Read This F@?%ing Book (50)

Welcome to a feature I'm going to post on Mondays called:

Read This F@!%ing Book!

This is a feature for me to push my favorite reads that just aren't getting enough attention! 

I'm also opening it up to anyone who would like to guest post. Do you have a book that you just LURVED but feel like its not getting the play it deserves? Email me to let me know and I'd be THRILLED to have you post about it here! Especially if its something I haven't reviewed yet - that's even better (but not necessary)! If you're interested email me: 

Goldilox3weres@hotmail.com

 This week's post comes from our very own: 
Rose Red!

Read This F@!%ing Book Post 50: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

(Click book cover to go to Goodreads page)

It's October which means that a lot of us are reading horror novels or old Halloween favorites. Or maybe that's just me. A few years ago, my Best Friend and I started a tradition where we reread at least one Neil Gaiman book in October. Gaiman's books always fit in perfectly with the Halloween spirit and I adore them! This year we decided that we would reread The Graveyard Book!

Neil Gaiman Reimagines The Jungle Book
The Graveyard Book is a delightful reimagining and tribute to Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. The Indian Jungle here has been translated to an English graveyard. Sher Khan has been transformed into the man, Jack. The wolf pack has become a bunch of ghosts. And my favorites, Bhaloo and Bagheera have transformed into Silas, the vampire, and Miss Lupescu, the werewolf. Mowgli's counterpart is Nobody Owens, affectionately known as Bod, who grows up in the graveyard the same way Mowgli grows up in the jungle: a human boy living like a ghost, existing in the twilight land between death and life.

Guys. Every time I reread this book I laugh, I cry, and it takes over a little bit more of my heart. This book completely deserves the Newbery medal it won and I hope that it will one day become a classic.  It's the story of Bod, a boy who is raised in a graveyard by ghosts and other supernatural beings. The dead are his friends and family and being dead is commonplace and everyday. His normal lessons include learning about creatures like ghouls and night gaunts as well as learning how to "fade". Bod has the freedom of the graveyard which means he can travel wherever he'd like within in the confines of the graveyard.
 
It Is A Perfect Halloween Book For ALL Ages
I know this was technically a children's or middle grade novel, but it is one that people of all ages will enjoy! It's Neil Gaiman. He just has this real knack for the imaginative combination of sweet and creepy elements together that create a unique and unforgettable story which appeals both to children and adults. 

Perfect Audiobook Is Perfect
I would also highly recommend picking up the audiobook. Neil Gaiman narrates it and it is perfect! Seriously, it is one of the best audiobooks I've ever listened to.  

A Book About A Graveyard Is... Touching?
This book is delightfully magical and just special to me. Since it's about a boy who grows up in a graveyard you'd expect it to be creepy, but it actually really warmed my heart. Not that it isn't creepy and a bit macabre in parts, but you just don't expect a story that takes place in a graveyard to be touching. But it really is, despite some somewhat gruesome elements. It's also exciting! And funny. I really did laugh and cry. This will definitely be a a book that I reread for years to come.

 

Have you read this book?

Did we persuade you to add it to your TBR mountain?

Let us know in the comments below!