Review of THE GRAVEYARD BOOK by Neil Gaiman

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Gaimin, Neil. THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. Ill. by Dave McKean. 2008. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 9780060530921

2. PLOT SUMMARY

When a man named Jack, murders his family, a boy escapes by crawling out of his crib, to a nearby cemetery. Jack is still in pursuit, but the boys mother, who is a ghost now, begs the other ghosts in the cemetery to save her son and raise him. A couple, The Owens, agree to raise him, and another, Silas, agrees to help. They save the baby from Jack, and since the baby has no name, they call him Nobody Owens. Nobody grows up as the Owens’s child. He is allowed full access to the graveyard, but can’t leave because the killer Jack is still looking for him. He remains safely in the graveyard, and the characters from the graveyard try and give him an education. They also teach him how to fade, which comes in handy during his time at the graveyard. He makes a human friend named Scarlett, but her family soon moves away. As Nobody gets older, he finds that he is very lonely and yearns for the outside world. The Owens and Silas agree to let Nobody enroll in a school in the village. Things go okay for a time, but Nobody takes up for a bullied child, and his parents feel it is too risky for him to continue school in the real world. When he is fifteen, Scarlett comes back into his life. They form a great friendship. Scarlett also forms a friendship with the graveyard caretaker, Mr. Frost. He turns out to be Jack and tricks Nobody and Scarlett into going to his home, which is where Nobody’s family was murdered years ago. He tries to murder Nobody. We also find out that Jack is a member of a club called the “Jacks of All Trades.” They are a group of important Jacks that murder people. Nobody fades to get away and locks Jack in a room upstairs. He and Scarlett escape to the graveyard as three other Jacks show up. The other Jacks let Jack out of the room and they head for the graveyard to carry out their plan of murdering Nobody. Nobody is successful, with the help of his graveyard friends, to kill all the Jacks. Scarlett is horrified that Nobody could kill the Jacks and Silas has to erase her memory of Nobody and everything that happened. Nobody is sad because he has lost his only friend in the real world. Scarlett and her mother move away. Now that the Jacks are no longer searching for him, Nobody is now allowed to leave the graveyard and begin his life in the living world.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This book is great reading for grades 7-12. I read a few chapters to my 6th graders and they had a hard time following. My GT students in 6th grade however, are reading it on their own. This book has one of the most exciting first chapters that I have ever read. The plot and characters are well developed and the authors vivid descriptions take us away to this other world, the world of the dead. The plot draws you into the story. You must find out why this Jack is after Nobody, and why he murdered Nobody’s family. The characters created that exist in the graveyard, are original. Some are hilarious and others quite scary. The characters come from all different periods in time, and their language is true to their historical periods.

I was disappointed with the ending of the book. I wanted Nobody to end up with Scarlett, and have her helping him survive in the world of the living. I was also disappointed that Scarlett’s memory of Nobody had to be erased because she considered him a murderer. He saved her life, so I thought that this was not what this character would think or do. Even when her memory was erased, I wanted Nobody to leave the graveyard and find Scarlett by chance and the two could have some secret connection and become friends again. I found it very depressing that he just left the graveyard with no friends or family.

I also didn’t like the reason that Jack murdered Nobody’s family. I was expecting some intricate murder plot caused by revenge, jealousy, family secrets, or greed. I was really disappointed when I realized that Jack just murdered the family because that is what the Jacks do.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL Review: “Grade 5–8—Somewhere in contemporary Britain, "the man Jack" uses his razor-sharp knife to murder a family, but the youngest, a toddler, slips away. The boy ends up in a graveyard, where the ghostly inhabitants adopt him to keep him safe. Nobody Owens, so named because he "looks like nobody but himself," grows up among a multigenerational cast of characters from different historical periods that includes matronly Mistress Owens; ancient Roman Caius Pompeius; an opinionated young witch; a melodramatic hack poet; and Bod's beloved mentor and guardian, Silas, who is neither living nor dead and has secrets of his own. As he grows up, Bod has a series of adventures, both in and out of the graveyard, and the threat of the man Jack who continues to hunt for him is ever present. Bod's love for his graveyard family and vice versa provide the emotional center, amid suspense, spot-on humor, and delightful scene-setting. The child Bod's behavior is occasionally too precocious to be believed, and a series of puns on the name Jack render the villain a bit less frightening than he should be, though only momentarily. Aside from these small flaws, however, Gaiman has created a rich, surprising, and sometimes disturbing tale of dreams, ghouls, murderers, trickery, and family.”

BOOKLIST Review: “*Starred Review* While a highly motivated killer murders his family, a baby, ignorant of the horrific goings-on but bent on independence, pulls himself out of his crib and toddles out of the house and into the night. This is most unfortunate for the killer, since the baby was his prime target. Finding his way through the barred fence of an ancient graveyard, the baby is discovered by Mr. and Mrs. Owens, a stable and caring couple with no children of their own—and who just happen to be dead. After much debate with the graveyard’s rather opinionated denizens, it is decided that the Owens’s will take in the child. Under their care and the sponsorship of the mysterious Silas, the baby is named “Nobody” and raised among the dead to protect him from the killer, who relentlessly pursues him. This is an utterly captivating tale that is cleverly told through an entertaining cast of ghostly characters. There is plenty of darkness, but the novel’s ultimate message is strong and life affirming. Although marketed to the younger YA set, this is a rich story with broad appeal and is highly recommended for teens of all ages. Grades 6-10.”

5. CONNECTIONS

Students could read the descriptions of the characters and pick one to illustrate. Students could display their vision of the characters. Students could also illustrate the graveyard, and then make a display with their characters in their vision of the graveyard.

Students could write epitaphs for themselves or a friend. What would you say about yourself at this time in your life? What would you say about your best friend, teacher, principal, or family member. Students could make a display and share.

Students could write a paper about what they think Nobody did after he left the graveyard. Where did he go and how did he connect with others?

Students could research the author, Neil Gaiman and his other books. They
could research his biography and the class could read some of his other books. CORALINE or M IS FOR MAGIC.