At first I thought this was a pretty gutsy choice for the Newbery (and some of me still says that) but The Graveyard Book is awesome. It’s inspired by many classic works, like The Jungle Book and Robinson Crusoe.
The premise is that Nobody Owens escaped from a killer and was orphaned at 18 months old. He is raised by the denizens of the graveyard who adopt him. What makes it work is that as we’re reading about death, life is observed. There are some great quotes:
Bod had allowed himself no friends among the living. That way, he had realized back during his short-lived schooldays, lay only trouble.
Really…if you couldn’t trust a poet to offer sensible advice, who could you trust?
But if I Unfade for one person, it makes it easier for other people to see me…
“You didn’t kill them?”
“Of course not.” Bod sad, “This is my home. Why would I want them hanging around for the rest of time?”
There was a smile dancing on his lips, although it was a wary smile, for the world is a bigger place than a little graveyard on a hill…
Love it.
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