YA-Like Book I'm Reading Now : Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

I adore Neil Gaiman's creepy and funny stories, and Graveyard Book doesn't disappoint. This book won the Newbery Medal for children's literature, but I think it could cross over for teens, too. Gaiman described this story as Jungle Book in a graveyard and it is, in a way. Nobody ( because he's nobody's child) Owens has been taken in by a graveyard full of ghosts and other dead people after his own family is killed. The graveyard's residents saved Nobody from the man Jack that tried to kill him, and try to keep Nobody safe in the graveyard by forbidding him from leaving.

However, Nobody wanders away from his caretakers, the Owenses and Silas, and ends up in a lot of trouble with living people. He fades into invisibility to escape a shopkeeper who wants to turn him over to the man Jack to kill him. Nobody also runs into trouble when he uses his powers he learns from other ghosts to get back at bullies at school. In addition to all that, he has to keep away from the man Jack and try to live a somewhat normal life as a boy living in a graveyard can. To find out what happens to Nobody, check out Graveyard Book under J FIC GAIMAN.

Book of the Week: Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

I love Neil Gaiman's cheeky British humor, and this book doesn't disappoint. Though this isn't a YA book, I think older teenagers would like this supernatural book. Anansi Boys is the story of Fat Charlie, a man who actually isn't overweight, but is given that nickname by his overbearing, embarrassing father. When Fat Charlie finds out that his father has died, he goes from England to Florida to attend the funeral ( Both the way his father died and what happens to Fat Charlie at the funeral are so hilarious. Only Neil Gaiman could make something as sad as death so funny.)

After the funeral, Fat Charlie learns one shocking thing after another. He learns from one of his father's friends that his father was a spider god. ( The title of the book comes from Anansi spider stories from West Africa). Fat Charlie's also told that if he wants something, he should ask a spider for it. Fat Charlie thinks it's all crazy and dismisses it, then has a dream where he talks to a spider. The next day, he finds a man on his doorstep that says his name is Spider and that he's Fat Charlie's long-lost brother. For an average middle-management man like Charlie, that's too much for him to believe, but he goes along with Spider. Spider is handsome, charming, and fun- everything Fat Charlie isn't. Spider takes Fat Charlie on an adventure to honor their father and claim their rightful place as heirs to the Spider God's throne.

This book is hilarious, supernatural and just what I'd expect from a Neil Gaiman novel. I can't wait to finish this novel and read more from him. After I finish reading it, you can find this book in FIC Gaiman in the library.

Interview with Neil Gaiman, one of the best writers ever

http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6633663.html
This is an interview with Neil Gaiman in School Library Journal, author of Graveyard Book and Coraline ( still time to sign up for the discussion on Thursday at 4!)

Book of the Week: Coraline by Neil Gaiman

I loved this weird, short, great book since I read it a couple of years ago. It's the story of a girl, Coraline Jones, that moves into a new house and explores an abandoned hallway. After walking down the hallway, she finds a house identical to hers and finds her ''other mother''. The mother is attentive and cooks, unlike her "real mother'', and Coraline wants to stay with her except the "other mother'' isn't quite what she seems.

In this other world with the other mother, the mother has black button eyes, has built everything in the other world, and won't let Coraline leave. Trapped, Coraline finds other children that the other mother has kidnapped . Coraline realizes she has to escape the other mother, fight to get home to her parents , and save the other children with her.

Coraline was a best-seller when it first came out and should be again when the movie version comes out February 6. I chose this book as a discussion book for February 19 for teens, but both tweens and teens should enjoy the book. It's creepy without being too scary and gives great lessons in what makes a family and what it mans to be brave. Coraline is a book that packs a lot of meaning into a few pages.