Coraline

Coraline and her parents have moved in to a new flat, and things seem wonderful. But, Coraline's parents are too busy for her, so she goes exploring. As she does so, she finds that the new flat has twenty-one windows and fourteen doors. Of those fourteen doors, thirteen open and can be passed through. The fourteenth, though, when Coraline's mother unlocks and opens the door, has only a brick wall behind it. Or does it? Because when Coraline unlocks and opens the fourteenth door, there isn't a brick wall there. Instead, she discovers another flat - which looks exactly like her own. At first, the other flat is really nice. The food there is much better, and her bedroom has a toy box with windup toys that are great fun. There's also another mother and another father. And they want Coraline to become their other daughter. But, in order to do so, Coraline would have to change. And that's where the trouble begins. I must confess that I am not one to read scary stories. If I do, I do so during the daytime, with all the lights on in the house. You can never be sure when the scary monsters will come out, after all. As such, I have not read many books by Mr. Gaiman. This is only the third, the first two being Odd and the Frost Giants and Norse Mythology - neither one of which falls into the category of scary story. As I had heard many good things about Coraline, and it's written for readers aged 9 and up, I thought it would be a safe enough option for me. I loved it. It did still scare me (I freely admit to being an adult scaredy cat), but I continued listening. As Coraline puts it, "when you're scared but you still do it anyway, that's brave." For Coraline, I was brave. I should first point out that I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated by Mr. Gaiman himself. I am often leery of author-read audiobooks because, while they may be wizards with the written word, narrating involves an entirely different skill-set, and many authors just don't have it. Neil Gaiman does. His narration absolutely pulled me right into the story from the very beginning, and his knowledge of the story and the characters meant that he knew exactly what to emphasize and where to add tension to make the audiobook a truly great experience. From the beginning, when Coraline has to entertain herself because her parents don't have time for her to the end when Coraline finally ... no, I shouldn't say that. I don't want to give away spoilers. Anyway, from the beginning to the end, Gaiman weaves a tale that is fantastical, suspenseful, and wonderful. I loved the running - not really a joke or a gag, so much as a continuation of incompetency, so we'll go with that - the running incompetency of the other residents in Coraline's building being unable to say her name correctly; they keep calling her Caroline, even after she has corrected them...multiple times. Beyond the human characters - and I'm including other mother and other father in that category despite their being ... not really human - are the animal characters with which Coraline interacts multiple times. The rats. Oh. My. God. The rats. They sang. And I'm not talking about pretty little songs written by Disney musicians that will make you feel all happy and light. Oh, no. These rats sang songs that were dark and creepy and just... *shivers*. But, also... I loved those rats. I don't know why. There might be something wrong with me. But I thought they were great characters, and that's not even considering the old man who trains them. Then there's the cat. That cat is perfect, as anyone who has ever been owned by a cat can attest. In addition to all the great characters of both the creepy and non-creepy variety, Gaiman also weaves some wonderful themes in the story about love, family, fear, and bravery. As such, despite the creepiness of this story, I suspect that will become one of those stories that I revisit around Halloween each year, whether that's as a reread or a relisten. What about you? Will you also take a chance on this story? I vote for yes, but you obviously have the deciding vote...

This review is split into two parts, first is the story itself. -like any other Neil Gaiman story, this one is captivating, eerie and unique. The book is nothing like the movie there are a lot of differences and they took quite a bit of Liberty when making the movie. I recommend you read the book even if you've seen the movie because the way it is written it's almost a whole another story but with similar plot points. The book itself was easy reading but also very enjoyable for child or adult. Five stars when it comes to the story itself. Second part of review- the bookseller -if you go to buy a copy of this used I do not recommend ordering from GreatBookDealz. First and foremost it took them ages to ship this book and after almost a month of waiting I had almost given up hope until it finally arrived (this was after Amazon sent me a message saying if it had not arrived by a certain date that they were going to refund me because it was taking so long). The tracking never updated either until the last minute so I never even knew where the package was in transit which is frustrating. The long wait was disappointing especially since it didn't have far to go, I ordered this near the beginning of October and wanted to receive it so I could read it before Halloween but didn't receive it until November. The other disappointing thing was someone had taken a highlighter to parts of the book but that was not specified in the description. The only thing they specified was that the cover had wear which is normal for used books. I don't per say mind the highlighter marks but would liked to have been made aware of it beforehand. The wait time was horrible and I definitely will not order any more used books from that seller!

One thing I have learned after four decades on this planet is that anything can get boring. Donuts for breakfast? The delight will fade. Roller coasters every day? The thrill will abate. Reading sci-fi on a regular basis? (gasp) Yes, even that will get tedious after a while. I recently hit an apathy wall when I started reading a new book by a favorite author. I got two chapters in and realized, “I’m just not enjoying this.” The prose was great and the story was intriguing, but I couldn’t shake the indifference. It took me a while to realize that my reading mind was over-saturated. The quality was irrelevant, I was just bored. And what’s the remedy for any boring activity? Do something else. And so I switched to fantasy. But not just any fantasy, and I specifically avoided epic fantasy because I didn’t want to get halfway through a giant tome only to realize that I had made a mistake. I wanted a simple, digestible, yet high-quality fantasy. Once I started that search, it didn’t take long to narrow it down to Neil Gaiman. Coraline fit the bill, which had already set itself apart as one of the most beloved children’s fantasy stories of all time. I had already watched the stop-motion movie, which was fantastic. This gave me the opportunity to play every reader’s favorite game: “Which is better?” (Spoiler alert: they’re both fantastic.) Oh what a breath of fresh air Coraline was. It’s a shorter read, more novella than novel, but that doesn’t matter in the slightest because you get the feeling that Gaiman hand-selected each word from a bowl of perfection. The prose is simply magical and it seizes your attention from the very first page. The story follows the titled protagonist, a young girl who is small for her age, as her family moves into a new house. While exploring, she discovers a portal into another house. It’s a mirror image with all sorts of fun and adventure, but with a sinister underbelly. She slowly uncovers that mystery, which pulls her into a mission to save her family. This story can easily be read in a single sitting. But when you find a bowl of candy, it’s best not to eat it all at once. This was the first time in recent memory where I intentionally doled out a book to myself. I read a few chapters a night over the course of a week, which was a delightful way to end each day. I was actually sad when Coraline ended because it was the reading tonic I sorely needed. Thank you, Mr. Gaiman. What a masterpiece.

Short and Sweet: Even if you don't like horror, pick up this beautifully written children's book about bravery, boredom, and getting everything you want. Turns out, getting everything you want isn't as great as you'd think. Coraline is horror light. All the creepy richness of a regular horror novel but with a light, happy ending instead. In all honesty, this book was the max amount of horror I could handle. The horror parts of the novel involved things like going in dark basements and you KNOW something is down there. There were gross parts involving bats and moving spider-egg-sac-things. Does she have to touch it? OH YES SHE DOES. The thing she needs is inside it (of course). This story is about bravery, which I obviously do not possess. I would not do any of the things Coraline did, especially touch the creepy egg-sac-thingy. As Neil Gaiman puts it, Coraline has "scared many adults and fewer children." (Coraline 10th Anniversary Edition, Q&A with Neil Gaiman) There's also a general feeling of something being off, something not quite right. I think it's mostly from his word choice when he uses similes. And they are gross. The flat had walls the color of old milk. - Neil Gaiman, Coraline 10th Anniversary Edition (p. 129) There was a tiny doubt inside her, like a maggot in an apple core. - Neil Gaiman, Coraline 10th Anniversary Edition (p. 75) Why use "off-white" when "old milk" induces dry heaving? The thing about Neil Gaiman is that he really nails childhood. He gets how kids work and how they think. There was also a well. On the first day Coraline’s family moved in, Miss Spink and Miss Forcible made a point of telling Coraline how dangerous the well was, and they warned her to be sure she kept away from it. So Coraline set off to explore for it, so that she knew where it was, to keep away from it properly. -Neil Gaiman, Coraline 10th Anniversary Edition (pp. 5-6). Because seriously - what kid that was told there was something dangerous nearby wouldn't do exactly that? This parent gets points for a) not screaming at his kid for bugging him all the time about being bored and b) for coming up with the most tedious, time consuming game possible. I'm stealing this game for my kids to play tomorrow. "Where did you get this idea, mommy?" "A horror novel. You'll love it. Have fun." “Then explore the flat,” suggested her father. “Look— here’s a piece of paper and a pen. Count all the doors and windows. List everything blue. Mount an expedition to discover the hot water tank. And leave me alone to work.” - Neil Gaiman, Coraline 10th Anniversary Edition (p. 9) And now for the random deep thought of the day from a cat. “Cats don’t have names,” it said. “No?” said Coraline. “No,” said the cat. “Now, you people have names. That’s because you don’t know who you are. We know who we are, so we don’t need names.” - Neil Gaiman, Coraline 10th Anniversary Edition (p. 43) Like, WOW. I'm not exaggerating. It's kind of deep. Without labels, do we really know who we are? One of my favorite things about this book is when Coraline decides she doesn't like this creepy, alternate reality that she found because it turns out - getting everything you want? Not so great. Coraline sighed. “You really don’t understand, do you?” she said. “I don’t want whatever I want. Nobody does. Not really. What kind of fun would it be if I just got everything I ever wanted? Just like that, and it didn’t mean anything. What then?” - Neil Gaiman, Coraline 10th Anniversary Edition (pp. 144-145) It's true though, isn't it? As a parent, I don't give my kids everything they want on purpose because I know it would make them unhappy. It's sad that I don't have this problem as an adult because what I want gets longer by the hour. But kids? What they want is food made exactly their way and their parents to pay attention to them all day long. At least, that's what Coraline wants. And that's it. How beautiful is childhood that complete happiness is so simple.

Me and my sister loved the movie and now I finally read the book and it was so creepy and fun. My sister read the book and begged me to read the book and I don't regret it one bit. This was am awesome scary read for the month of October thank you for creating this masterpiece and brought amazing childhood memories for me and my sib ❤

Just as pictured. Great story. Similar to the movie, definitely not the same. Worth the read for sure.

I first tried the movie. Then I tried the book. Coraline portrays a girl who wasn't receiving much attention from her parents because they were busy with their jobs. Then she goes through a door that leads to another world. There lives her other parents with creepy features. She has to choose between her real life or the other life with disguise. The story has a taste of creepy, but it will teach the readers what is best for the growth of children. It's good to read.

Neil Gaiman is a master storyteller. His diction is perfect. He does not waste words, but is not miserly with them either. His descriptions never fail to rouse a knowing nod and smile from the reader. Even when writing a quick throwaway piece in his journal...his style is impeccable. For this novel, Neil sets his eyes on another audience: young adults. He gives children (or, as he has said, 'strange little girls of all ages and genders' - a nod to his friend Tori Amos and her 2001 "Strange Little Girls" album) a deliciously creepy novel about a girl, a new flat, and her other mother. Coraline (not Caroline, even though all of the adults who live in the other flats keep on saying it that way and ignoring her corrections) and her parents move into a new home. One day, she pesters her father one too many times, so he sends her off on an expedition: find the water heater, count everything blue, count all the doors and windows. She does so, and is shocked to find that there are 13 doors that open and one that doesn't. She asks her mother what is behind the 14th door, and is told that it was bricked over when the house was broken up into flats. Her mother unlocks the door to show her this, but doesn't lock it again. Later, Coraline creeps back, and finds that the door opens into another flat. It is just like her own, but not quite. In her room (green and pink, not boring like her own), she finds the sorts of clothing that she thinks she would have if she could pick out her own wardrobe -- not a grey school skirt, but costumes. In the kitchen, she finds her other parents -- not her real parents who work and don't play with her, but other parents who cook real food (not something from a "recipe" involving tarragon and butter beans) and dote upon her. Coraline knows that this is not right, and returns to her own flat. Thus begins Coraline's adventure. The other mother steals Coraline's parents. Coraline returns to the other flat to get them back. Along the way, she makes friends with the most sarcastic of cats and finds the ghosts of other children who were stolen away by the other mother. Gaiman's mastery of timing has never been shown so well than in this novel. Just when things are getting really scary, he breaks in with a droll and dry line that makes the reader laugh. This is a novel that is just begging to be read aloud -- as Neil Gaiman himself did on 02 July 2002 in Berkeley, California. His audience, around 500 people, hung on his every word. The adults in the audience were just as delighted as the children to have someone read such a delicious story to them. If you dislike reading aloud, you can always buy the audio CD (complete, unabridged) version of this story.