This book is one of the five novel nominees for a Hugo Award this year. Voting is happening now and the winners will be announced at Worldcon in Montreal, Quebec in August - which I happen to be going to! Very exciting.
The rest of the novels are:
Anathem by Neal Stephenson
The Graveyard Game by Neil Gaiman
Zoe's Tale by John Scalzi
Saturn's Children by Charles Stross
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
Coming-of-age books seem to be somewhat popular this year in the nominations. This is the fourth one I've read where the main character was under the age of 18. However, the similarity ends there with the Graveyard Book.
Nobody Owens (Bod for short) was a toddler when his family was murdered by the man Jack. Somehow, this tiny tot survived because he was waddling up the street and into the graveyard when Jack slipped into his room. At the pleading of the tot's now deceased tot's mother's ghost, the denizens of the graveyard agree to protect and raise the boy. However, the tot's mother doesn't give them the boys name - there was no time - so Mr. and Mrs. Owens name the boy Nobody.
With the help of Silas, Nob's guardian, and the rest of the graveyard, they teach Nob his numbers and letters, how to call for help in several languages, how to Fade, Dreamwalk, and project Fear. But Nob is growing up and is beginning to learn of the living world beyond the graveyard, where Jack still waits...
I absolutely LOVE how Gaiman's works just pull a person along. I find his stories unconventional and enjoy them even more because of it. Deftly woven, a great sense of subtle humor and interesting illustrations. I might have enjoyed this more if I hadn't just read two other coming of age novels, but that is in no way a poor reflection on Gaiman's Graveyard Book.
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