The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Category: YA or middle reader, Newbery Medal, Fantasy

Published: 2008, 307 pgs.

Review: 4/5 stars

The 2008 Newbery Medal winner, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman is not quite what I expected. I'm not sure what I did expect but it wasn't what I got. I was surprised by the first chapter and the descriptions of the murders that take place. It seemed a little too much violence for a middle grader reader but once we got past that first chapter I felt much more comfortable with it. The book tells the story of Nobody Owens and how he is raised in the cemetery by ghosts and other frightful creatures. It's a fun story but is creepy at times. It's original and I can definitely see it in the form of a Tim Burton film some day.

Rating: 1.3.1 Like I said, I thought some of the violence was a little much for a kids' book. I would preview it before I let just any child read it.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Rating: 4.3.4

Recommended audience: Adult

Category: Fantasy, romance

I read this book after seeing that someone on another blog had called it one of the best books she read last year. Maybe I was expecting too much but I didn't think it was that great. It is about a boy of 18 who sets off to the land of Fairy to find a fallen star that he sees one night. There are others looking for this star--which happens to be a young women. There's a lot of adventure and intrigue. However there is also a pretty graphic sex scene in the first chapter and one f-word, thus the ratings above stated. I thought the ending was a little anti-climatic too. This book may just be a little too fantastical for me--too many weird creatures and strange phenomena. Overall it's not bad. I wouldn't just recommend to it anybody though, only to those who really like fantasy.