Coraline

This is a spectacular book. It breaks the bounds of imagination. I love it when an author takes his audience to a completely different and unexpected place, the way Gaiman does in this book. The underlying story is very touching; the creepy and twisted aspects of the story play against it beautifully. The illustrations were also really creepy and gave the book a darker dimension. It reminded...more

This is a spectacular book. It breaks the bounds of imagination. I love it when an author takes his audience to a completely different and unexpected place, the way Gaiman does in this book. The underlying story is very touching; the creepy and twisted aspects of the story play against it beautifully. The illustrations were also really creepy and gave the book a darker dimension. It reminded very much of the movie Mirrormask (I think he might have written the script for that.) Totally strange, but deliciously so. I definitely recommend this for any adult looking for a different place to go. But perhaps not for children before bed. Oh, and the cat without a name was my favorite character by far.   hide

Look for the graphic novel of this too! Added visual joy!

A rather imaginative child's book. Its more descriptive and I only read it because I liked the movie so much. Story is very similar except a few subplots added in. Also the quests for the children's souls was different. Not a bad read.

I hate to say this, but I think the movie was actually better. It had a lot more detail, and the other mother was a bit more deceptive. It is still really good, though. I recommend reading it.

Creepy, fantastical, CREEPY... what more can I say? A little girl named Coraline, feeling alienated from her family, finds a door which leads her to another "family". The sappily sweet other family soon proves to have sinister intentions as Coraline must struggle to find her real parents. It's not one of Gaiman's best, but certainly one of his best horror/thriller stories (and for children too,...more

Creepy, fantastical, CREEPY... what more can I say? A little girl named Coraline, feeling alienated from her family, finds a door which leads her to another "family". The sappily sweet other family soon proves to have sinister intentions as Coraline must struggle to find her real parents. It's not one of Gaiman's best, but certainly one of his best horror/thriller stories (and for children too, as it would turn out). A good, fast and suspenseful read, but doesn't bring some of the great characterizations and prose that Gaiman often has to offer.   hide

Okay, it's an imaginative and clever children's book with a saggy bit in the middle. But I don't understand all the adulation that this, and anything other than Sandman by Neil Gaiman receives. He is a good writer. He is not God. I don't care how British and leather-jacket-wearing he is, get over it! Sigh.

Coraline is about an inquisitive young girl whose imagination carries her into another "dimension" where the people and places of her actual life are recast in a bizarre fashion. For example, the "button-eye" people really spooked me. The basic theme of the book is the importance of family and how Caroline learns to appreciate her "real" family. Gaiman is a very...more

Coraline is about an inquisitive young girl whose imagination carries her into another "dimension" where the people and places of her actual life are recast in a bizarre fashion. For example, the "button-eye" people really spooked me. The basic theme of the book is the importance of family and how Caroline learns to appreciate her "real" family. Gaiman is a very imaginative writer.   hide

Coraline was my introduction to the world of Neil Gaiman, a writer I know place very high amongst my favorites. It's a cross between a fairy tale and a horror story. It's dark, morbid, intriguing, and you can't put it down. The characters are macabre and the plot doesn't have a single slow part. If you are prone to nightmares, I would not suggest reading it in the dark. However, I...more

Coraline was my introduction to the world of Neil Gaiman, a writer I know place very high amongst my favorites. It's a cross between a fairy tale and a horror story. It's dark, morbid, intriguing, and you can't put it down. The characters are macabre and the plot doesn't have a single slow part. If you are prone to nightmares, I would not suggest reading it in the dark. However, I found it more enjoyable that way.   hide

this book really reminded me of the movie pan's labyrinth, so when i was reading it i kept seeing it as similar in texture and style and color to that. but now i hear they are actually making THIS into a movie, so i'm pretty excited. it was pretty scary for a children's book, but exactly the kind of thing i would have loved when i was 8, and frankly, still love now that i'm 25. books like this...more

this book really reminded me of the movie pan's labyrinth, so when i was reading it i kept seeing it as similar in texture and style and color to that. but now i hear they are actually making THIS into a movie, so i'm pretty excited. it was pretty scary for a children's book, but exactly the kind of thing i would have loved when i was 8, and frankly, still love now that i'm 25. books like this are why i love neil gaiman. the whole time i was reading this i kept visualizing pan's labyrinth... very good, very creepy, i can't wait for the movie to come out.   hide