While the name does sound a bit macabre indeed, it’s never too early to start brushing up on your fantasy, paranormal stories or horror. That being said, if you want your children to start early in fantasy, you can never go wrong with Neil Gaiman and The Graveyard Book is one of his highest-rated works.

The book is categorised as young adult and/or children’s fantasy, but even adults can read it and enjoy it. But it is indeed written as a book for a much younger audience. The best age to enjoy the book would be age 10 and above. If you want to encourage someone younger into reading, this book can be a great introduction to fantasy and horror.

As mentioned earlier, the book is a little bit dark and macabre as it starts off with a murder scene to set up the premise of the story. But that’s the darkest it gets, so it should not be too scary for a reader around the age of 10–12.

The story is set up with the brutal murder of a family by a mysterious man named Jack. Fortunately, the youngest member of the family, a little baby who had learned to crawl, wanders off as he crawls out of his cot and ends up in a nearby cemetery. Jack cannot find him and the baby is taken in by a motherly ghost, Mrs Owens. Since nobody in the cemetery knew his real name, they call him Nobody, short for “Bod”, who grows up in the graveyard. To quote perhaps the most famous line from the book: “It takes a graveyard to raise a child”. And every ghost in the graveyard contributes to this adventure of life as he learns about life and death, witches, ghouls and other supernatural creatures.

Will Bod ever learn about Jack, the man who murdered his family? What will he do when he finds out the truth? Can he even fight against Jack? And how long can he stay in the graveyard? Is this his entire universe? To know the answer to these questions, you will have to read this book, which is around 300 pages, with a smooth flow so it shouldn’t take more than a few days at most.

There are very few modern writers who can write fairy-tale and fantasy as smoothly as Neil Gaiman does. It is a very easy-to-read book which is appropriate even for children who are just starting to read on their own. The story moves steadily, which should suit adults just fine, but some adults might find the story a little too easy. Nevertheless, it should be kept in mind that this was aimed at a younger audience.

The book is divided into several chapters that focus on some significant adventures in Bod’s life, but together they all come together to tell the story of Nobody Owens.

Is it the “hold your breath” type of edgy fantasy book? Not at all, but it is a “feel wholesome and learn life lessons” type of adventure. Sometimes, that is all you need when you feel encumbered by all the literature-heavy books.