The Graveyard Book

I (Older Sister) happen to have a signed first edition of The Graveyard Book. Perhaps meeting Neil Gaiman himself was enough, or something (he drew me an illustration as part of his signature!), but it took me two years to finally get around to reading it; I don't really have a good reason for the delay. And of course, Graveyard Book won the Newbery award since. It's well deserved (though, frankly, I don't remember the other contenders that year; if there was controversy over the win, I don't know).

I really liked the story: an orphan is adopted and raised in a graveyard. Usually Neil Gaiman tends to write a little staidly for me: not enough atmospheric description or inclusion of emotions or deep inner thoughts. But I both read and liked this book. An author's note in the paperback explains that Graveyard Book came together as short stories that ended up linked together, ultimately forming the arc of a childhood. I appreciate the art of writing in a novel comprised of short stories contained in chapters (Jim the Boy comes to mind).

And the bits of history really kept my interest and are what have me still thinking about the book weeks later. What else happened on the bit of earth chosen as a graveyard? Romans and Celts lived in England - where Graveyard Book is set - far before Victorians and modern Brits did.

Little Sister also liked the book but perhaps not as much. She is of the opinion that the plot - an orphan is adopted into somewhat magical circumstances is overly reminiscent of Harry Potter (and perhaps she'll further explain her thoughts...hint, hint). Older Sister rarely reads fantasy; Little Sister frequently does. So we wonder: how many ways are there to tell a fantasy story about an orphan?