Macabre......ugh, I love that word. It says so many things. It smells sweet like dead leaves. To say I was stoked to read this book.....so beautiful with a headstone on the cover, is an understatement. Sadly, so sadly I ended up reading it in snippets. That is a horrible, horrible way to read anything except a text book. I like to devour my books. I digress.......I read it in snippets while I struggled everyday not to hate the school system and the State social workers while I sat behind my desk furtively feeding a child that came to school hungry. Sorry, I am flashing back and possibly sideways. I did not saturate myself in the book in a way that the book was due. So my take on it may not be very honest.
It turned out to be exceedingly witty and crafty. Bod's (short for Nobody) family was murdered when he was yet an infant. He was lucky enough to toddle from the house and into the nearest graveyard. This is where the little tyke ended up living out his childhood, protected and raised by ghosts. Could there be a better story? There were times I felt the chill of the graveyard. I was comforted by the ghostly relationships. There were thought provoking moments. I could clap!
Yet, I am not going to give this book a 5. If I per chance had read this in a better state of mind....or in one sitting, I may have felt more immersed and connected. This is possibly not Gaiman's fault....but this is the place where my opinion counts....so....
Rating 4
Rating PG I didn't find it terrifying. There was murder. I don't recall any sexual aspects (it has been at least a month since I read this book) and there were some scary-ish happenings since it was about ghosts and partially living beings.
