The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

The Graveyard Book brought me to happy tears as I stayed up until midnight this morning to finish reading it.  The book was awarded the Newbery Medal for its' distinction to children's literature in 2009 - but many young adults and adults of all ages hold this classic novel near and dear to their hearts.  The story tells a tale of a man Jack who murders an entire family except for a small toddler.  The toddler escapes to a nearby graveyard, and to protect him from the murderer the entire graveyard votes in agreement to raise the boy.  Mr. and Mrs. Owens are named as the boy's parents, and Silas as his guardian - where Silas is able to venture out into the world to retrieve food and other items for the boy, Nobody Owens.  Nobody, otherwise known as Bod learns many interesting things as he grows from a baby to a young man from the ghosts in the graveyard such as fading, haunting, and dream walking.  Bod meets a human friend named Scarlett and becomes caught in-between the world we know, and his graveyard home.  Will Bod remain in the graveyard, or venture out alone into the world to experience the gift of life we sometimes take for granted?  This book will change the way you think about life...simply amazing.