Coraline

by Neil Gaiman, Cornelia Krutz-Arnold (Translator)

Coraline zieht um. In dem neuen Haus wohnen außer Coraline und ihren Eltern noch einige merkwürdige Gestalten: zwei schrullige alte Theaterschauspielerinnen und ein Mann, der ein Mäuseorchester aufbauen will. Doch diese Mitbewohner sind nichts gegen das, was sich hinter der verschlossenen Tür in Coralines Wohnung verbirgt.

Dort entdeckt Coraline eine andere Welt -- die fast genauso aussieht wie ihre eigene. Zunächst gefällt es Coraline dort auch ganz gut. Ihre "andere Mutter" kocht viel besser als ihr Vater und kümmert sich aufmerksam um sie. Doch Coraline merkt schnell, dass sich hinter ihrer Freundlichkeit etwas Grässliches verbirgt. Diese Frau ist eine Kinderfängerin, und sie hat es auf Coraline abgesehen!

Nach und nach findet Coraline heraus, wie albtraumhaft diese andere Welt tatsächlich ist. Ihre "andere Mutter" isst Kakerlaken statt Bonbons, Horden von Ratten streifen umher, gespenstische Wesen lauern in den Ecken. Aber es ist zu spät: Coraline hat den Schlüssel zu ihrer eigenen Welt nicht mehr, und dann nimmt die böse Kinderfängerin auch noch ihre echten Eltern gefangen!

Neil Gaiman ist bislang durch seine Comics und seine fantastischen Geschichten für Erwachsene bekannt. Mit Coraline hat er nun ein fesselndes Märchen für Kinder geschrieben, das voller außergewöhnlicher Bilder und fantastischer Einfälle steckt. Die Geschichte ist spannend, die fremde Märchenwelt ebenso originell wie erschreckend. Doch trotz aller Schrecken wird am Ende alles gut -- wie es sich eben für ein richtiges Märchen gehört. --Gabi Neumayer

Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Fiction, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Childrens, Audiobook

175 pages, Hardcover

First published July 2, 2002

Reviews

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this book many different times in many different ways.

I read it off the page when it first came out. Later, I listened to Gaiman's narration of the audiobook when I was sequestered in the north woods of Wisconsin in a desperate attempt to finish book two. I watched the movie and enjoyed it.

My most recent experience of the book was listening to it with my little boy on a long car ride. I wasn't sure he'd be able to get into it. Not because of the vocabulary. He's very sharp for being 4.5. He's good with words. But sometimes he gets a little scared.

Despite my worries, he seemed to enjoy it. He paid attention, attention, asking for us to turn it back on after we stopped by the side of the road. A day later, he excitedly told me all about the story, apparently forgetting I'd been in the car too.

All of that was months ago. Fast forward to now....

* * *

"Dad," Oot said. "Do you know the guy who wrote Coraline?"

The question caught me by surprise. The two of us were driving to a party together, a friend was having a bonfire and I was amazed that he was thinking about anything other than smores.

"I do," I said. "His name is Neil Gaiman."

"Do you have his phone number?" he asked.

"No," I said.

"Do you know where he lives?"

"I do," I said.

"Are you his friend?"

That brought me up short. For Oot, that's a simple question. If you meet someone and play with them, they're you're friend. Easy.

For adults these things are harder. And it's doubly hard for me these days. My life has changed so much over the last five years, and my previously established metric for friendship doesn't work very well any more.

You see, for the majority of my life, a friend was someone who would, say, help me move a couch. Someone you could bum 10 dollars off of if you needed to. A friend was someone who felt comfortable enough to come over to my house without calling first. Then, if I wasn't home, they would let themselves in, eat out of my fridge, and start watching TV.

While I'm terribly fond of him, Neil Gaiman has never done any of these things.

Then again, neither have any of the other authors I've met over the last few years. I'm painfully aware of the need for new friendship metrics, but I haven't managed to develop a good set yet.

That won't make any sense to my boy, but still, I try to be honest with him whenever I can. "I don't know if we're friends," I say. "But we're colleagues."

"What's a colleagues?" he asks, right on cue.

"That means we know each other and do the same job," I explain.

"Oh yes," he says. "You're both authors."

It makes me proud when he says that. I'm proud that my boy knows I write books.

"Do you know his address?" Oot asks, and it takes me a while to realize that he's returning to his previous line of questioning.

"I do," I said, not bothering to point out that knowing where someone lives and knowing their address is pretty much the same thing.

"Can you send him a letter?"

"I could," I say.

Oot pauses for a moment then, and I realize that this has been the point of the whole conversation. He wants to send Neil Gaiman a message.

"What would you like me to write to him?" I ask.

"You should tell him he *sure* knows how to write a scary story...."

* * *

So there you go. You don't really need me to tell you how I feel about one of Gaiman's books at this point. You know I love his writing.

Instead, I'm offering up my boy's unvarnished opinion. Did he think the story was scary? Absolutely. But he still wanted us to turn it back on as soon as we were back in the car.

What's more, he was still thinking about Coraline months later. And it was the first book where he's ever shown any interest in contacting the author.

So. Bravo, Neil Gaiman. You've managed to win over two generations of the Rothfuss household.

[emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Does anyone have access to a rooftop? Preferably in a big city, or at least a town of reasonable size. High enough for it to be noticeably a rooftop, but absolutely NO higher than that because I have a mildly-to-seriously debilitating fear of heights. Maybe you’re an electrician, or a building super, or simply a very sneaky person with a skill for discovering high-up places. Whatever. I just need temporary roof access.

Because, ahem…

I LOVE THIS BOOK AND I NEED TO SCREAM IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS.

This is creepy and exciting and beautifully written and filled with wonderful characters and settings and scenes. I love Neil Gaiman, as of recently, and I most especially love Coraline (both book and character). I love it enough to read it multiple times, and also read the graphic novel at least once (possibly more), and also see the movie several times over (including in theaters with my whole family, including my very very small and very very scared brother).

I saw the movie before I read the book, and for that I repent.

There are so many little things from this that have stuck in my memory: the character voice of the cat; the talking terriers in Miss Spink and Miss Forcible’s apartment; the all-knowing circus mice; the fact that when Coraline had to feed herself, she went to the grocery store and bought herself a bag of apples and a whole chocolate cake (the biggest mood ever).

Also, that reminds me that this is the best book ever for talking animals.

I just love this story. I love everything about it. It is, for me, a perfect book.

Now I want apples and chocolate cake.

Bottom line: I love fairytales, and this is my favorite one.

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rereading updates

nothing in this world brings me comfort and joy like this book

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i have to read 4 books in 4 days to finish my reading challenge and i'm stressed and today is the first day i don't feel sick in 2 weeks and there's so much to do and i have no motivation to do it and yes in conclusion i'm reading coraline for the second time this year.

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pre-review

this is a top to bottom perfect book.

review to come

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currently-reading updates

i love this book so much i want to absorb it into myself, but that is physically impossible.

so i'm rereading it, which is the next best thing.

[Lisa of Troy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well that hit the spot

Neil Gaiman’s Coraline is a novella that features a young girl named Coraline who has just moved into a new house. She is intent on exploring and discovers a mysterious door that has been walled up. However, one day, the door is left ajar. What will Coraline discover on the other side of the door?

This short story is perfect for getting out of a reading slump. The book is very short with short paragraphs and sentences to keep the action flowing. This book also had laugh-out-loud moments, and Neil Gaiman is a master of intrigue, piquing the curiosity. He has walled off passages and old keys. His character is told not to go someplace, essentially daring the reader to explore. His prose is delicious, non-pretentious, but subtly brilliant.

The adventure is engaging and a pleasant one. It also has depth with symbolism thrown in. There is one moment in the book that will stay with me for a long time.

For this story, I utilized a reading technique called immersion reading (listening to the audiobook while following along in a copy of the text). Neil Gaiman himself narrated the audiobook. Listening to him is quite a treat. His enthusiasm is enchanting, and when he reads his own work, it feels like he is in the room with you, your very own personal reading, like the very best campfire story.

One of my favorite lines: How often do you get to say a name like “Mr. Bobo” aloud?

Plus, there is a cat….

I am already looking forward to reading Coraline again. So far, I have read three works by Neil Gaiman, and they have all been stellar. Is it possible for him to write any bad books? I guess I will have to find out.

2025 Reading Schedule
Jan A Town Like Alice
Feb Birdsong
Mar Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Berniere
Apr War and Peace
May The Woman in White
Jun Atonement
Jul The Shadow of the Wind
Aug Jude the Obscure
Sep Ulysses
Oct Vanity Fair
Nov A Fine Balance
Dec Germinal

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[Miranda Reads]

Sometimes the books you loved as a child, teen, young adult and adult just... hits different when you learn too much.

This one used to be a 5 star read.

My original review - cause some can separate the art and this book has been fundamental in so many childhoods... but I'm really struggling here.



I love this novel.

Unlike Gaiman's fiction for adults, every sentence, every word has its purpose. And finally, Gaiman does not throw in some weird sex scene. Can I get a hallelujah?

One especially dull and rainy day traps young Coraline inside the new house. Her parents are busy and she must entertain herself. She finds a little door in the drawing room and a little key that fits in.

he discovers a passageway into the otherworld. In it are her other-mother and her other-father - both of which always have the time for her and adore making her favorite foods. But, there's something... too otherly about the two that raises her hackles.

They're perfect.

Finally, the other-mother plays her hand. She wants Coraline all to herself. With a growing sense of dread, Coraline finds the way back locked and her chances of escaping becoming ever slimmer...All the while, the other-mother promises how wonderful and lovely living with her will be...forever...

Coraline herself is brave and kind and courageous. At her age, I certainly couldn't have done half the things she managed. I love her strength and how there isn't a stich of love-interest - only adventure and escapades.

Much better than expected (and I didn't get any nightmares).

Audiobook Comments
Read by the author - woohoo! As much as I grumble about some of his books, there's no denying that he's absolutely fabulous to listen to - this man could read a grocery list and I'd give it a listen.

[Jayson · Rating 4 out of 5]

(A-) 82% | Very Good
Notes: A genuinely disturbing and creepy story with vivid imagery, it's well-rounded and goes at a perfect pace and length.

[Jayson · Rating 4 out of 5]

(A-) 82% | Very Good
Notes: Intimately eerie, Through the Looking-Glass in horror tones, a fright pastiche, but off-the-leash, ethereal and all its own.

*Check out progress updates for detailed commentary:

Progress updates:

05/20/2021 - Preamble

(1) By my own GR experience, this is the most popular Gaiman novel. It's also one of his shortest. So, unfortunately, this reread will be finished quicker than usual.
(2) Remember when IMAX was a thing? You can always tell when a film was made for IMAX because the aspect ratio's perfectly sized to a computer monitor. Under conventional circumstances, it'd be thinner.

05/21/2021 - Chapter 1

(1) '"It's Coraline. Not Caroline. Coraline," said Coraline.'
- Luckily for me, my slightly-off spelling of a common name doesn't require pronunciation correction.
(2) The first notable change from the book to the film is that it's set in America. Oregon's a fine enough choice since its climate is similar to rainy old England, so rain as a plot device stays the same.

05/22/2021 - Chapter 2

(1) In the book, Coraline visits the neighbors before going through the door. In the film, it's after her first trip.
- Probably to stretch its length, as going back and forth eats up time.
(2) In the film, Mr. Bobo's name is changed to Sergei Alexsander Bobinski.
- Probably to underscore his Russian-ness... and clarify what accent exactly Ian McShane was attempting.

05/23/2021 - Chapter 3

(1) "Outside, the view was the same one she saw from her own bedroom: trees, fields and, beyond them, on the horizon, distant purple hills."
- I can't be the only one who read "purple hills" and thought: Eminem.
(2) In the book, Coraline walks through a hallway to the other house. In the film, she crawls through a kind of paper lantern tunnel.
- Colors = less creepy.

05/24/2021 - Chapter 4

(1) "There was something irritatingly self-centred about the cat ... As if it were, in its opinion, the only thing in any world or place that could possibly be of any importance."
- Such a thing could be said of cats generally.
(2) In the audiobook, the music is performed by indie band The Gothic Archies. In the film, it's Hungarian choir music.
- Either way strange.

05/25/2021 - Chapter 5

(1) '"Coraline," said Miss Spink. "What's your name?"
"Coraline," said Coraline.
"And we don't know each other, do we?"'
- The first hint the Other Mother's puppeteering.
(2) "[Coraline] bought two large bottles of limeade, a chocolate cake, and a new bag of apples, and went back home and ate them for dinner."
- What stands out to me is she ate a whole bag of apples.

05/26/2021 - Chapter 6

(1) "It was a snow-globe, with two little people in it. Coraline shook it and set the snow flying, white snow that glittered as it tumbled through the water. Then she put the snow-globe back on the mantelpiece, and carried on looking for her true parents and for a way out."
- Ah, Chekhov's snow-globe... it shall come into play later.
- Oh, where must her parents be?

05/28/2021 - Chapter 7

(1) I appreciate that they made Coraline's mirror-world outfit book-accurate – a grey sweater with stars. In the film, the Other Mother gifts it to her. In the book, she picks it from clothes in the other bedroom.
(2) If you're wondering why I've not mentioned Wybie yet, it's because he's not in the book, and only useful in the film as a thing to speak exposition to.

05/29/2021 - Chapter 8

(1) '"There, my sweet Coraline," said her other mother.'
- Quite obviously, a Neil Diamond reference.
(2) '"Now, I think you're being silly, dear," said the other mother. "I love you. I will always love you."'
- Possibly a Whitney Houston reference.
(3) "She ate the breakfast, trying not to wolf it down. She was hungrier than she had thought."
- Duran Duran, perhaps?

05/30/2021 - Chapter 9

(1) In the book, Coraline goes down a trap door and speaks with the monstrosity that was her other father. In the film that scene is removed.
- Odd, considering how much the film stretched the story to be feature-length.
- Though, there are two scenes with real and fake Wybie that fill that narrative purpose.
(2) To quote Austin Powers: "Who throws a shoe, honestly?"

05/31/2021 - Chapter 10

(1) "Beside the decapitated rat, a smug expression on its face, was the black cat."
- In the film, dead rat keeps its head.
(2) "Coraline realised ... she knew exactly where her parents were. If she had stopped to think, she might have known where they were all along."
- If a rifle hangs on a wall in Act I, by Act 3 it must be fired.
- Coraline's found Chekhov's Gun!

06/01/2021 - Chapter 11

(1) "It was her only way home, she knew. But it all depended on the other mother needing to gloat, needing not only to win but to show that she had won."
- Ah, yes, Bond-villain logic: Tell me every detail of your fiendish plan, or else show me things I'm not meant to have. I'm dead anyway.
- Only the best villains gloat. They're the ones with things to gloat about.

06/02/2021 - Chapter 12

(1) Coraline has a dream, where she's visited by the three souls she saved.
- The first wears a frilly shirt, which I take to mean he's Georgian or Regency era.
- The second has a brown bonnet, which I take to mean she's Victorian.
- The third has butterfly-like wings, which I take to mean she's some kind of fairy.
- Possibly more evidence implying a shared universe.

[Nataliya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coraline is a short but delightfully dark and creepy book that just happens to feature one of my absolute favorite characters. Is it wrong that I want to be Coraline's best friend???

“Because,' she said, 'when you're scared but you still do it anyway, that's brave.”

Coraline is clever, quirky, curious and adventurous, brave and determined, independent, stubborn to no end, a bit reckless and not scared of danger. She will NEVER leave any mysterious doors locked and uninvestigated. In short, she is what I hope my future (hypothetical) daughter is going to be like. Out of boredom due to rainy days and parental inattention, Coraline sets out on a scary but awesome adventure. She bites off (almost) more than she can chew, but comes out of it a winner and just a bit more grown-up and mature (but luckily not in a dreadful moralistic way).

"Nothing’s changed. You’ll go home. You’ll be bored. You’ll be ignored. No one will listen to you, really listen to you. You’re too clever and too quiet for them to understand. They don’t even get your name right."

The story is intense and sinister, and yet really fun. With his dark fairy-tales Coraline and The Graveyard Book, Gaiman proves that he has mastered the art of writing perfect non-condescending children's books that also appeal to adults. He is not afraid of making a kids' book scary; he knows kids can handle it quite well. The "Other" world he creates is eerie and surreal, with a dreamlike quality - the kind of dream from which you wake up screaming. But the story is also full of humor and has the Cat!

....... ............

I guess I have a weakness for amazing book-cats (it must be the Alice in Wonderland influence on my young pliable mind back in 1980s). I adore the wisdom, independence, and a bit of condescending attitude they give humans.

"We... we could be friends, you know," said Coraline.
"We COULD be rare specimens of an exotic breed of African dancing elephants," said the cat. "But we're not. At least," it added cattily, after darting a brief look at Coraline, "I'M not."

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The language of the book is simple and sparing, and fits the story perfectly. Coraline is one of the books that are just meant to be read aloud. Overall, a great story that fully deserves the 5-star rating.

[Zoë · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

"When you're scared but you still do it anyway, that's brave."

I think this would have been one of my favorite books if I read it as a child, but unfortunately 20-something me felt like it was lacking. I went into this with too high of expectations because the movie gave me nightmares after I saw it in theaters. Basically, I pretty much expected this to be a novelization of the movie - that was not the case. Though the big plot points remain the same, the movie was more fleshed out and atmospheric, and I was disappointed. But all in all, if you're looking for a spooky book that only will take you a couple of hours to read - this is it!

[Mario the lone bookwolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Take the buttons off your eyes and face alternative horror reality, girl

Definitively not for all audiences
The creep factor is so immense thanks to Gaiman's writing skills and him seemingly wanting to traumatize people, the clever and first peaceful way, by generating more and more suspense until it escalates without much real violence. It´s more the permanent feeling of something being terribly wrong, more and more disturbing signs appearing, and the final realization of the protagonist what really is behind the seemingly better reality. So one message could be to

Be thankful for what you´ve got
Maybe one's workplace, partners, friends, and kids suck, but hey, there could be parallel universes with seemingly better alternatives with hidden stipulations. It should also remind everyone about the fact that nobody is perfect, has flaws, stress, and everyday issues, and that in reality, seeming perfection and total harmony often come with hidden darkness. Of course, it´s nice to be the top enjoying the suffering of other bottoms to be mega happy, but one shouldn´t underestimate the potential for self destruction that comes that way.

Dark and white motherhood
Who says that a seemingly evil nightmare creature can´t try to be a good mother? This perversion of the most intensive human bonding is a megatrope of any kind of horror and in this case, the tragic emotional impact and the manipulation are the second red line. Wishing, and mostly it stays just hoping because of a lack of magic in reality, for perfect parents is something perfectly normal during the aging process, but one should always be thankful for what one has already got.

Big horror finale
After a long setup, all disturbing, soul crushing facts are united with some action plot twists and Coraline living up to the expectations of being a brave, smart, and courageous girl. She realizes and accepts her issues and struggles, fights the inner and outer demons, and comes back even stronger and wiser than she already was before. This

Dealing with one's fears
is the message for both young and old readers. Maybe it was Gaiman's intention to first show how fear can manifest and paralyze, or seduce, to stay or become a victim or even perpetrator. Or it's just a little coincidental side effect of the plot he wanted to create and I´m overanalyzing and hyper vivisecting again.

Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...

[Sean Barrs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Has anyone ever said to you “time heals all wounds?”



Well for the "villain" of this story that is clearly not the case. It’s easy to pinpoint Coraline’s bravery and talk about her experience, but that’s not what this review is about. I want to consider the “other mother” and her story.

I mean what exactly is her story? We can only presume that she has been doing this kind of trickery for years, perhaps even centuries. We don’t really know a great deal about her. She has three victims prior to her attempts on Coraline. Two appear to be fairly normal children. The third speaks in a form of Shakespearean English, which I took for proof of a victim many years previous. We don’t know a great deal about the actual house either or how long it has actually been standing. The descriptions speak of age. But how much age are we talking?

It’s all a little bit of a mystery. What drove this woman to such depravity? What happened in her life that she needed to feed upon the love of children? What has she lost? Where did it all begin? I can only speculate. But one thing remains an absolute certainty to my mind; something terrible happened to the “other mother” a long time ago, something awful that drove her into the deepest depths of despair and as a result she clings to the essence of life: love.



The movie adaption gives some brief idea of where she came from; she is Wyborn’s Grandma’s sister. But I’m not sure how much of this we can actually consider. Although the movie was written in collaboration with Gaiman neither of the characters actually appear in the book. So I’m left with even more speculation.

What do you think?

Is the “other mother” a villain or is she simply a misunderstood victim of fate?

Postscript- I wish I had a friend like Coraline whilst growing up. She’s one cool kid.

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[s.penkevich [hiatus-will return-miss you all] · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘When you are scared, but you do it anyway, that's brave.’

There are few villains that still frighten me to this day quite like the button-eyed Other Mother of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline. While, sure, this is a book for younger readers, but Coraline is a terrifying little tale that even adults can take to heart and feel inspired by 9year old Coraline as she learns that being ‘being brave didn’t mean you weren’t scared,’ as Gaiman explains in his forward, ‘being brave meant you were scared, really scared, badly scared, and you did the right thing anyway.’ This twisted coming-of-age story examines finding oneself as well as a sense of home, made all the more sinister when evil seeks to seduce you into their grasps by playing off of your loneliness and frustrations during periods of upheaval. Gaiman has crafted a delightfully spooky modern fairy tale that is sure to charm readers of any age with his whimsical imagination, foreboding vibes and empowering moral messages, and, best of all, his sharp and witty heroine, Coraline Jones.


I don’t care who you are, Other Mother/Bedlam is terrifying.

I recently reread Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House with my book club and spent a lot of time thinking about how the novel discusses fear as being something that isolates us from the not-afraid parts of us, and can isolate our minds from reality. In this way, the house isolates Eleanor and plays off her feelings of lacking a home and even a solid identity in order to take hold of her, writing ‘come home’ in blood on the walls to tell her the haunted house was her real home. This made me think of Coraline and how the Other Mother baits her by being a warm and welcoming mother during a time when her family is in the chaos of a move and the usual family frictions children have as they seek more independence from their parents. I don’t know if Gaiman was inspired by Hill House at all, but the symmetry is there, and in both books to fall into the snare means to have your soul consumed. Fun stuff! This novel, however, is about how a young girl and a sassy cat are able to overcome the psychological traps, entering into the fairy tale are returning wiser and with a better idea of the self.

‘Coraline wondered why so few of the adults she met made any sense,’ Gaiman writes, and much of the troubles arise because Coraline feels the adults in her life are failing her. This is a common theme in children’s fiction, and Gaiman embodies the trope masterfully with goofy neighbors and hijinks that make the adult world seem pretty lame and off putting. There is a great message at play in this book that even when relationships are rocky or stressed, people still love each other and the memories of this love can sustain you in your darkest hours. It is a beautiful sentiment, though when a demon is chasing you to devour your soul perhaps its better to take strength from it than bask in the mushy-goodness of it.

Gaiman also interrogates the idea of ‘home’ in Coraline, an apt discussion for a child who has just been uprooted from Michigan (in the amazing film version by Henry Selick, the Jones family owns a snowglobe of the Holland Lighthouse where I live, so that's cool). Through the novel we seem the concept of ‘home’ less as a physical space, and more an emotional one made up of good relationships with those around you. This is a good lesson to impart, and it is amusing to see Coraline connect with the strange neighbors living around her, though we see her impression of home become less welcoming each time she argues with her mother, pushing her closer and closer to the clutches of evil.

‘Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.’
- G.K. Chesterton

I love the way Gaiman takes on fairy tale attributes here. Keys and mirrors are frequent in the book, and Coraline literally enters a mirror world at the risk of being trapped there forever. She also has three neighbors who she visits on both sides of the mirror, and cycles of 3 is a common motif in fairy tale narratives. He toys around with tropes in humorous ways to fit his themes of self-identity, such as in the mirror world where her neighbor can actually call her by the correct name but she is then told by the cat that names are meaningless. ‘Now you people have names,’ he tells her, ‘that's because you don't know who you are. We know who we are, so we don't need names.’ The idea of naming something in a fairy tale often means taking power over it, but here we see names as a placeholder until we can have power over ourselves. Clever riffing on fairy tale logic is part of what makes Coraline such a sheer delight.

This is a scary book though, Other Mother for real creeps me out, but Gaiman needed a creepy villain in order to bestow his biggest message: be brave. Life is scary, he tells us, and sometimes the only way to get through is to truly be brave. ‘It wasn’t brave because he wasn’t scared: it was the only thing he could do,’ he writes as an example, ‘but going back again..when he was really scared. That was brave.’ It is a lovely reminder that doing the right thing often means facing hardships and fears, but we should do it anyways. Coraline is a stunning little book and a perfect spooky season read.

4.5/5/

‘Be wise. Be brave. Be tricky.’

[Petrik · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5 stars

Coraline is the best book by Neil Gaiman that I’ve read. And maybe, all this time, I might have picked the wrong Neil Gaiman books to read.

“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”

Right after the opening line, I was compelled to read the entirety of Coraline in one day. And this is honestly one of the biggest surprises for me, even though it shouldn’t be the case. But to give a bit of context here. I have read only two books by Neil Gaiman, they are Neverwhere and Norse Mythology. I did not dislike them. I actually enjoyed them. But I did not fall in love with the two books. Neil Gaiman is one of the most popular authors in the world. And yet, the last time I read a book by Neil Gaiman was almost seven years ago when I read Norse Mythology in April 2017. For the past seven years, I never ventured to read more of Gaiman’s books despite having enjoyed many TV adaptations of his works such as Good Omens, Sandman, and of course, Coraline. Coraline being my favorite of them all. For whatever reason, I never sought to try to read Coraline until, thankfully, I received a luxurious gift out of nowhere from a friend who sent me the Lyra's Books edition of Coraline. And here I am. Reading Coraline using that spectacular Lyra edition was genuinely wonderful, and I am happy to have read the original text of one of my favorite animated movies.

“Because,' she said, 'when you're scared but you still do it anyway, that's brave.”

I cannot accurately recall when I first watched the movie Coraline. If I remember correctly, it was in university, and it took me by surprise in every good possible way. An animated movie I thought was designated for kids or teenagers turned out to be an incredible horror movie with a lasting atmosphere and impact. I remember being creeped out by it, and I don’t get scared easily watching a movie. I couldn’t look at buttons the same way for a while after watching Coraline. And these horror elements were originated in the novella. Yes, it is a novella. I didn’t even know Coraline was a novella until I read the book recently. However, on top of delivering palpable horror elements, I was surprised by how deep the messages this little novella that you can read in about two or three hours contains. Although the middle grade or young adults are the priority target market, I believe Coraline is the type of story that can be enjoyed by everyone of any age. And everyone can benefit or learn something from it. To use one example, take a look at this passage:

“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?”

This passage clicked with me. Life as an adult is more challenging than my life when I was a teenager. And sometimes, when life gets too hard, I do sometimes wish for an easier life or to have everything I want or need delivered to me with ease. But as Coraline, a kid wiser than her age, said, and many other texts with comparable nature, anything that is too much is never good, and wishes or success fulfilled through unbelievable shortcuts might not lead to lasting or great things in the long run. Coraline was a likable main character. Her interaction with her parents, neighbors, and all the characters she encountered was written efficiently and effectively. Gaiman showcased how well-placed and relatively brief sentences can succeed at making readers care about the character and story in a novella quickly. And moving forward, it will be easy for me to recommend Coraline to practically everyone.

“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.”

Admittedly, as I said at the beginning of this review, my first-time reading experience of Coraline is enhanced through reading the book using the insanely well-produced Lyra’s Books edition of Coraline. And it is not polite for me to end this review without dedicating at least a paragraph to this stunning “standard” edition. Signed by the artist, the terrific Rovina Cai, and printed letterpress on 148gsm Mohawk Superfine paper by Phil Abel and Robert Hetherington of Hand and Eye Letterpress, the Lyra’s Books edition of Coraline showcased what a magnificent book production should look like. Not only printed with black ink throughout with red on many pages, this novella is embedded with 16 elevatingly beautiful fully-colored plates—including the frontispiece—and 30 black and red letterpress silhouettes. Some might even say this book production is overkill for a novella. But this is an example of how devoted Lyra’s Books is toward the craft of bookbinding. They didn’t have to go this hard for the edition of Coraline, but all-out and beyond is what they gave. The letterpress printing, the sewn-binding, thick acid-free paper, and tons of meticulously drawn artworks undoubtedly improved my reading experience as it made turning the pages of the physical book more addictive. I was already immersed in Gaiman's prose, but I was also eager to see how each interior illustration would complement the text. I do not think I could envision a better first reading experience of Coraline than this for me, and I want to say thank you so much once again to my unnamed friend who bestowed me with this gift.

Picture: A few interior illustrations of Coraline Lyra’s Books Edition by Rovina Cai









To end this review, I will conclude by saying Coraline has successfully entered my list of favorite novellas. And considering how delighted I was by this little book, I do not think this will be the last time I read a book written by Neil Gaiman. The Graveyard Book is next on my list. I think I will also read Sandman, American Gods, and Good Omens—a book he wrote together with the late and legendary Terry Pratchett. But until then, let me convey that Coraline is one of the most pleasant surprises of my reading journey. It is dark, beautiful, and whimsical. I highly recommend this to every reader of any age who wants to experience a splendid and profound narrative in a relatively shorter format filled with inspiring messages.

“The names are the first things to go, after the breath has gone, and the beating of the heart. We keep our memories longer than our names.”

You can order this book from: Amazon | Blackwells (Free International shipping)

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[emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

imagine writing a horror book for your children….. and on top of that setting the story IN YOUR OWN HOUSE?????? neil gaiman is ruthless

[Adina ( not enough time ) · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Because,' she said, 'when you're scared but you still do it anyway, that's brave.”

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Neil Gaiman

Coraline is the 4th novel I read by Neil Gaiman so I might have to consider myself a fan now. The ratings ranged from 3* for American Gods, 4* for The Gaveyard Book and 5* for The Ocean At The End of Lane. I hesitated on how to rate this one but it was so perfectly spooky that I could not resist the top mark.

Coraline (initially a typo of the author) is a young girl who finds herself bored in her new home. It is the Holiday season, her parents are busy working from home on their computer so she is left with way too much time on her hands. Too much time to explore. The house is structured in 4 apartments, one of which is left empty. There was a door who led from their apartment to the empty one but it was walled and the door looked. One night, when she opens the door, she realizes the wall is no longer there and instead she is led through a dark corridor to another apartment, arranged almost exactly the same as hers. There, she encounters the Other Mother and Father. They are very friendly, they offer her the best food and attention, all that was missing from her real life. There is one tiny creepy detail. They have buttons sewed over their eyes. She is told she can stay with them forever and have everything she wants but she also has to sew those buttons over her eyes. Scared, she goes back home but she realizes that things are not as before and she will have to gain courage and use her wits to save herself and her family.



“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?”

Without being preachy, Gaiman sends all the right messages about fear and bravery, family, love etc. The writing also transported me in that magical/scary place and made me feel what Coraline feels. I was scared when she was and I felt courage when she did. All the characters where unique and interesting, helping build the plot and the atmosphere. Neil Gaiman is an equally talented narrator, he really knows how to hit the right tones to make the experience complete. I cannot recommend the audiobook enough.

The novella was very spooky and it almost gave me nightmares so I can’t help but wonder if it would be appropriate for a kid. I am not sure if I wouldn’t have had some sort of trauma If I had read this when I smaller. At the same time, I might be reading from the adult's perspective so it might be scarier for me.

[Katie Colson · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️4.5

I’m not gonna lie to y’all. This audiobook had me legit scared.

[Hannah Azerang · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the perfect Halloween read! It's creepy, eerie, and beautifully written.

Now I want to rewatch the movie! I loved it :D

[Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coraline, not Caroline, thank you, the little girl who was small for her age, and found herself in darkest danger was the subject of Neil Gaiman’s 2002 publication, which was in Gaiman’s own words “refreshingly creepy.”

Gaiman said that he started writing the book for his young daughter Holly around the time they moved to America but, unintentionally, wrote it very slowly, “one word at a time” and thus stretched out the project for years. Refreshingly creepy is maybe the best way to describe this young adult work that also has darker elements, references to myth and the occult that will probably fly over the heads of younger readers. Older readers will find Coraline living down the street from Charles Addams place and also backyard neighbors of Ray Bradbury’s The October Country folks.

“There was a tiny doubt inside her, like a maggot in an apple core.”

But Gaiman’s Coraline never achieves the campy fun of Addams or Bradbury, leaning instead towards a Tim Burtonesque darkness that is charming in its own way. (Though the 2009 film was directed by Burton collaborator Henry Selick).

Gaiman masterfully blends haunting elements of nighttime mystery with his own inimitable style of writing, to create a setting for Coraline to explore. Coraline’s plucky little girl, written soberly for a slightly more mature reader, struggles perfectly with the arcane machinations of the other mother.

“It doth not hurt,” whispered one faint voice.

Finally, Gaiman’s unique ability to craft a sepulchral niche that is akin to Lovecraft but more playful, reminds the reader of his brilliant work The Graveyard Book. An excellent introduction to his canon, this is also a must read for a Gaiman fan.

[Cecily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This a perfect, traditional fairy* tale, with a slightly surreal twenty-first century warp. The writing is as magical as the plot.

Its thirteen chapters are delightful, dark, and funny, with a heroine many can relate to, as child, parent, or both.

Coraline is intelligent, inquisitive, slightly contrary, hates being bored, and wishes her parents paid her more attention, and didn’t feed her “recipes”. Perhaps, she wishes she had different parents. And you should always be careful what you wish for, even if you don’t know you’ve wished for it.

So begins an adventure in which Coraline unlocks a door, goes down a secret passage, and finds herself in an alternate world that is eerily familiar, and scarily unfamiliar. She must conquer fears, discover the truth, and solve problems to find and rescue her parents, herself, and others.

"A book is not supposed to be a mirror. It's supposed to be a door." Fran Lebowitz.

There are echoes of Grimm, Lewis Carroll, Roald Dahl, Dickens, Greek myths, and others, but it's also thoroughly original. It is YYA, rather than YA. I only wish it had been published a decade ago, so I could have read when my son was YYA.

Learning Outcomes

This isn’t a remotely teachy or preachy book, but Coraline learns a lot about life, familial love, and especially herself. She finds bravery she didn’t know she had, but she faces temptation as well. “The other mother loved her… as a dragon loves gold.” The other mother offers her everything she thinks she wants. But there is a price, and Coraline has a Eureka moment, and declares:
“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?”

The Importance of Names

Names are often endowed with supernatural power, but in this book, it’s almost the reverse.

In Coraline’s real world, there is a strange man who has an apartment in the same house; Coraline doesn’t know his name (it hadn’t even occurred to her that he had one), and he always gets hers wrong (Caroline).

The equivalent man in the alternative world always gets her name right, and yet that's also where the cat explains why names are unimportant: “We [cats] know who we are, so we don’t need names.” When Coraline asks what she'd do if she needed to call it, the cat replies, “Calling cats… tends to be a rather overrated activity. Might as well call a whirlwind.”

The Importance of Fairy Tales

In the introduction, Gaiman says that the prime message he wanted to convey to his young daughters was that bravery is “when you’re scared but still do it anyway”.

Hence, he opens with a quote from GK Chesterton:
“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”

That reminded me of an equally pertinent one from Ursula Le Guin:
“People who deny the existence of dragons are often eaten by dragons. From within.”

Chris Riddell’s Illustrations Compared with Henry Selick's Film

My edition of the book is illustrated by Chris Riddell, who has also illustrated Gaiman's The Graveyard Book. I have fond memories of his collaboration with Paul Stewart on The Edge Chronicles, read with my son a dozen years ago, and enjoy his cartoons in The Literary Review.

The slightly different imagery of the film is probably familiar to more people. I saw it several years ago, and it feels like a Tim Burton work, but it was actually adapted and directed by Henry Selick, who worked with Burton on The Nightmare Before Christmas, and also directed James and The Giant Peach (Miss Spink and Miss Forcible reminded me of aunts Spiker and Sponge).

Submit to being entrapped in this tangled web of creative talent.

Quotes

• “It wasn’t the kind of rain you could go out in, it was the other kind, the kind that threw itself down from the sky and splashed where it landed. It was rain that meant business.”

• “'Go away,' he said cheerfully.”

• “An argument as old and comfortable as an armchair… that no one ever really wins or loses.”

• “The mist hung like blindness around the house.”

• “She had the feeling that the door was looking back at her, which she knew was silly, and knew on a deeper level was somehow true.”

• “There was something slightly vague about his face – like bread dough that has begun to rise.”

• “Her long white fingers fluttered gently, like a tired butterfly.”

• “Her hair was wriggling like lazy snakes on a warm day. Her black-button eyes seemed as if they had been freshly polished.”

• “If she were nowhere, then she could be anywhere. And, after all, it is always easier to be afraid of something you can’t see.”

• “Her voice did not just come from her mouth. It came from the mist, and the fog, and the house, and the sky.”

• “Mirrors… are never to be trusted.”
But Gaiman is.
This book is magical.
I already said that, but it’s worth repeating.


* No actual fairies in this fairy tale, but that's true of most of the best fairy tales, imo.

[Flo Camus · Rating 4 out of 5]

[3.5⭐] 𝘾𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚 es una novela infantil y juvenil escrita por Neil Gaiman en 2002. En ella, se mezclan elementos de fantasía, terror y aventura. La historia se centra en Coraline Jones, una niña curiosa y valiente que descubre una puerta secreta en su nueva casa. Esta la lleva a un mundo paralelo similar al suyo, pero con una atmósfera oscura y sombría.


Esta fue mi lectura semanal con mi grupo de lectura, y debo admitir que fui un tanto exigente con este libro, ya que, de cierta manera, esperaba más de él. Debo destacar la originalidad del autor al crear una trama tan única, inquietante y siniestra. Además, las descripciones vívidas y los personajes interesantes contribuyen a la inmersión en este mundo paralelo, que resulta tan misterioso y escalofriante que provoca en el lector una gran curiosidad y ganas de explorar más este universo.

Sin embargo, por alguna razón, la pluma del autor no terminó de convencerme. Es cierto que está dirigido a un público infantil, pero no sentí que su narrativa fuera especialmente amigable o fluida. Entiendo que Gaiman quiso ser conciso, pero en algunas ocasiones eché en falta descripciones más detalladas y precisas. Afortunadamente, ya había visto la película, por lo que tenía una idea clara de cómo se veían los personajes y el entorno; sin embargo, una amiga de mi club de lectura, que no había visto el filme, tuvo dificultades para seguir el ritmo del autor y sumergirse en este mundo tan siniestro.
Además, sentí que me faltó conocer más a fondo la personalidad de los personajes, ya que la historia se centra principalmente en sus acciones y no tanto en su carácter o desarrollo personal. También quiero mencionar que, en este caso, preferí la película al libro. Esta es la tercera vez en mi vida en la que considero que una película ha superado al libro (las otras dos ocasiones fueron con 𝙀𝙡 𝙥𝙖𝙙𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙤 y 𝙉𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚: 𝙪𝙣 𝙟𝙪𝙚𝙜𝙤 𝙨𝙞𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙡𝙖𝙨).


Finalmente, puedo decir que 𝘾𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚 es una lectura rápida y sencilla. Me tomó aproximadamente una hora terminarla (quizás incluso menos). Es una buena opción para quienes disfrutan de libros juveniles con toques oscuros y sobrenaturales o para quienes son fanáticos de 𝘾𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚 en general.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘Being brave doesn’t mean you aren’t scared. Being brave means you are scared, really scared, badly scared, and you do the right thing anyway.’

Coraline by Neil Gaiman is an enchanting tale that seamlessly blends whimsy with spine tingling suspense. From the moment Coraline discovers the mysterious door in her new home, readers are swept away into a world brimming with eerie wonders and delightful oddities.

Gaiman's masterful storytelling keeps you on the edge of your seat, eagerly turning each page to uncover the secrets lurking in the Other World. Coraline's courageous journey, coupled with Gaiman's vivid imagination, makes for a captivating read that both children and adults will cherish.

But what truly sets Coraline apart is its underlying message about the power of courage, friendship, and the importance of being true to oneself. As Coraline faces her fears and confronts the Other Mother, she learns valuable lessons about the strength that lies within each of us.

Whether you're a fan of fantasy, adventure, or simply a good old-fashioned ghost story, this book is sure to cast its spell on you from the very first page. So step through the door and prepare to be transported to a world unlike any other.


I Highly Recommend.

4.5⭐️

[Mischenko · Rating 4 out of 5]

My summary:

The story begins with Coraline, a young girl who has just moved into a new house with her parents which has been broken up into different apartments with neighbors. Coraline’s new neighbors are interesting: an old man who trains rats for a circus performance, and two old ladies who are retired stage actresses. The issue is that Coraline’s extremely frustrated and bored with not much to do. Her parents are simply too busy with work to spend any time with her and Coraline feels somewhat neglected.

Coraline shook her head. “Why don’t you play with me?” she asked.

“Busy,” he said. “Working,” he added. He still hadn’t turned around to look at her.

As she begins exploring her new home she finds a little door in the wall, but it’s locked and she can’t seem to get it open. Once she finds the key, she opens the door and discovers that it’s closed off, but the next time she opens it, she finds a secret hallway that leads to another world. Her neighbors have warned her previously, but curious Coraline enters the door into a new world and finds that the house looks much like her own. Her neighbors are the same, but younger and more interesting. She discovers that the people living in the home look like her parents, but aren’t her real parents. They give her tons of attention and cook all the yummy food she loves. It’s like everything is perfect here.

“So,” said her other father. “Do you like it here?”

“I suppose,” said Coraline. “It’s much more interesting than at home.”

Eventually her ‘other mother’ tells her that she can stay there and live forever, if she would only let them sew buttons onto her eyes. Coraline is creeped out and decides to go back home, but now her real parents are missing. Where on earth did they disappear to? Now Coraline must figure how to get her parents back from the other mother.

My thoughts on the book:

I finally read this with my kids after seeing the movie a hundred times. We were surprised that the movie stayed fairly close to the book minus a few differences like the addition of a character and small details like the mango milkshake. It was fun reading along and having the image of the movie characters in our minds.

The book reads like a creepy fairy tale and we all savored it. It surely held our interest, and I thought it was written really well with good descriptions. Neil Gaiman definitely doesn’t disappoint with Coraline. I think it’s perfect for all ages, but maybe too creepy for very young readers. There were a few disturbing parts that had us on edge toward the end and even as an adult, I found it gripping.

I have to say that I loved the themes in this book! I think they’ll really push readers (especially children) to think about the choices they make in life and to appreciate what they have. Not only that, even though Coraline experiences much fear, she must find a way to be brave and fight for what belongs to her. She’s actually very wise for her age and we just loved her.

Somewhere inside her Coraline could feel a huge sob welling up. And then she stopped it, before it came out.

There are some thought-provoking lessons here and it opened up a big discussion after we finished the book. We talked about some of the decisions that Coraline made and what we thought she could’ve done differently. We appreciated the Q&A with the author and also the reading group questions in the back. We’re happy to have this book added to our home library and will definitely be rereading this one in the future.

4.5****

You can see this review @ https://readrantrockandroll.com/2018/...

[♥︎ Heather ⚔ (Semi-Hiatus-attempting return) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“𝓕𝓪𝓲𝓻𝔂 𝓽𝓪𝓵𝓮𝓼 𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓷 𝓽𝓻𝓾𝓮: 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓫𝓮𝓬𝓪𝓾𝓼𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝔂 𝓽𝓮𝓵𝓵 𝓾𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓭𝓻𝓪𝓰𝓸𝓷𝓼 𝓮𝔁𝓲𝓼𝓽, 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝓫𝓮𝓬𝓪𝓾𝓼𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝔂 𝓽𝓮𝓵𝓵 𝓾𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓭𝓻𝓪𝓰𝓸𝓷𝓼 𝓬𝓪𝓷 𝓫𝓮 𝓫𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓮𝓷.”

“𝓑𝓮𝓬𝓪𝓾𝓼𝓮,' 𝓼𝓱𝓮 𝓼𝓪𝓲𝓭, '𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝔂𝓸𝓾'𝓻𝓮 𝓼𝓬𝓪𝓻𝓮𝓭 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓵𝓵 𝓭𝓸 𝓲𝓽 𝓪𝓷𝔂𝔀𝓪𝔂, 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽'𝓼 𝓫𝓻𝓪𝓿𝓮.”

╰⪼ Coraline is a haunting piece of dark fantasy, and though the film is absolutely captivating, the book is much creepier. It's loaded with gothic imagery and oozing with lullabies suited for night terrors.

✶⋆.˚ 𝒲𝑒 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝑒𝓎𝑒𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓌𝑒 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓃𝑒𝓇𝓋𝑒𝓈𝑒𝓈
𝒲𝑒 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓉𝒶𝒾𝓁𝓈 𝓌𝑒 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓉𝑒𝑒𝓉𝒽
𝒴𝑜𝓊’𝓁𝓁 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝑔𝑒𝓉 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒹𝑒𝓈𝑒𝓇𝓋𝑒𝓈𝑒𝓈
𝒲𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝓌𝑒 𝓇𝒾𝓈𝑒 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓊𝓃𝒹𝑒𝓇𝓃𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽. ✶⋆.˚

When I read this book last year, I was worried that reviews of the book that had called it scary and terrifying might have been exaggerating. It was certainly dark, but nothing had made my spine tingle. Until, that is, Coraline finds herself locked in a closet with the sad moaning souls of children 'other mother' had killed before. But, horrors aside, at its heart it is a story about bravery and about trusting your instincts.

╰⪼ This story, like many other Neil Gaiman stories has completely captured me and now is a favorite autumnal read/reread.

When Coraline discovers a world that mirrors her own, where a loving other mother and other father are happy to see her, we expect she will be tempted to stay. To choose this other life over her real one, which at this point, is filled with disappointment and with what feels like neglect. But Coraline is smart. She senses something is not right (granted, the button eyes are a bit of a dead giveaway), and she listens to her gut.

We get to know Coraline very well as she has various conversations with the characters that occupy her world, and the other world. We get to see how her mind works, which in many ways is very much how a child’s mind works. Like, when she dismays over her father making a “recipe,” a word she uses to signify fancier meals prepared with “exotic” seasonings.

But we also see how she’s able to grow; how she is building a worldview and an understanding of how things work. Like, when she recalls a time that her father sacrificed himself to wasps to save her from them, and she recognizes that he did it even though he was afraid.

She realizes that this as the definition of bravery, and applies it to her own life. Very simply, and without hesitance, Coraline makes the decision to be her own hero, and a hero to her parents, whose lives she vows to save.

╰⪼ I can’t lie, the book is much more of a horror story than the movie is, but it remains relatively PG. I would have gobbled this book up as a child, but it also might have given me nightmares. It’s a quick and easy read – according to Kindle, the typical reading time is less than 2 hours.

I did it in one sitting so, if you were to have any concerns, it would be really easy to screen it before handing it over to a child. It also means it makes for a perfect ‘Saturday night by candle light’ read for spooky season! That’s how I did it and I have no regrets. I think it's pretty similar to say - Goosebumps or the old school Christopher Pike books. It's been a while since I've read any of those but feel it's pretty accurate.

ೃ⁀➷ I think this is a perfect September/October read for all ages. As an adult, it can sweep you right back to a time when you were young and bored and disappointed. The haunting imagery and prose make for an exceptionally chilling read, and it’s a lot of fun. You root for Coraline, and she impresses you.

ೃ⁀➷ As a child, I can only imagine that it would have been quite the adventure to read along with. I especially recommend it to anyone looking to ease into the Halloween spirit.

“𝓘𝓽 𝓲𝓼 𝓪𝓵𝔀𝓪𝔂𝓼 𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓲𝓮𝓻 𝓽𝓸 𝓫𝓮 𝓪𝓯𝓻𝓪𝓲𝓭 𝓸𝓯 𝓼𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓬𝓪𝓷𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓼𝓮𝓮”

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw the film before I read the book, which is not how I like to do things, as it can often be like taping a hockey game and having someone tell you the final score before you've had a chance to see the game for yourself. However, I can say that seeing the film first didn't really spoil the book for me.

Coraline starts off rather slowly but this independent, thoughtful, odd, distant, misunderstood child soon gains the reader's sympathy. This becomes more intense as Coraline gets more deeply enmeshed in danger.

Gaiman does a good job of characterization. We see the characters through the eyes of a little girl who is remarkably intelligent and yet doesn't understand everything the adults do or say. Many of the adults are eccentric in a Dickensian sort of way; they deal with others when they have to but are firmly ensconced in their own little worlds. And so they see Coraline as an oddity too.

The cat is perhaps my favourite character of all. Gaiman knows cats well; they appear elsewhere in his works. And this one is the genuine article: superior, stand-offish, wilful, easily offended, and yet a true friend.

Gaiman makes this a children's book that will appeal to adults as well. It doesn't talk down to children. Not everything is spelled out or explained away. We don't really know, for example, who the Other Mother is or where she came from. As the book progresses we get hints, but not a "back-story." And that's just fine--although I have to admit, I'm curious. Any chance of a sequel or a prequel, Neil?

[Spencer Orey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-read for my book club! This time I liked it less, mostly because I already knew what was going to happen and wasn't as enchanted by the voice of the book (which felt like someone older telling me a story, rather than getting to experience a story through Coraline). I think it reads like it really wanted to become a movie (and did!).


So good! Short and sweet scary kid horror with a great message about how to be brave.

As usual after reading anything by Neil Gaiman, I'm way inspired. He's incredible across so many genres! I always leave each book wanting to be a much better storyteller and looking for which of his books to read next.

For me, it was also a really interestingly written book. The sentences are short, punchy, and vivid in a way that made me feel like I was there with Coraline, going into danger and finding a way to be brave.

I see there are two versions with different illustrations. For what it's worth, I really liked the Chris Riddell illustrations in this one.

I'll definitely be reading this one again and again.

[Reynita ★ The Night Reader ★ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edit : I'm sorry guys, I won't be able to post the review today because it's already midnight and I was busy :(

REVIEW TO COME TOMORROW.

'She left us here' said one of the voices. 'she stole our hearts, and she stole our souls, and she took our lives away, and she left us here, and she forgot about us in the dark.'

This is a story about a girl named Coraline Jones, She and her parents move to a new house but they don't own all of the house. They just own part of it and they also have neighbors who live in this big house. They are Miss Spink, Miss Forcible and an old man with big moustache but one day the old man says he has a message for Coraline from the mice. The message is Don't go through the door and when Coraline visites Miss Spink and Miss Forcible's house, they read Coraline's tea leaves and they say she is in danger.

what does the old man mean when he says he has a message from the mice that says Don't go through the door? and what do Miss Spink and Miss Forcible mean when they say she is in danger when they see her tea leaves? what kind of danger is this?

you have to read the book to know all the answers. you won't regret it once you start reading it. just go, buy the book and read it.


I have always loved watching horror or creepy movies since I was a kid so when I was a kid I watched Coraline movie. I wasn't born as a reader, so I didn't read the book first before watching the movie :( and I loved it so much! I still remember those days when I watched the movie and I felt my heart pounded so hard inside my chest and it was actually one of my favorite movies. I watched it all over again and again and I even watched it again with my best friend and she totally loved it too. So months ago I decided to read the book because I loved the movie when I was a kid and I liked the book so much! it was my first book in 2017.



when I started reading this book, I felt so excited because I was in reading slump ( and I'm probably still am) but I got a little bit bored when I was in the beginning maybe I felt a little bit bored because I already knew about the story but it was just a little bit. and Coraline was so cute and she was brave, clever and she also loved adventure! I mean, she was just a kid but she was SO brave. what could I do when I was around her age? possibly nothing important. you'll know what I mean if you've read this book, if you haven't then you have to read it. IT WAS SO GOOD!

the story was really interesting and I should have read this book sooner! the illustrations in this book are so amazing and they're cute but some of them are scary too, which are SOO AMAZING.
I almost always read this book at night and that was the perfect time to read this book. I love that feeling when I feel scared, my eyes barely wink, my breath become fast or when I clutch my hair with one hand and turn the pages very fast ( sometimes I think I'll tear my book when I turn the pages so fast. but I just can't control my emotion). So I suggest you to read this book at night. it's just the perfect time to read this book.



I just don't know what to say about this book. this book was great and I enjoyed it even though I got a little bit bored at the beginning. Basically this book was great and If you want a creepy book with interesting story then I recommend you to read this book.

thank you so much for reading and liking this review. Hope you all have an amazing day!❤❤❤

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coraline, a young girl, comes into a kind of parallel world when walking through a bricked door. On the other side she meets other parents than her own. Things get scary and complicated when her real parents are missing. Where are they gone? What about the mirror? Coraline get her parents back and what's the role of the black cat and the mouse circus? The author wrote a nice book for kids or early youth. There are also fine illustrations inside. Compliments to the author's imaginary vision and the great ideas. A very unusual haunted house story. Sometimes I was also reminded on Alice in Wonderland. In the end I felt a bit too old for that kind of literature but it was well done. A youth might have given four or five stars...

[Charlotte May · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Because,’ she said, ‘when you’re scared but you still do it anyway, that’s brave,”

I thoroughly enjoyed this! A quick read that I blitzed through in a couple of hours, but of course it being Gaiman it left behind chills and the fears so prominent in childhood.

Coraline Jones and her parents have moved to a new flat. One with two elderly ladies next door and a crazy old man upstairs, not to mention the black cat who seems to belong to no one.

Having explored everywhere in the surrounding land of the house, Coraline grows bored. What’s with the door that opens to a brick wall? Does it really go nowhere?

What Coraline discovers behind the door is the worst of nightmares for a child. And when this villain threatens her family Coraline must act to protect those she loves.

Creepy and imaginative, I’m glad I didn’t read this as a child!

[Pakinam · Rating 2 out of 5]

كورالاين...قصة للأطفال..وللأطفال وبس!

ساعات الواحد بعد قراءة كتب تقيلة يقرر يقرأ كتاب خفيف خصوصاً لو معظم المراجعات عليه بتقول إنه كتاب ممتع...
بس مش أي كتاب خفيف ينفع تقراه...!

الكتاب هنا مجرد قصة عن طفلة بتحب الاستكشاف ..دخلت بيت مهجور و ووجدت نفسها في عالم موازي..ليها أم تانية وأب تاني ...بتشوف كائنات غريبة وحيوانات بتتكلم وعلي الرغم إنها كانت تعيش حياة مملة في بيتها الأصلي إلا إنها ستظل تحاول الرجوع لحياتها السابقة و العثور علي والديها...

الصراحة الكتاب مكتوب حلو والترجمة أكتر من ممتازة بس القصة مستواها لسن ١٢-١٤ سنة بالكتير...

مش من نوعية الكتب اللي أحب أقراها وحتي لو محتاجة كتاب خفيف..أحب أقرأ كتاب يكون ممتع أو مفيد أو حتي يخليني أضحك بس الكتاب هنا مفيهوش أي حاجة من دول...ده حتي كتاب كئيب!

نجمة للترجمة الرائعة والنجمة التانية...مش عارفة الصراحة...ممكن أشيلها بعد كام يوم:)

[J (Midnight Book Blog) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yep, I’m going to have some lovely nightmares tonight.

Every single word of this book was so purposeful, I absolutely loved it. This is my first Neil Gaiman novel, though I have had Graveyard book on my shelf for years now. And despite its cinematic popularity I’ve never read or seen a Coraline before (Tim Burton movies STILL terrify me).

Before Coraline I never understood how a book could be scary, without jump scares and such. But wow, this book was terrifying. Everything from the concept of an “other family” to the writing style was downright chilling. I can’t understand how this was meant to be a children’s book, because I’m 20 and nearly had to sleep with a night light on after. As Gaiman remarked though this is a book that “children experienced as an adventure, but which gave adults nightmares.” What an understatement.

The only thing I didn’t understand was why the story kept going after Coraline went back through the passage. Was it just to include a disembodied hand that will haunt my thoughts for the foreseeable future? I got the message of “the grass isn’t always greener on the other side” (ha ha) of the book in general, but didn’t see how this added to it.

Either way, I really loved this and devoured it in one sitting!

“‘The names are the first things to go, after the breath has gone, and the beating of the heart’”

Intended audience: All ages (except maybe young or easily frightened children)
Content warnings: None

[بثينة العيسى · Rating 4 out of 5]

تمت، وكما كتبتها في رسالة خاصة للمترجم العظيم هشام فهمي: قلبي يرقص مع كل سطر في هذه الرواية.

عظمة غيمان تكمن على الأرجح في قدرته على صياغة كلاسيكية معاصرة، رواية بروح ألس في بلاد العجائب وپيترپان ونارنيا، تتبع فيها مسير طفلة شجاعة أمام شرّ "الأم الأخرى" التي تريد امتلاكها "ومحبتها على طريقتها" أيضًا.

ماذا لو فتحت بابًا أخذك إلى "بيتك الآخر"، حيث كل شيء هو نسخة مشوّهة من الأصل، مع أمٍ أخرى، وأبٍ آخر. ووعود بمنحك كل الحب وتلبية كل رغباتك، كيف تستعيد بصيرتك أمام خدعةٍ من هذا النوع؟

رواية لليافعين؟ ربما. الأكيد أن في داخل كلٍ منا طفلٌ خائف، وأن كورالاين تخاطبه بطلاقة.