Neil Gaiman has done it again with The Graveyard Book. Coraline was enough to give him a place in the annals of classic children's literature, but Neil had one more (at least) in him. Adults seem to approve as well since it has garnered both the 2009 Hugo Award for best science fiction novel and the 2009 Newbery Medal for best children's book.
A Tough Beginning for Kid
Both the protagonist and the principle villain are introduced right away. Nobody Owens (Bod) wakes up in the middle of a planned murder and manages to escape to a Graveyard. Jack, who has dispatched the rest of Bod's family with his blade, follows but is thwarted.
It's pretty gruesome stuff, but Gaiman handles it in such as way as to be sufficiently frightening without the use of unnecessary blood and gore. It's not easy for a toddler to survive in a graveyard though.
Ghosts Make Good Friends
As it so happens, this particular graveyard is very old. Well populated with ghosts too. It wouldn't do to let Bod fend for himself, so after some consideration, the ghosts decide to take Bod under their collective charge, with one in particular agreeing to look out for him until he is no longer a child. That day eventually comes, but not until Bod has been taught by a werewolf, been shanghaied by Ghouls, and does stint at a human school to see what the world of the living is like.
Although Bod is a human, he is given the Freedom of the Graveyard, which not only offers him protection, but provides for some magical fringe benefits as well.
The ghosts are marvelous. The prose is tight and the headstone quotes that accompany the introduction of the ghostly characters are pure genius.
The Killer Returns
Jack does make his return in a way that is rather transparent to the experienced reader. This killer doesn't work completely alone and it looks like he will get it himself if he is unable to finish the job originally tasked to him by his mysterious associates.
The Graveyard Book is somewhat formulaic (aren't all adventure stories?), but few young readers will be familiar with the formula. This is not to put Gaiman down—it's hard to sell a book idea unless it meets certain stylistic and plot requirements. Gaiman's talents are such that a bit of formula works rather well.
The end suffers from the flaw of having a character fill in some important information by "telling it" rather than letting the reader experience it. But, once that is taken care of, the final pages are truly charming.
Some reviewers have gushed over the illustrations. They're not quite up to gushing standard. However, they suit the story's mood and the writing style perfectly, so they work well.
If the author wasn't Neil Gaiman would it have won the Newbery Medal? Quite likely. The Hugo? That's more open to debate.
References
Gaiman, Neil, with Illustrations by Dave McKean. The Graveyard Book. New York, NY: Harper Collins, 2008.
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