"The Graveyard Book" By Neil Gaiman

I picked this book up at the library because I enjoyed the movie Coraline (adapted from a book by Gaiman) and have been wanting to read that one, so this is kind of a substitute.

Fortunately for me, this book more than made up for my most recent foray into so-called ghost stories (The Ghost of Windy Hill, which would more accurately have been called "Sorry, Kathy, There's No Ghost on Windy Hill, So I Hope You're Not Too Disappointed"). This book was packed full of more ghosts than I could count, and it had a much more complex combination of story arcs.

Still, this book was a little different from your usual ghost story book. It didn't have the same creep factor. This was mainly because all of the ghosts were friendly and obliging. The tension and trouble came from the world of the living rather than the spirit world. It did have wonderful and nearly tangible atmosphere, however, especially at the beginning, as well as during the Danse Macabre (although I wasn't sure quite why that was a part of the book otherwise).

I loved that Mr. Frost turned out to be the man Jack. I didn't see that coming until the last minute. It's funny that I was thinking more along the lines of him being related to Robert Frost, and it never crossed my mind that he could be Jack Frost until he "put his hand down into the empty space where the floorboard had been," which is mere sentences before he pulls a knife and tries to kill Bod.

I was also pleased that, although Silas was pretty plainly a vampire, we are never specifically told this. I appreciate the author's assumption that I was smart enough to figure it out for myself.

I enjoyed this book like Nobody's business! (Get it?) I agree with one of the reviews on the back that says, "I want to see more of the adventures of Nobody Owens." I think in the next book some of the other Jacks may return as ghouls . . . and surely Scarlett will show up again.