I had absolutely no idea what this was about as I delved into it. I figured it might be a little creepy considering it's by Neil Gaiman, but man it's been a long time since a book made me squirm as much as this one ((view spoiler)[just imagine driving to work while listening to Gaiman describe a boy pulling a worm out of a hole in his foot. I had to take a second to recover once I pulled into the parking lot (hide spoiler)]). 
 This is one of those books you can't stop thinking about during the moments in between reading it as well as when you're finished. Gaiman immerses you in this child's memories, which gradually turn from seemingly innocent and carefree to dark and terrifying. In the same way memories are flimsy and can be misconstrued, I often found myself wondering if I was correctly understanding the story, but I think that was the point. Readers go on the journey of remembering along with the narrator, and to say it is a haunting series of events would be an understatement. 
 I'd describe this as a "sophisticated ghost story." By that, I mean it's scary and creepy and will likely give me nightmares, but it does all that without any cheep thrills or predictable plot turns. I had NO IDEA what was coming the whole time. And Gaiman's writing is just beautiful (hearing him read it in his English accent probably helped, too).