The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

| goodreads page | author's page | 

I don't know where to start, talking about this wonderful book. So I think I'll just let all my thoughts fall out messily in a heap on this floor I call a blog post. I bought The Graveyard Book in the Strand bookstore in New York City at the end of last year. I had been curious to read something by Neil Gaiman, and I saw this book of his on display and it looked good enough for me to buy, and I did. 

And I'm so glad I did. 

I mean, it only took me 8 or 9 months to actually pick it up and read, but still. BUT STILL! I haven't read a book this good (or that I enjoyed so much) in a long time. Granted, I don't do anywhere near as much reading as I should be doing. 

Being the first Neil Gaiman book I've read, going into it I didn't know what to expect except perhaps some decent writing and a cool story. Honestly, I don't go into any consumption of pop culture with many expectations because I like to sit back and soak in whatever the creator has made. I began reading the first few pages out loud for fun (this is something I do more often than seems normal) and I was sucked in immediately. The first few pages are creepy and intriguing and might even give you chills, but it only gets better from there. There are ghosts, ghouls, a witch, a Sleer, cold-blooded murderers, a midnight Danse Macabre, magic and mystery galore.

The story is of a little toddler whose family is brutally killed in the night by 'the man Jack'. The man Jack is meant to kill the entire family but the toddler takes a walk (the man Jack left the front door open) out of his house, down the street, up the hill and into a graveyard, thus managing to escape the murderous knife-wielding hands of the man Jack. There the graveyard folk (the dead who were buried there) meet him, decide to look after him, and give him protection from the man Jack by raising him up in the graveyard. They name him Nobody, or Bod for short. A lot of crazy adventures ensue, as each chapter of the book is presented as its own short story, and it all culminates toward Chapter 7 where we find out why the man Jack murdered Bod's whole family and all the rest. 

There are definitely some creepy undertones in The Graveyard Book but above it all is so much heart and so much warmth in this novel, especially within the characters. I love the characters so much. There are some hilarious ones, especially a few of the graveyard folk, but mostly I loved Bod, Silas and Liza Hempstock. UGH AND WHEN LIZA WAS SAYING HER GOODBYE TO BOD!!!! That got me. It got me good. 

I've seen a lot of people around the internet saying how scary it was and honestly, I'm the sort of person who would never, ever voluntarily watch a scary movie, a horror movie or anything even remotely like that, nor am I a fan of scary books. To me, at least, The Graveyard Book was not at all a scary book. Creepy, yes, at points. But at the core, the story is lovely, warm and full of heart. The theme of family (and love) underlies the whole plot, and though there are some rather unpleasant flesh-eating ghouls and an ancient organisation of murderers, Neil Gaiman wrote those characters in a light and delicate fashion that wouldn't give any fully-developed human being bad dreams. That being said, on the back of the book it reads "Ages 10 up", and personally I wouldn't dare read this to any child younger than that.

I think anyone who can read and who likes to read a good story cannot (CANNOT) be disappointed by this book. It's stunningly written, it has top notch characters, the story is superb, everything to do with the way everything is structured and delivered is perfect. 

I didn't see the twist coming, although I had my suspicions much earlier... I still didn't see it coming. It was fantastic.

I'm definitely going to be reading a lot more by Neil Gaiman in the future. And I seriously cannot wait for the movie. IT NEEDS TO BE MADE AND COME OUT ALREADY! (I'm listening to Camille Saint-Saens' Danse Macabre as I type this and I'm visualising the dead dancing with the humans; Bod dancing with the Lady on the Grey in that scene)
I rate The Graveyard Book FIVE sparkly well-deserved stars.

P.S. The Graveyard Book has won numerous awards, including the Newbery Medal in 2009! (Just to give you more incentive to get your hands on this little gem of a book)

An Interview with Laura M Kolar || Canvas Tour

As part of The Canvas Tour, I had the chance to interview Laura M Kolar, debut author of Canvas Bound, a young adult fantasy about a girl whose paintings literally come to life. 

If you haven't already, you can see my review of Laura's new novel here.

How did the "captive art" idea spring to mind?

It was a combination of things. I’d recently had knee surgery and the pain meds gave me some pretty crazy dreams. I’d also just watched several of the Harry Potter movies where all the paintings came to life.

Are you an artist yourself? 

Sadly, no. I took watercolor in high school and some of those turned out okay, but the closest I get to doing artwork now is coloring with my six-year-old.

Who are some of your favourite artists?

The list could go on, and on, and on. But I will say that I tend to like landscapes more than portraits or still-lifes, which is probably why that’s what Libby ended up painting. In my original story she was very good at doing portraits and kept painting one of a boy she’d never met.

What juicy hints of future Captive Art instalments can you divulge? *winkwink*

It’s so funny you ask this question because Captive Art was originally written as a standalone story, but when I got to the end, I realized I’d left a few characters with some serious unfinished business. What’s funnier is I’d written in hints for the next two books without even realizing I done it at the time. I’ll give you a couple more though, 1) If all goes well, I plan on it being a trilogy, though not entirely from Libby’s POV, 2) Aldridge Academy is full of gifted artists, and 3) Travis gives away bigger clues than I do.

How long did it take you to write the novel from start to finish?

Sixty days of writing and a year and a half of editing before I submitted to Red Adept Publishing.

Was the publishing process difficult?

Yes, writing the book was easier. Publishing a book takes a thick skin, patience and perseverance, three things I’m pretty lucky to have, though not usually at the same time.

Who are your literary influences? 

Mandy Hubbard, Anna Banks and Veronica Rossi.

Favourite book of all time?

There are too many to choose from, but I especially love the books by the ladies listed above, as well as To Katie With Love by my critique partner Erica Lucke Dean, for obvious reasons.

~~~

Huge thanks to Laura for answering all my questions!

In case you haven't already entered, you can enter the giveaway on The Canvas Tour page (or on my review post, it's the same one).

Make sure to check out the other stops on the tour while you're there. ;)

Canvas Bound by Laura M Kolar | CANVAS TOUR | Review

THE CANVAS TOUR

As part of the blog tour for Laura M Kolar's Canvas Bound, I'm participating with two posts - today's is my review and on September 7th I'll be posting an exclusive interview with the author, Laura, right here on C&M! 

Click here for more of The Canvas Tour!

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Now onto the post! 

Canvas Bound by Laura M Kolar

(Book #1 of the Captive Art series )

The thing that prompted me to join this blog tour was the main concept of the novel - painting artwork that came to life... paintings you could literally step into - the idea fascinated me and it turned out to be what I loved most about the book. Click here to read the synopsis - it's what made me want to read the book in the first place and join the blog tour (which, by the way is something I never do - I have never had the inclination to participate in one of these until now!). Do read the blurb-y bit; I'm afraid I won't be divulging any juicy plot details because more often than not, my plot re-tells transform into a horribly tedious rambling.

Canvas Bound is a lovely little debut novel, and for me it was a pretty quick and easy read (and fun too, duh!) - in my books this is always a good thing. It captivated me from the very beginning and that's another really important thing for me when I pick up a book - it's gotta catch my attention from the word GO and Canvas Bound did. 

The character relationships in Canvas Bound were developed well - I really enjoyed reading Dean and how Libby's relationship with him developed. I was totally shipping #Dibby from the very start. Although I did have a chuckle (or more of a snort, even) when we found out his full name was Dean James... perhaps pointing to a certain dashing Old Hollywood star a little too obviously. For some reason I liked the male characters better than Libby or any other female in the book. Libby, to me, unfortunately wasn't the most believable character. She was oftentimes an emotional wreck, and being the protagonist of the novel, we get to see a lot of Libby being totes emosh or chucking small tantrums. Some of the dialogue between her and other characters seemed a bit mechanical, a bit inorganic or unnatural, but despite her shortcomings, I always rooted for her. 

I really appreciated a lot of the pop culture references that were thrown in - classic films, actors and artists. I always find joy in finding that shared appreciation of a particular "something" of the arts, whether it be a classic movie, an actor or a song.

Overall I really did enjoy reading Canvas Bound - the unique concept drew me in and the story was compelling and so packed full of mystery that I just had to keep reading until the end. If you're as intrigued as I was to read this, I'd highly suggest giving it a go. But don't worry, you won't have any apples thrown at you from inside the book like Libby had from in her painting.

My rating: 3.5 stars.

Thanks for sticking it out 'til the end of the post, because guess what? 

You can enter a GIVEAWAY! a Rafflecopter giveaway!! 

And stay tuned because I'll be back for another stop on the tour to give you my author interview with Laura M Kolar in a few days. :)

new on my bookshelf: billy and me

I got something in the mail yesterday! Gi Fletcher's debut novel Billy and Me. :) 

I know Giovanna because she's Tom Fletcher's wife... and I know Tom not because he's from McFly but because he is Carrie's brother! Carrie Hope Fletcher as you may know her on YouTube. 

I'm obsessed with Youtube and British Youtubers especially, and I've been watching Carrie for a while now. But enough about her, let's talk about Gi! She and Tom post the cutest, most adorable song covers on Tom's YouTube channel. Also, the pixiwoo sisters Sam and Nic Chapman did Giovanna's makeup on their channel whilst interviewing her about her life and Billy and Me. 

Here is that video: 

Also, you can read more about Billy and Me on its Goodreads page here.

I'm excited to read this and I've heard so many great things about it as well - even Alex Day dedicated a video to it! I'll just go ahead and stick that video in here too.

An Interview with Wanda Wiltshire.

I had the wonderful opportunity to interview the author of Betrothed - Wanda Wiltshire! 

It's a debut fantasy YA and I posted my thoughts on it here.

And here's another picture of the book below! 

(I mean, you can't get enough of that cover, am I right?)

Anyway, let's just get on with it then! 

I hope you enjoy :)

So I thought I'd start with a fun, easy question: What was it like seeing Betrothed as a real book for the very first time, flipping through the pages of the finished copy?

It was amazing, Arielle! I’d been counting down the days for ages! The gorgeous cover, the dedications, the little swirls between scenes – it was all so lovely! But what made it really magical was that it arrived in time for my dad to hold in his hands and read while he was still well enough to do so. When he finished, he declared it very well written and couldn’t find a single thing wrong with it – high praise from my father! But as you can imagine, the ending threw him and he did have lots of questions! So, I sat on his bed and answered every one of them. He passed away a few weeks later.  

Did you always know you wanted to be a writer and storyteller?

I probably should have, but I didn’t. Looking back through the years, the signs were certainly there – good marks in English, an interest in writing poetry, the beginnings of a book when I was very young. But until five years ago, I hadn’t a clue what I wanted to do with my life! I think a lack of self-confidence got in the way. 

How did your writing journey begin?

A few years ago I was going through a horrible time – the kind of time that makes you question the meaning of life. These questions eventually led me to God. After a while I realised that if He created me, he must have done so for a purpose. It was one of those incredible light bulb moments and immediately I threw my voice to heaven and asked Him what that purpose was. ‘Write a book,’ came the instant reply. Not feeling equal to the task, I argued for a little while, but the still quiet voice was insistent, ‘Write a book.’

How did the idea for Betrothed originate?

‘God wants me to write a book!’ I told my daughter soon after I’d received the direction. She gave me an eyebrow lifted look and said, ‘Whatever mum.’ ‘No, really!’ I said. So we spent the rest of the day trying to come up with an idea. We had zilch. That night I went to bed and prayed. ‘God, I hear you, but if you want me to write a book, you’d better send me an idea because I’ve got nothing!’ I promptly fell asleep. The next morning in that time between sleeping and waking, Betrothed slipped into my mind! I jumped out of bed, raced to the computer and started writing!  

How did you go about naming the characters? (Also, I'm quite a stickler for correct pronunciation - I would love to know how Leif is pronounced! L-ee-f? L-ay-f? And also King Telophy? These fae have such peculiar names!)

This is something I’ve actually put very little thought into. All of the main characters came to me with names and I couldn’t have changed them even if I wanted too. As for the lesser characters, the names were revealed to me as they were written into the story. The only conscious decision I’ve made was to change the original name of the character, Simone.

I’m so glad you asked about pronunciation – it’s important to me too! Leif is pronounced L-ay-f and King Telophy, King Tel-eh-fee. 

Do you know any people in your everyday life that are like the characters in the novel? 

Only so far as you might say one person is similar to another. My characters are their own people – unique as anyone else. I have, however, kept my eyes peeled these last four years in the hope of finding an actor/model/seriously gorgeous guy who physically resembles Leif – a very tall order! I found him recently when I was holidaying on the Gold Coast, and oh my goodness, he was perfect! I could almost see a pair of dazzling wings sprouting from his back! The funny thing was, he had very good likenesses of both Marla and Jack working alongside him! I think I can be forgiven for my focus being almost entirely on Leif! If I told you the real names of these people, you would think it a very strange coincidence indeed. 

In five words, describe what we can expect from Allegiance.

Twists, romance, mind-blowing surprises! 

Can you promise us that the cover for Allegiance will be as beautifully stunning as Betrothed's? :)

Absolutely I can! 

So I can tell it's pretty clear you're a lover of the fanstastical and magical - I myself am very much the escapist - what are some of your all-time favourite fairytales or fantasy novels? 

When I was a little girl, I loved The Enchanted Woods by Enid Blyton. I read this book many a time. These days my favourites would be Melina Marchetta’s The Lumatere Chronicles and Maggie Stiefvaters, Shiver series. I also adored Margot Lanagan’s, Sea Hearts! I love fabulous stories with writing as beautiful as poetry, and in my opinion, all of these authors nail it!

And one final one, who are your favourite writers of all time? 

To those I mentioned above, I would add Jane Austen and Anne Rice : )

The Name Game Book Tag

I saw this book tag floating around the YouTubez and it looked really easy and fun to do so I did it!

I wasn't tagged by anybody, but I tag all of you! 

Entangled review: here

Lola & the Boy Next Door review: here

Books mentioned: 

Ariel by Sylvia Plath

Rhubarb by Craig Silvey

I'd Tell You I Love You But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter

Entangled by Cat Clarke

Lola & the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Original Name Game Book Tag created by KimberleysBookNook

Betrothed by Wanda Wiltshire

Betrothed by Wanda Wiltshire

goodreads page

(If you live in/near Sydney, Wanda's book launch is happening at Dymocks on George St on June 27)

Betrothed is Australian author Wanda Wiltshire's debut novel - it is being released on July 1st, 2013 and I was so kindly sent a copy from Pantera Press. 

Fortunately, I read it as soon as I received it and I really enjoyed it (it was a lovely distraction from working on my research essays) - but unfortunately, that was about a month ago and I can't believe I kept putting off posting my thoughts on it for so long.  

But now the day has come, the release date is drawing near, and if you enjoy reading YA fantasy, I encourage you to go online, or to Dymocks, or wherever you have to go to get your little (or big, I don't know what size your hands are) hands on this excellent debut novel. 

I wrote a brief Goodreads review shortly after I finished reading Betrothed so it has more of my immediate feelings - check that out here.

Betrothed is half set in the real world - modern day Australia, and half set in Faera - the world of fae (or faeries). This was really interesting because the main character, Amy (aka Marla) sits on the edge of both worlds. She gets the best (and worse) of both worlds. Hannah Montana theme song reference not intended. She grew up in Australia, but she isn't human, and therefore not exactly meant for this world. Marla is fae, and her betrothed - Leif - is a fae prince. She meets him in her dream. It's crazy but there's an explanation I won't go into because I'm no good at plot retell and I'd end up rambling for way too long. You just have to read it!

The mix of fantasy and reality was really nice to see because normally you only have one or the other. Amy/Marla has her human friends and (adopted) family who all love her so much, but she doesn't belong in the human world - she belongs with her betrothed, she belongs in the realm of fae. She also longs to find her biological mum and dad - her fae parents who abandoned her. 

Faera was an exciting, enchanting place to read about. There are just so many exciting, enchanting things in this book! Marla's wings, the markets in Faera, the royal court, Leif in general....

I was not happy with the ending, but only in that the ending was not a happy one. Things weren't resolved very nicely but it is a series after all, so the ending just made me want to read more and get hold of the sequel (Allegiance) right away.

There's little for me to criticise - hmm I guess some of the dialogue seemed to me a bit unrealistic at times (I know the faeries all speak like they're ancient and that's fine, but I meant dialogue between humans), and beware, there is a love triangle going on but don't worry, the winner is victorious from the get go. 

I haven't read a lot of other YA books with faeries other than the Wicked Lovely series, and Betrothed reminds me a little of that, except it's not as creepy. It's a bit lighter than the Wicked Lovely books, and I like that about it.

My Rating: 4 stars! 

Click here to see my Goodreads review of Betrothed

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The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

The Tale of Despereaux being the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup, and a spool of thread by Kate DiCamillo

Thank you to my lovely book blogger pal Jess for giving me this copy. It's the hardcover edition with ripped page edges and it's beautiful. 

This was a super quick read, and definitely a thousand times better than the film adaptation. 

The narrator tells the story in second person - to you, the reader! Or to me, as it were. It was a change from most of the books I've read in the past and I welcomed it. 

The main difference between the film and the book is the character of Roscuro. In the movie he is portrayed as quite benevolent, friendly and innocent, whilst in the book he is much more hard-hearted and just... evil. 

Apart from the murderous, duplicitous rats, the characters were cute and lovely to read, and even quite touching in parts - especially in the chapter where Despereaux forgives his father for sending him to the dungeons to be eaten by the rats.

Although I enjoyed reading this out loud, I would not read this to young children because the rat-side of the plot (and even the Miggery Sow-side of the plot) was really quite dark and might be too scary for the younger kids. Perhaps in a primary school class-setting it would be a little better... but not in a bedtime story evening setting reading to 5 year olds because they will most likely have nightmares filled with rats and dungeons and darkness and murder. 

My Rating: 3.5 stars

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