Recommended Age:
12
+
Ideal for independent readers who enjoy imaginative, atmospheric storytelling with strong character engagement.
About the Book
After his family is murdered, a toddler named Nobody 'Bod' Owens is adopted and raised by the ghosts in a graveyard, protected from the man Jack who still seeks to finish the job. A Newbery Medal winner that reimagines The Jungle Book as a gothic coming-of-age tale set among the dead.
Content Ratings
💡
Intense Themes
The main character is an orphan raised by ghosts while hunted by his family's murderer. He lives with the constant knowledge of his family's violent deaths. Themes of death, loss, being an outsider, and the necessity of facing one's fears are emotionally significant. The book treats death with both gravity and matter-of-factness.
⚔️
High Violence
A family is murdered on the page at the book's opening. Supernatural dangers and threats are present. The climax involves a confrontation and death. Violence is significant and sometimes graphic.
Engagement:
Genre:
Horror
Published:
2008
Page Count:
312
