FINISHED:

Gaiman, Neil. (2008). The graveyard book. New York: HarperCollins.

[I was actually much more impressed with this one that I thought I might be. The novel begins with a family of 4 being murdered by a mysterious stranger. Well, actually, only 3 are murdered - the baby boy crawls out of his crib, out the front door, and into a nearby graveyard where he is taken in and raised by the (eccentric) ghosts of the graveyard's inhabitants. Somewhat episodic, Bod (his "adoptive" parents name the boy Nobody Owens) wanders the graveyard finding treasure in an old tomb, helps to get a gravestone for a witch, befriends a young girl, eventually attends school (though is careful to keep a low profile), and learns life lessons and tricks from the local ghosts. Naturally, there is a thread of dread throughout knowing that the tall dark stranger who murdered Bods parents is searching for Bod in order to finish the job. A ghostly take on Kipling's "Jungle Book" stories that satisfied my need to read something Halloween-seasonal.]

STARTED:
Hautman, Pete. (2009). How to steal a car. New York: Scholastic.

[Reviewing for ACL.]

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