Nicola Turner (Children's Literature)
Gaiman, famous for his creepy and often scary tales, Coraline and The Wolves in the Wall, has created in his new novel something that is neither creepy nor scary, despite its chilling first chapter and spectral cast of characters. This is a story about the power of family--whatever form it takes--and the potential of a child who is raised with love and a sense of duty. Nobody Owens (Bod) is adopted by a couple of ghosts after narrowly escaping death at the hands of the mysterious man who murdered the rest of his family. After much debate, he is granted the “Freedom of the Graveyard” by its long dead inhabitants. His guardian, Silas, who is neither dead nor alive, brings him food and ensures he is educated in the ways of the dead and the living. Of course, life for young Owens is not all smooth sailing. Bod must face the ghoul gate, the ancient force that waits in the oldest grave, and the mysterious man who still searches for the boy he failed to kill. The story of an orphaned boy being hunted down by a secret society and protected by magic sounds familiar, but while the story of Harry Potter resonates here, the sympathetic, flawed, and ultimately very human character of Bod saves this from being merely a reshaping of Rowling’s epic tale. In fact, Gaiman’s title is an homage to Kipling’s The Jungle Book. I cannot help thinking, however, that this novel should be the first in a series. There are too many questions unanswered. While I never really believed that Bod was ever in any real danger in the graveyard, a boy who sets off in to the world of the living with his “eyes and heart wide open” can only be headed for uncertainty. 2008, HarperCollins Publishers, $17.99 and $18.89. Ages 10 up.

CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices 2009)
On the night his parents and sister were murdered in their beds, a young boy toddled out of his crib and home, and thereby avoided a similar fate. He wanders into the nearby cemetery, where long-dead Mr. and Mrs. Owens vow to adopt and raise him, although the other cemetery spirits are unsure about this plan. In a community meeting, Silas—the child’s soon-to-be mentor and guardian—states: “For good or for evil—and I firmly believe that it is for good—Mrs. Owens and her husband have taken this child under their protection. It is going to take more than just a couple of good-hearted souls to raise this child. It will . . . take a graveyard.” Given the name Nobody (or “Bod”) and the“Freedom of the Graveyard” (an existential travel pass to live among the dead), the child flourishes in this caring community. Smart dialogue is dashed with bits of humor—the residents’ tombstone epitaphs and memories from their living years provide ongoing comedy—and elements of eeriness abound. Bod visits the land of ghouls and speaks with ancient spirits in his graveyard wanderings. He’s also protected by many: Silas ensures that he’s fed and clothed, Mr. and Mrs. Owens are strict with his bedtime and education, and other souls instruct him through their life experiences. Ethereal illustrations in tones of black provide ghostly visuals—although not often necessary or fitting. As Bod grows older, he grows more curious about his origins and life outside the graveyard fence. In the meantime, the murderer hired to kill his family is intent on finishing the job. A dramatic climax will likely catch readers off guard, but it provides a satisfying conclusion to an exceptional story. CCBC Category: Fiction for Children. 2008, HarperCollins, 312 pages, $17.99. Ages 10-14.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 2008 (Vol. 76, No. 16))
Wistful, witty, wiseùand creepy. Gaiman's riff on Kipling's Mowgli stories never falters, from the truly spine-tingling opening, in which a toddler accidentally escapes his family's murderer, to the melancholy, life-affirming ending. Bod (short for Nobody) finds solace and safety with the inhabitants of the local graveyard, who grant him some of the privileges and powers of the deadùhe can Fade and Dreamwalk, for instance, but still needs to eat and breathe. Episodic chapters tell miniature gems of stories (one has been nominated for a Locus Award) tracing Bod's growth from a spoiled boy who runs away with the ghouls to a young man for whom the metaphor of setting out into the world becomes achingly real. Childhood fears take solid shape in the nursery-rhymeûinspired villains, while heroism is its own, often bitter, reward. Closer in tone to American Gods than to Coraline, but permeated with Bod's innocence, this needs to be read by anyone who is or has ever been a child. (Illustrations not seen.) 2008, HarperCollins, 192p, $17.99. Category: Fantasy. Ages 10 up. Starred Review. © 2008 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Paula Rohrlick (KLIATT Review, September 2008 (Vol. 42, No. 5))
It takes a graveyard to raise a child in this engaging horror/fantasy tale by the author of Coraline. A man named Jack is dispatched to kill a family, but the toddler manages to escape, finding refuge in a graveyard where the ghosts decide to take him in. His guardian is a vampire, his occasional teacher a werewolf, and his friend a witch, but the ancient graveyard is a safe, loving haven for the child they call Nobody Owens: “Bod,” for short. He learns the knack of Fading and Haunting to escape detection and frighten adversaries, skills that come in handy when Bod grows older and makes forays out of the graveyard, encountering ghouls in their frightening land and bullies at school. Eventually Bod confronts Jack once again, and he must draw on ancient forces to defeat his old enemy. Gaiman has a true gift for narrative and a delightfully light touch, and there are humorous details along with spine-chilling ones. YAs will race through this fine tale and enjoy every magical, creepy moment. Illustrations not seen. Category: Hardcover Fiction. KLIATT Codes: JS*--Exceptional book, recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2008, HarperCollins, 368p. illus., $17.99 and $18.89. Ages 12 to 18.

Laura Emert (Kutztown University Book Review, Spring 2009)
After a brutal murder of a family the only survivor, an 18 month baby crawls his way into the graveyard by his house. There is taken in by all the ghost of the graveyard. There he is given the name Nobody or Bod for short and is taught all the things that a dead person would know. He is given food and other humanly items by his guardian Silas. But one day he leaves the graveyard only to find that the world of the living can be even more terrifying than that the world of the dead. I would recommend this book for a middle school student and up. It is highly entertaining and I really enjoyed it. Category: Horror. 2008, HarperCollins, . Ages 8 to 12.

April Spisak (The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, October 2008 (Vol. 62, No. 2))
Nobody, known as Bod to his friends, has grown up in a graveyard after narrowly escaping the same tragic end as the rest of his family at the hands of a highly skilled murderer. His incorporeal guardians, the residents of the graveyard, who adopted him when he was a toddler, are always concerned that the killer will return to finish the job, and they carefully train Bod in both worldly lessons and graveyard skills such as fading and inspiring fear. By the time he becomes a teenager, Bod has had a fairly rich life: he has made one living friend and innumerable dead ones, he has learned an exceptional range of skills, and he has come to understand the benefits of being alive and the potential the wider world holds for him. Before his adventures out in the world beyond the graveyard can begin, however, a showdown with his parents’ killer is necessary to give Bod both freedom and a better understanding of his own talents. As the novel covers an entire childhood, individual chapters read as snapshot anecdotes, with the protagonist’s life unfolding as intriguing moments pulled out of assumed years of quietly passed time. Bod, endearingly flighty as a child and painfully ill prepared but wildly optimistic as a teen, is an affable and memorable protagonist, surrounded by equally captivating ghosts who represent several hundred years’ worth of burials (a reference to cell phones orients the story as a modern one, but it has a distinctly timeless charm appropriate to a world populated by those not concerned with daily changes). While readers firmly entrenched in the real world may question such issues as sleeping arrangements and eating (both addressed briefly but not lingered upon), most will be so swept up in the romantic tragedy and potential of young Bod’s life that they will not spare a moment questioning how a child could actually live out an entire childhood unnoticed in an active graveyard. It is to Gaiman’s credit that many of his readers will wish their own childhoods had played out in the same location Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2006, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2008, HarperCollins, 368p.; Reviewed from galleys, $18.89 and $17.99. Grades 5-9.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2009)
After fortuitously escaping the murder of his family, a toddler is taken in by the ghostly denizens of a local graveyard. Growing up in this strange setting entails many adventures, leading to a final showdown with the murderer. Occasional art enhances the otherworldly atmosphere with a flowing line and deep grays and blacks. This ghost-story-cum-coming-of-age novel is both bittersweet and action-filled. Category: Older Fiction. 2008, HarperCollins, 312pp, 17.99, 18.89. Ages 12 to 14. Rating: 1: Outstanding, noteworthy in style, content, and/or illustration.

Rayna Patton (VOYA, August 2008 (Vol. 31, No. 3))
An assassin creeps upstairs to murder the only survivor of a slaughtered family. But the baby boy is gone. Innocently he has climbed from his crib, bottom-bumped downstairs, and headed outside, before toddling into a nearby graveyard. There ghostly Mrs. Owens, who has always longed for a child, realizes his danger and determines to adopt him. A lively debate erupts among the graveyard ghosts. Mrs. Owens finally gets her way after Silas, a mysterious visitor in the graveyard, volunteers to be his guardian and to bring him food. The baby, formally named Nobody Owens, is voted the freedom of the graveyard and there he thrives, loved and cared for. The freedom of the graveyard bestows ghostly talents, and Bod is taught useful skills like Fading and Haunting. But beyond his safe home there is danger. Bod stumbles into frightening adventures in this world and another, and Silas faces death fighting an ancient Fraternal Order determined to kill the boy. Gaiman writes with charm and humor, and again he has a real winner. Readers quickly begin to care about Bod and the graveyard residents. Bod's encounter with the ghouls is brilliantly inventive. Miss Lupsecu, his substitute guardian while Silas is away, is dry-as-dust strict, a bad cook, and a friend to the death. The conclusion is satisfying, but it leaves room for a sequel. Everyone who reads this book will hope fervently that the very busy author gets around to writing one soon. VOYA CODES: 4Q 5P M J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Every YA (who reads) was dying to read it yesterday; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2008, HarperTeen, 320p., $17.95 and PLB $18.89. Ages 11 to 18.