and this book also wasn’t thrilling as friends of mine gave it bad reviews, you’re the first positive review for his book I’m seeing, although I’m very sure he’s a phenomenal author
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Thank you Lara🙂 that’s too bad but I understand, I’ve come across authors that are well loved but I simply can’t connect with their writing. Thank you for stopping by 🙂💕
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I also struggled with Stardust. It was my least favorite of his titles. I later found appreciation in it, but I think the eccentric cast chosen for the film give it such a fantastic life, and it was hard for me to read the book after watching the movie. I normally never say that. But in Stardust’s case, I think it was true. My preconceived notions damaged my experience maybe?
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hmmm…you ladies have sparked my curiosity with the movie, def looking for it this wknd 🙂
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I enjoyed it. Great cast! I hope you like it Lilly. I would feel bad if not haha.
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I was waiting to see this pop up on your blog 😉 Fabulous review of course! and you are correct “Uncle Gaiman” can do no wrong as far as I am concerned. I need to add this to my Christmas wishlist.
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Thank you Danielle 😉 do you listen to audiobooks? if so, I think that’s the way to go with Gaiman. I’m still collecting the books of course, currently on my Xmas shopping list is the illustrated edition of The Graveyard Book. On to the next Gaiman…
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I read on another blog that Gaiman has narrated some of his own audio, so I am now looking into it ❤
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I remember listening to this the Summer between fourth and fifth grade, and it’s still one of my favorites! Then my fifth grade teacher read it to the class herself, and I was cringing because she just couldn’t do it right! 😂 I’ve always been picky on narrators though.
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That’s awesome! Love coming across fellow Gaiman lovers haha! 😆 I can’t imagine anyone narrating any of his books so I can understand how your teacher failed 😂😂😂
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This is an amazing review Lilly. The Graveyard Book is one of the few Neil Gaiman books I haven’t read yet but now I just want to run out and grab a copy so I can get started on it right away. I didn’t realise a character from Stardust made an appearance either. I LOVED that book, and the film as well. Your review is giving me so many reasons to read this book I don’t think I can resist! 😀
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Thank you Beth!! 😊💕 I’m so glad you enjoyed my review. Stardust so far trumps Graveyard but still a solid read for me that entertained me for hours. I haven’t watched the movie adaptation of Stardust but have heard so many great things about it that I’ve added it to my movie list. I’m going to look for it over the weekend, I hear it’s not an exact adaptation but I’m still interested. Anne from InkedBrownies also listened to Graveyard at the same time as I was & she pointed it out in her review. I knew the last name rang a bell but I couldn’t place it lol. There’s also a character from The Ocean At The End Of The Lane which I haven’t read but I have already used an audible credit on it for whenever the mood strikes 😂
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That’s all right! Honestly I don’t think any of Gaiman’s other books can top Stardust for me but I still have enjoyed every one I’ve read so far!
Stardust is a good movie. I think I’ve got to the stage where I no longer compare books to their film adaptations. They’re two very different formats to tell the same story so there are going to be differences aren’t there?
Ohh, I don’t know why but I just love it when authors sneak characters from previous books into their current ones. Guess that means I’ll have to pick up The Ocean At The End Of The Lane soon too! 🙂
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I agree with you 100% & I don’t mind variations from either or. Maybe I’ll review them side by side since I read Stardust before I started my blog. I also love Easter eggs lol, I’m going to keep an eye out for such tricks with all his books from now on😂😂😂
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Ohh, that would be a good idea. I’d love to see your reviews for both.
I’m going to have to do the same, and not just with Neil Gaiman because I’m sure other authors have things like this as well. 😀
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Great review as always, Lilly 💕! I need to jump on the Neil Gaiman train already and read some of his books. I only recently discovered that one of my all time favorite movies, Stardust, was actually an adaptation of one of his books. I think that one is definitely the one I’ll read first when I get the chance. I also really want to read this one. I’ve read a few reviews for it and love the whole idea of it. Ghost raising a baby in a graveyard? It kind of reminds me of this book series I loved when I was younger but can’t remember the name of now. 😊
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Thank you Melissa! 😊💕 Once you go Gaiman you never go back! 😂😂😂 Stardust is so far my favorite Gaiman book & I haven’t watched the movie, plan to look for it this wknd 😉 hope you enjoy Gaiman, is start with Stardust but I’m beginning to think he doesn’t have a bad book lol.
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You’re welcome!! 💕
I know for a fact that Netflix has it. I watched it last week 😂.
With how much I love the movie adaptation I have a feeling Stardust will end up being my favorite too. 😊
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Oh awesome! Thanks Melissa, def adding it to my queue for this wknd 😉
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Woop! 🙂 Exciting… as of very recently i have The graveyard Book on my bookshelf waiting to be read.. and i cannot wait… this will be my first Gaiman book and I think i’m going to love it 🙂
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Awesome! I hope you do enjoy it Liz 😃💕
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Another awesome review, girl! 🙌 I’ve heard so many good things about Gaiman books that I’m starting to wonder why I haven’t read one yet. I haven’t read an audio book yet, but a few bloggers have mentioned how good Gaiman narrates his books. That’s actually pretty cool. I wish I could do that. My voice would not make for good audio narration. Lol This book has been on my radar for a while, and your review makes me want to read it. 🙂
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Thanks Jill! 😬😁😬 if you’re not typically into or have never listened to an Audiobook, then Gaiman would be the way to go 👌🏼 he is like none other. Feels like you’re sitting down with grandpa (only younger) for story time 😂 I could never narrate a book myself either, not with this Brooklyn accent lol. I hope you do read any Gaiman one day & that it wins you over 😉
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Ha! Story time with grandpa. Sounds like fun. Your accent is probably just as thick as mine. Even my mom has trouble with some of the things I say. LOL People would cry if I narrated my book. Haha! I think Gaiman will definitely be my first audio book.
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Lol funny thing is that I didn’t even realize I had one til a few years back when speaking to someone from Texas. I thought he had an accent but he was thrown off by mine 😂 Once you go Gaiman…😉
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Same thing happened to me. I didn’t think I had an accent until I moved to California and everyone asked me if I was from New York. Lol Everyone seems to think anyone with a similar accent is from NY. I guess they can’t tell them apart. 😂
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Lol they are very similar 😂😂😂
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“I found out later on while blog hopping that some of the characters in Gaiman’s books crossover one way or another. In this book we get an appearance from a relative of Daisy Hempstock from Stardust..”
What?!?!? How did I not know this?! Mind = Blown.
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Lmao! I didn’t know either until I read a few reviews that mentioned it, I knew the names rang a bell 😂😂😂
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Fabulous review! I received my copy from Anne yesterday and I just can’t wait to discover Gaiman. I thought about trying the audiobook but I’ve decided to go the old way first 🙂
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Thank you Donna & that’s awesome! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did, Uncle Gaiman remains the undefeated heavy weight champ of narration for me hehe 😉
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I still haven’t read a Gaiman book! 😱
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