The Graveyard Book

Gaiman, N. (2008). The Graveyard Book. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.

Plot Summary:
During the tragic demise of his parents and sister at the hands of a knife-wielding man, a toddler wanders out of his home while the whole ordeal is taking place and up the street to the nearby graveyard. This is very unfortunate for the murderer , whose order was to kill the entire family. The murderer follows the scent of the boy to the graveyard where the baby's mother's spirit appeals to a ghost woman and begs her to take care of her son. The ghosts in the graveyard protect the baby from the murderer and vow to raise him as their own, giving him the Freedom of the Graveyard. The Owens, the ghosts who act as his parents, name the boy Nobody Owens, calling him Bod for short. Bod is raised by ghosts in the graveyard, learning the tricks of the ghosts, and rarely leaving to walk among the living. He learns how to read and write from ghosts who were teachers when they were alive, learns the ways of the dead from a werewolf, and about the fickleness of girls from a witch. Unfortunately, the secret society who ordered Bod's family murdered has not forgotten about the boy and returns to finish the job. It is up to Bod all he has learned to protect himself from these evil men.

Review:
This is such a well crafted story, so rich with imagination. Using the graveyard as an unlikely setting of a boy's upbringing is unique and pleasantly spooky. It is a wonderfully bizarre and unusual coming of age story, not unlike the author's inspiration, The Jungle Book. Gaiman develops his characters well, and provides lovely descriptions of the graveyard. There are many little details that add to the fun of this book, such as the inscriptions of each tombstone being provided after the introduction of each new ghost into the story. I thought that was a very clever touch. I was much more interested in Bod's life in the graveyard and learning about each of the ghosts and what they did in life and what they taught Bod, rather than the plot itself. The plot was great, but I was content with reading all of the little vignettes about Bod's time in the graveyard. The dark and misty quality of the illustrations add to the spookiness of the story.

Genre:
fantasy, horror

Reading Level:
Ages 9 - 12

Similar Books:

Awards:
2009 Newbery Medal Award
2009 Hugo Award
2010 Carnegie Medal
Locus Award

Subjects/Themes:
family, friends, loss, death, self-identity

Character Names/Descriptions:
Nobody Owens (Bod): family is killed when he is a baby; raised by the ghosts in the graveyard and given the Freedom of the Graveyard; lives in the graveyard until he is fifteen years-old; a secret society is trying to murder him
Silas: Bod's guardian; he is able to walk among the dead and the living so he can bring food and things from outside the graveyard to Bod; member of the Honour Guard
The Owens: ghost husband and wife who adopt Bod and raise him as their son
Scarlett: young living girl who plays with Bod in the cemetery when she was young and then makes his acquaintance again when they are older; befriends Mr. Frost; introduces Bod to Mr. Frost
Liza Hempstock: witch living in the graveyard; helps Bod with his fading; can leave the graveyard because she is buried just outside of it in unconsecrated ground
Nick Farthing and Maureen Quilling (Mo): living kids in Bod's town; bullies at the school Bod briefly attends; Bod haunts them
Jack Frost: murdered Bod's family; disguises himself as a historian; part of the secret society, the brotherhood of the Jacks of All Trades

Annotation:
A boy is raised by a graveyard after his family is murdered. The graveyard comes together to protect the boy from the evil that is still after him.

Breathe: A Ghost Story

McNish, C. (2006). Breathe: A Ghost Story. London, England: Orion Publishing Group Ltd.

Plot Summary:
Jack and his mom moved into an old house after the recent loss of his dad. This house was supposed to be a happy change, one that would breathe new life into their little family. What his mom didn't know was that the house was already occupied by five ghosts, one woman and four children. Jack had always been able to sense strange things, but after his father's death, he seemed to have a connection to people who had died. He was immediately aware of ghosts in the house, eventually being able to see them. He meets the ghost mother, a woman whose own daughter died in the house and has been longing to be a mother again. But, when Jack refuses to treat her as a mother, she forces him to by possessing his own mother. This feat isn't easy and the ghost mother must feed off of the souls of the ghost children in the house to do so. This is too much for Jack and his frequent asthma attacks to bear, will he be her next victim?

Review:
This was a haunting story. The spookiness of it would definitely appeal to young people. I ripped through it eager to discover what would come of Jack and his mother. The story was imaginative, the author providing interesting descriptions of "the other side" and "the Nightmare Passage." The author also weaves in the history of the ghost mother and her life with her daughter in the 19th century, who suffered from Scarlatina.

Genre:
Horror, Fantasy

Reading Level:
Ages 9 - 12

Similar Books:

Subjects/Themes:
single-parent, loss, death, asthma, ghosts

Awards:
Rhode Island Teen Book Award

Character Names/Descriptions:
Jack: recently lost his dad, moved with his mom to old farmhouse, asthmatic, can see and speak to ghosts
Sarah: Jack's mom, recently widowed, becomes possessed by the Ghost Mother
Ghost Mother: died in the house in the 19th century, mother to Isabella who died of Scarlatina, possesses Sarah, wants to be mother to Jack, feeds off of the souls of the ghost children who live in the house

Annotation:
Jack has a special gift of being able to sense the dead, but this gift becomes a nightmare as he and his mother move into an old farmhouse along with five ghosts. Jack and his mother must fight to escape the evil Ghost Mother who is desperate to be a mother once again.

Little Audrey

White, R. (2008). Little Audrey. New York, NY: Farrar Straus Giroux.

Plot Description:
It is 1948 in Jewell Valley, a coal mining town in Virginia. Audrey is eleven and lives with her mom, dad, and three little sisters. The town is made up of all coal miners and their families. Audrey's mom comes in and out of a deep depression brought on by the death of Audrey's littlest sister four years ago. Audrey is recovering from a recent bout with scarlet fever where she very nearly died, this sickness left her very skinny and having to wear glasses. Audrey's father has a drinking and gambling problem and often leaves his family with no money for food. Audrey struggles to get by amongst the problems at home, bullies, and the hard life of living in a coal miner town. In the end, Audrey's life gets even harder when tragedy strikes her family and she realizes that she must work harder than ever to help her family.

Review:
This book was interesting to me because even though it is fictional, the story was written about the author's family. It is a true account of what her family went through in 1948 through the eyes of her eleven year old sister Audrey. It is a bittersweet story of a little girl dealing with friendships and the typical problems of an eleven year old girl, but also having much more grown up problems to deal with as well. Problems such as not having enough food to eat or bringing her mom out of her depression or hoping her dad doesn't spend all their money on alcohol. I enjoyed the book because my great-grandfather was a coal miner and the town my parents grew up in had company towns such as these nearby. It was interesting to read a first hand account of the lives of the coal miner families, it was obviously a very hard life.

Genre:
Historical Fiction

Reading Level:
Ages 9 - 12

Similar Books:

Subjects/Themes:
poverty, family, death, siblings

Character Names/Descriptions:
Audrey: Eleven year old girl, has three younger siblings, wears glasses and is skinny due to having scarlet fever, narrates the book

Annotation:
With a mother suffering from depression and an alcoholic father, Audrey, an eleven year old in 1948 in a coal mining town in Virginia, faces more than just the typical problems of a young girl growing up. Sadly, Audrey must grow up even faster as tragedy strikes her already suffering family.

Bridge to Terabithia

Paterson, K. (1977). Bridge to Terabithia. New York, NY: Harper & Row, Publishers Inc.

Plot Description:
As an escape from the world around them, new friends, Jesse and Leslie, create the land of Terabithia in the woods near where they live. As bad as school or home life becomes these friends will always have their roles as king and queen of Terabithia. It is there that their friendship grows making all the bullies at school or Jesse's bossy sisters seem insignificant. Through his relationship with Leslie, Jesse begins questioning and challenging all of his fears, making him capable of dealing with the terrible tragedy he eventually must face.

Review:
This is a great book about friendship, fear, and loss. Jesse and Leslie, outcasts among their peers, take comfort in their friendship and their imaginative world of Terabithia. It is easy to identify with Jesse through his awkwardness with his peers, arguments with his sisters, and many fears common to someone his age. Everyone has most likely encountered someone like Leslie in their life, a fearless friend who pushes you to reach outside of yourself and overcome your fears.

Genre:
Realistic Fiction

Reading Level:
Ages 9 - 12

Similar Books:

Subjects/Themes:
Friendship, Loss, Death, Imagination

Awards:
Newbery Medal, ALA Notable Children's Books, School Library Journal Best Book of 1977, Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award

Character Names/Descriptions:
Jesse Oliver Aarons, Jr. (Jess): Jess is in the fifth grade, his parents struggle financially to raise he and his four sisters. Jess has an awkward time of fitting in at school and longs to be good at something so that everyone will recognize him. He becomes best friends with his new neighbor, Leslie, who likes him just as he is.

Leslie Burke: Leslie is the new girl at school, she doesn't fit in, but doesn't seem to mind. She befriends Jesse and takes him to the imaginary land of Terabithia, where they have no fears or worries.

Annotation:
As an escape from the bullies, bossy sisters, and fears of their world, Jesse and Leslie create the world of Terabithia, where they are king and queen. Through this imaginary world, the friends learn to deal with the fears and loss that life has in store for them.