Our current staff summer reading challenge is Book Bingo, and one of the squares is to read a junior fiction book. Given the chance, I'll always reach for a Neil Gaiman novel, and 'The Graveyard Book' did not disappoint.

Nobody Owens—known as "Bod"—is orphaned as a baby when his family is murdered by a mysterious man known only as Jack. Bod crawls into a nearby graveyard and is adopted by its ghostly inhabitants and protected by a mysterious guardian who walks between the worlds of the living and the dead. As he grows, Bod learns the graveyard's secrets, including how to "fade" so completely that he becomes unseen and easily forgotten. But he can't remain hidden forever. Eventually, Bod must confront Jack and decide where he truly belongs: among the living or the dead.

'The Graveyard Book' is a beautifully written story that balances darkness with warmth, wonder, and tenderness. Neil Gaiman has a remarkable gift for creating magical worlds that capture both the heart and the imagination, and this one is no exception. A quick, enchanting read that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Happy reading, friends.

~Heather