The Graveyard Book

Author: Neil Gaiman

First line: There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife.

Why you should read this book: In a fast-paced, page-turner of a novel, young Nobody Owens escapes death at the hand of the strange man who killed his family by taking refuge in a graveyard, where he is adopted by ghosts and protected by supernatural creatures. There are mysteries and adventures in the land of the dead, there are mysteries and adventures in the land of the living, and there is the ominous specter of the killer who still searches for the boy, desperate to finish the job. A gripping, beautiful journey through the joyful and dangerous realms of the imagination.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You still hold your breath passing the cemetery.