Coraline by
Neil GaimanMy rating:
4 of 5 starsPrecocious little Coraline Jones is an explorer. A bored explorer who goes investigating the building where she lives along with her rather inattentive parents and a few unique neighbors.
She discovers a door in her flat that leads to a brick wall. Or at least, it appears to lead to a brick wall. It actually leads to another world (or an "other" world, if you will), which contains slightly distorted replicas of everything in Coraline's world - an "other" house, "other" neighbors, and "other" parents. (The Other Mother might be one of the creepier concepts I've discovered in a children's story.)
When Coraline returns home from her "other" world explorations, she soon discovers that her real parents are missing and is forced to return to the "other" world to save them.
Gaiman does his usual masterful job of characterization. And he writes it all very matter-of-factly from the child's perspective. There are some brilliant moments in the dialogue between Coraline and the cat. (Gaiman is well acquainted with cats, and it shows.) But my favorite line comes from Coraline herself toward the end of the story:
(view spoiler)[“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?”
(hide spoiler)]She's one smart kid. But that's what I love about her: she's smarter and less self-absorbed than all the adults in the book. And she doesn't need any help from them; it's quite the other way around. She's a true children's heroine.
I highly recommend the audio book, even if you've read the book or watched the movie - Gaiman is an amazing reader, and the rat songs that are included really add a whole new creep factor to an already creepy tale.
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