Coraline is a fictional book about a young girl who has recently moved with her parents into the second floor of an apartment. She gets to meet several of her neighbours with quite interesting personalities. Coraline often feels lonely and bored despite her parents being at home. As she tries to engage with them, her efforts are often met with dismissals. One day, as Coraline is exploring her new home, she comes across a suspicious door that opens up only to show a brick wall. As Coraline is lying in bed one night, she hears a mysterious sound coming from down the hall. Curious to find out what the sound is, she begins walking towards it. She comes across the door from the previous day and opens it, but this time, the bricks are gone. Here is where Coraline’s adventure begins. On the other side of the door, she finds a space that looks eerily similar to her own apartment. She sees and meets people very similar to those from her own apartment. Eventually, she meets two individuals who look and sound much like her own mother and father. These people; however, look slightly different as they wear signature black buttons in place of their eyes. Coraline finds herself enjoying the company and attention she is receiving from her “new parents” and begins to spend more and more time in this alternate world. With every chapter that passes; however, she slowly begins to realize that not everything that glitters is gold.
Coraline is a great read if you enjoy being transported into a world filled with alternate realities and adventure. Not only is the book filled with a diverse set of characters, but I find that it utilizes language that showcases the power of imagery and descriptive details. Themes of bravery and gratitude can be explored in depth as readers navigate their way through the book. They can also put themselves in Coraline’s shoes and discuss how they would feel and what they would do if they were in her place. I would recommend this book for readers eight years old and above as well as those interested in fantasy with a very friendly dash of horror.
PJ Lin (PJ151)
Already I loved the story of Coraline because of the infamous and gorgeously animated film. However, after listening to Neil Gaiman’s brilliant writing via Audible, I was not only just blown away even more so, but I felt like I got a deeper understanding of the characters, and felt even more terrified by the overall story (and especially Other Mother). I feel like Neil Gaiman perfectly captures the confusion, loneliness, and helplessness a child feels when they find themselves thrust into an entirely new setting; in this case, these new settings being the world crafted by Coraline’s Other Mother, and moving into the Pink Castle, as well. Gaiman also manages to marvelously balance writing out scary elements with his usual, dry, clever, and hilarious humour.