Author: Neil Gaiman
The story begins one night when a man, named Jack, killed an entire household aside from one baby boy. The baby – out of luck – found his way to the nearby graveyard. The graveyard ghosts decided to protect him from the killer. The baby is named Nobody Owens since no one knew his name and he was finally adopted by a ghost couple called the Owens. In short, he was called Bod. He also had a guardian called Silas who was not a part of the living nor the dead. For years Bod lived in the graveyeard and learned things only ghosts can do such as haunting, dream walking, and fading. He had numerous adventures: he met a horrifying indigo man and traveled to the world of the ghouls. He also found new interesting acquaintances both from the living and the undead – a werewolf and a witch ghosts. However, he could not stay in the graveyard forever. When he reached a certain age in his teenage years, he would have to leave since he would lose the ability to see the dead. During the final years of his stay in the graveyard, Jack found him and tried to settle their unfinished business.
Eventhough this story starts and filled with adventures like any children book, it is not. The story speaks about Bod from when he was a baby until he was in early teenage years. The story describes how he learns from the dead and how he ends up using his non-human abilities to solve problems with other humans. In the end, due to his “inhuman” manner of doing things, Bod was not perceived as hero. Instead, he is called a monster by the human closest to him, whose life he has just saved. In the very last chapter, he lost the ability to see his ghost friends and parents. He left to the human world and the reader is brought into question as to whether he could survive.
I would have to say that this is the darkest children story I’ve ever read and I love it for the very same reason. I really like the story since it is fascinating, the characters are strong, the adventures are well told. However, I would have to recommend this book only for those who are seeking for originality and meaning of the story. Those who are expecting happy ending children story where the lost boy becomes the hero everyone looks up to (e.g. Harry Potter) would be disappointed. 
