Gaiman has done a wonderful job with this book. It is aimed at a younger audience than his usual material and includes, albeit subtlely, excellent life lessons for the developing reader. The main character encounters all manner of fantastical beings and is actually raised by fantastical beings. In the course of his encounters, he learns what the world is really like and how to survive, his extremely powerful guardian providing calm, lucid, creepy insight along the way. I listened to the audio version of this book, which was read by Neil Gaiman himself. Gaiman's voice and voice characterizations are easy on the ears and add a lot to the story. I heartily recommend the book.