Book Review: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

"Bod shrugged. "So?" he said. "It's only death. I mean, all my best friends are dead."

"Yes." Silas hesitated. "They are. And they are, for the most part, done with the world. You are not. You're alive, Bod. That means you have infinite potential. You can do anything, make anything, dream anything. If you change the world, the world will change. Potential. Once you're dead, it's gone. Over. You've made what you've made, dreamed your dream, written your name. You may be buried here, you may even walk. But that potential is gone."

- The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman.

The Graveyard Book is probably one of my favorite books by Neil Gaiman. It's not the usual defeat the creeper and live happily ever after. Its about giving a boy the chance to live. And fighting bad guys and dream walking and all that stuff.

After Nobody Owens entire family is murdered hes granted the freedom of the graveyard. Two ghosts, Mr. and Mrs. Owens, open up their grave to him and treat him as their son. Silas, his not quite living but not quite dead guardian watches over him and provides him with whatever he needs to stay alive.  But besides that Bod is free to do whatever he wishes.  

Meaning he goes through the gateway to the abandoned city of the ghouls, finds the ancient Indigo man, makes friends with a normal human girl, searches for a headstone for the grave of a cranky witch, and tries going to a normal school. 

But then his past reappears. The man called Jack is back in town, and hes not happy that Bod escaped him the first time. 

With the help of Scarlett, Nobody searches to try and find out what happened to his family all those years ago. But Jack is on to him and finding out might just be the last thing Bod does. 

The book starts with a family murdered and the title gives you the idea of death. But I got the feeling while reading it that this book was all about living. 

As Bod gets older he starts to feel out of place. With the freedom of the graveyard hes can do the little things like, dream walk but hes to alive to be a complete part of the dead's world. When he finally gets Silas to let him go to a normal school hes to close to the dead to fully become a part of their world. He feels out of place and its sad to watch him struggle with this more and more as the book goes on.

The world Neil Gaiman creates is stunning. I read through this book slowly and was amazed at the details put into it. We stay in the graveyard for the most part but Gaiman manages to create an entire world for Bod to explore and mess up.

Silas was probably my favorite character. He cared for Bod in a way his ghostly parents couldn't. He made sure that Bod was prepared for whatever might happen inside or outside the graveyard. He was always there for Bod and he made sure that Bod understood the difference between having a heart that beats and one that doesn't.

This book is a must read for any book lover.

Thanks for reading!

My Rating: 5/5 Stars
Author: Neil Gaiman
Genre: Fantasy, Horror
Published: June, 24, 2008
Art: Dave McKean

Book Review: The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

“Senseless, you say? Death is senseless yet makes way for the living. Life, too, is senseless unless you know who you are, what you want, and which way the wind blows.”  
Ellen Raskin, The Westing Game 

The Westing Game started out really slow for me but as the book went on and continued to build I started to be more intrigued. The way it ended was probably what did it for me. It was honestly one of the sweetest endings to a murder mystery I have ever read.

Sixteen people moving into Sunset Towers. The death of a wealthy gentleman. A will claiming he was murdered. Eight teams with no obvious connection to the man. And a race to win the inheritance. 

Goodreads Synopsis:

A bizarre chain of events begins when sixteen unlikely people gather for the reading of Samuel W. Westing's will. And though no one knows why the eccentric, game-loving millionaire has chosen a virtual stranger - and a possible murderer - to inherit his vast fortune, one thing's for sure: Sam Westing may be dead... but that won't stop him from playing one last game!

I picked up this book right after finishing an Agatha Christie novel. Now this mystery is nothing like an Agatha Christie mystery. Its pieced together more like a puzzle. There aren't fresh coffee stains on the floor, and footprints with a distinct shape to them. Its more of a game of wits. No ones hunting anybody. They know there's a murderer running around but they only have to piece together the puzzle pieces to figure out just what happened to Samuel W. Westing.

One of the best parts of the book was figuring out what all of the characters connections were to Mr. Westing. Everyone was puzzled as to why he wanted complete strangers to inherit his vast fortune. As the book progresses there are some obvious reasons as to why certain people were chosen. 

So the actual murder. Honestly I was clueless the whole time. There were a couple times where I leaned very heavily towards one character or another but they always ended up having some reason why they couldn't be the one. When I finally figured it out in the last couple chapters I just sat there and stared at the wall. Honestly you'll have to read it to understand.

Lets talk about my favorite character. Turtle.

Little thirteen year old Turtle playing the stock market and kicking her way through the book. Her mother really got on my nerves, and I felt like her dad could have used a little more character but I loved her sister. They didn't always get along in the book but they were always looking out for each other. Turtles best friend is, Sandy the doorman. Her worst enemy is Theo Theodorakis. The boy who pulled her braid (he was promptly kicked), and calls her a child. Shes so funny and refreshing from all the other adult characters. 

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves mysterious. Thanks for reading!

My Rating: 5/5 Stars
Author: Ellen Raskin
Genre: Children's Literature, Mystery
Published: 1978