Out Of Comfort Zone

Neil Gaiman's style of writing consists of short fiction novels, comic novels, and graphic novels. His novel, The Graveyard Book won both the Newbery and Carnegie award. I decided to read The Graveyard Book mostly because I have heard of it before. It seemed like an easier out of comfort zone book than other books in the genre. This novel has components of supernatural, sci-fi, and history all in one. Usually, I hate anything supernatural and creepy, so from the start I was not too excited to read.  Reading this book was a negative experience for me, I didn't benefit from it and I hated every chapter. Even though I ended up disliking the book, being able to get out of my comfort zone and read something that I wouldn't normally read was a huge step. I usually am scared to travel outside of the norm and stick to reading what I am comfortable with. If I had the option of reading this book again, I would probably turn it down, I'm sure someone out there would enjoy this book and benefit from it better 100% more than I would.

The Graveyard Book is about Nobody Owens. As a newborn, Bod's family is murdered by Jack Frost. Somehow, Nobody is able to escape out of his crib, climb down the stairs, and leave his home without being caught by the killer (which to me, seemed totally unrealistic). The young boy manages to crawl his way into a graveyard, where he is adopted by the Owens, a dead couple who lived many years prior (once again, unrealistic). Bod is given the power of the graveyard, so he is able to see and hear the ghosts around him when nobody else can; the one negative is Bod cannot leave the graveyard until he is completely grown. The killer who killed Bod's family is still on the look for him, and Bod is only safe in the graveyard.

The plot of this novel alone is creepy and unrealistic. I would most likely never read this book again, but I would recommend it to someone who is in to ghosts and supernatural, unrealistic stories. Another Neil Gaiman book is 100% NOT on my must read book list for the future.