The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

This has been the latest Neil Gaiman book to hit the bookstores. I must say that I quite enjoyed this book for the darkness it possesses. Well, looking at the cover that should be fairly obvious. That aside, it had an unusual feel to it. It's probably the environment in the story that I'm not used to. After all, how many books are set solely in a graveyard?

The story revolves around Nobody Owens or Bod who unwittingly wanders away from being murdered along with his family into a graveyard where, its ghostly inhabitants decide to hide him and raise him. This book covers the different aspects and issues that Bod faces while living in the graveyard undetected by normal people. "How is that possible?" you ask. My suggestion: read the book.

Readers won't be disappointed as it is spooky as the name suggests. Do not expect a horror story though, murder is a horrendous deed. Also, this is a book meant for older children, say anywhere between preteens to early teens so don't expect to read something like 'Stardust'. If you're not a young reader, "The Graveyard Book" is meant for people who like unusual concepts and witty story-telling and for those who have not lost their inner child.

Dragon Haven by Robin McKinley

The story takes place in the modern world with one exception: Dragons DO exist. Our main character, Jake, is the son of the director of an institute that studies these mysterious beings. It just happens located in a 5 million acre reserve called Smokehill. The only difficulty with this job is the almost non-existence of dragon sightings. Imagine trying to study a creature of mammoth proportions that you can't even see amidst debates on whether or not these creatures should be exterminated due to their potential for harming humans. Life goes on as usual for Jake until one day, he comes across a dying dragon. Next to her is the corpse of a man, a poacher. And one of her babies is still alive...

What I liked about this book was the way this story was written. It gave me the feeling of a close friend confiding in me and pouring out his/her deepest, darkest secret. This story also gives an unusual take on dragons. I think this is probably because of how McKinley took dragons from their Midieval fantasy setting and planted them in the modern world where everything is settled pretty much through politics, lawsuits, money and - in the right situation - guns. This makes the story completely  devoid of good old fashioned, sword-clashing wars/fight scenes and 'Chosen Ones' destined to rid the world of evil.  However, as a person who enjoys reading books over and over again, this book would not be listed in my list of repeats. And if you thoroughly enjoy stories with the classic fantasy plot, this might not be the book for you.

The Singer's Crown by Elaine Isaak

I basically singled out this book on the shelf because it had a most unusual title. Technically, I was looking for books that didn't have the typical words you would find in the title of the fantasy book. As luck would have had it, I got this one to read. This book holds an amazing story. It is so imaginative in terms of plot and character development. I have one word to describe it without giving away the whole story... Unputdowable! I slept late nights because of that! But there was one bit in the book that really spoiled my good feelings about it.