Every now and then I read a children's or young adult book. My daughter took a class in "kiddie lit" in college, so she suggests books from time to time. She suggested I read Coraline by Neil Gaiman before we saw the movie and it was really good, so when I heard about Gaiman's latest, The Graveyard Book, (which won the Newberry Award this year) I thought I'd give it a try.
It was a wonderful book. Basically, a child survives when his whole family is murdered by crawling into a graveyard where the inhabitants, although very much on the ghostly plain, decide to raise him. He is taught everything the inhabitants can teach him, which is sometimes quite funny as they, for the most part, had departed this earthly coil over 100 years ago, and what was important for them to know is no longer important for contemporary people to know. In any case, he grows up feeling loved and protected. Of course, the man who murdered his family is still out there, and realizes that he missed the boy, so he tries to finish the job he was given. As in any good mystery, people are not always what they seem. Very good book.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment