Rating: 
Summary: An Honest Look at Coraline
Review: I originally read a review of "Coraline" in an article posted on the web that sited itself as belonging to some magazine or other, such as "Time". The review gushed about Gaiman's brilliance, his ability to capture both adult and young audiences with the novel, claiming it was in the tradition of such greats as Dahl or Carroll, and might even rival the popularity of J.K. Rowling and the infamous "Harry". I found absolutely no cause for such praise as this. The book does not match, in my opinion, the captivating characterization of Rowling's Potter series, nor does it touch the surrealistic beauty of Alice's Wonderland. The oompa-loompa vibe is all that remains of Dahl's style, and even that is muted to the point of boring one to tears. Harsh words, but true, nonetheless. By the end of the relatively brief novel, I was skimming pages, anxious to have finished it once and for all.
Rating: 
Summary: A Book of Nightmare
Review: This book starts off very interesting from the very first page, but I kind of wish I didnt read all the other pages! There are things from it I dont want to have in my head. I read it in the day but at night I kept remembering things from it I didnt want to, like how the rat gets blood on its fur but how the Other Mother has something like black tar insted of blood coming out of her. And the hand that scratches around the floor by itself. Its not like Lemony Snicket, where maybe something is scary and then you have a lot of something funny or cozy. Its a lot of scary darkness. Maybe this one is more for teenagers. I wish I didnt feel that way but remembering this book gives me nerves.
Rating:
Summary: Too much hype!
Review: Boy was this a letdown! Don't get me wrong, the writing is very solid, the story is interesting, but...the middle and the end is a build up to an ending that falls flat on its face. I guess there might be a sequel in the works, if so could you please have a story with some bite to it? This was not what I expected from Mr. Gaiman. Plus I could have done without the illustrations. (Not needed)
Rating: 
Summary: More creepy than you may think...
Review: I, too, was originally put off when I read that Neil Gaiman's newest book was a children's story. But it delivers the goods and is written in the typical Gaimanesque, dark-humorous style. It may be intended for children, but much of the writing and creepy innuendo appeared more suitable for adults. In fact, there are a few allusions in this book that children may be better off not understanding. If you are a Gaiman fan then you will whole-heartedly love this book. If you've never read him before this story is a good one to gauge whether you will like Gaiman's other works like Neverwhere, Smoke and Mirrors, Sandman, etc. Surprisingly creepy!
Rating: 
Summary: classic gaiman
Review: This book is an awesome addition to the collection of any Neil Gaiman fan. Told in the classic English fairy tale voice, he crafts a young adult novel that is original, creepy, and fantastic. I think adults might get a bigger chill from it than children...all the more reason to love it.
Rating:
Summary: Hello, Dahl-ee!
Review: As soon as I found out Neil Gaiman had a new book coming out, I started wriggling in anticipation. When I found out it was a kids' book, I wasn't quite so excited. Although I really like The Day I Swapped My Dad For 2 Goldfish, it was a bit skimpy on words. I'm a quick reader, and I like my literary delving to take a while. Coraline was a nice compromise. It doesn't have the bulk of Neverwhere, but it's significantly longer than a short story. The only quibble I have with the book is the portrayal of Miss Spink and Miss Forcible's dogs. At the onset, they're referred to as Highland Terriers (a white breed of dog), and later on, they're described as something completely different. The editor missed that. Ah well. It's a minor quibble, and I wouldn't have noticed it if my grandmother hadn't had a Highland Terrier. Like in Roald Dahl's books, high self-esteem isn't a typical characteristic of protagonists, and Coraline is no exception. She's a bit unsure of herself, but comes into her own throughout the course of the book. Dahl isn't the only author I'm reminded of, here. The cat bears an uncanny similarity to Lewis Carroll's Cheshire Cat in attitude and surreality. There are also shades of the Addams Family, with a certain perambulatory body part. The sheer fabulist nature calls to mind scores of fairy tales: the creepier ones, by authors like the Brothers Grimm and Perrault. With its distorted mirror image world and button-eyed "other" mother, Coraline is a great book for any creepy kid or grownup.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, but Fluffy
Review: "Coraline", by Neil Gaiman, is a children's book in the tradition of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland", "The Phantom Tollbooth" and "The Chronicles of Narnia", in that the main character passes through a portal into a strange and wonderful world, has some adventures and comes back a wiser individual. So why bother writing it again? Gaiman has populated Coraline's world with two exasperated and inattentive parents, whose neglect seems to border on child abuse, two sad, mad old women who once were actresses (who are also inattentive and dismissive) and an old man who claims to be training mice to play musical instruments. In all, it's easy to see why the poor dear would be depressed and bored and so open to the possibility of exploring the mysterious world beyond the bricked-up doorway she finds. On the other side are mirror images of all the people who live in Coraline's flat, weird images with paper white skin and buttons for eyes, as well as a talking cat who aids her. The "other mother' wants Coraline to stay forever and kidnaps Coraline's real parent's in order to coerce her. Instead, Coraline musters her courage and saves the day, her parents, and three dead children whose ghosts were locked in an old closet, having been captured by the evil critter decades before. I appreciate Gaiman's attempt at updating the concept, making the story a little darker and the protagonist a little more resourceful, but the gothic elements didn't really work for me, as they seemed too forced, to dark for dark's sake. Overall, I was entertained, I enjoyed the book, but I was not mesmerized. I was not dragged in, as I was with Charlie and his adventures in the Chocolate Factory or the Great Glass Elevator, or Alice, or Milo. I realize that today's readers may not have read the old standards, so the similarities to Roald Dahl, Norton Juster, Lewis Carroll, et al.,may not seem so obvious and distracting to them. Perhaps it's better left as a book for children.
Rating:
Summary: great story
Review: I really liked this story. Although Amazon.com lists the reading level as ages 9-12, this is really a great read for older readers as well. It's about a girl named Coraline. She's bored and explores everything in her family's new flat and outside of it. She has quirky neighbors, parents who don't have time to play with her at the moment, and the flat has a door that opens to a brick wall most of the time. When it doesn't, it opens to another flat, exactly like the one her family lives it. The food is better there and everything is more interesting. Unfortunately, her other mother and other father want her to stay there forever. It's a bit predictable at times (for instance, I realized where Coraline's parents were long before she did), but the story is interesting and creepy. It's been a while since I've read anything that put shivers down my spine like this book did. Gaiman's voice didn't always make the story seem very creepy, but the bits where the rats are singing are definitely worth a few shivers. Just a quick note on the cd version, though. Although it's great hearing Gaiman read it, it might be better to get the audio cassette version of it. That way you'd still get to hear him read it and you wouldn't have to deal with the way the book is divided up in the cd. When I listen to a book on cd, I like it best if each track (part of the book) is short, about 5 minutes long, since you can't just stop a cd and be at that exact spot a few hours or days later. This cd breaks up the book at each chapter, which means the tracks are each anywhere from 9 to 22 minutes long. If you don't mind that, that's great, but I just thought I'd warn those who do mind that sort of thing.
Rating:
Summary: Frightening but nothing else to it.
Review: The story is quite basic: about a young girl just moved into this new big house with her parent. She likes to explore and found a door way to another dimension. A world that looks exactly like ours, except... everything else is strange and different. She struggles to escape and rescue her parents from her other mother of the other world. Of course, the ending is happy and she learns that her life is not so boring. Before I read the book I thought it is going to be scary and frightening or even creepy like Lemony Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events", but turns out the illustrations of McKean is really what keeps up the scariness. From the book I expected scary subjects and gruesome imageries...but I doubt some talking mice and walking hand is going to scare any nine-year-old. I feel that Neil Gaiman is putting too much limit in his creativity. As if he is too afraid to make the story too scary or too "not scary". Overall, I think the book is scary or frightening due to McKean's illustration. So don't be afraid to read this book to your kids or students. It is a short story for a biweekly read, and the plotline is interesting... but don't expect anything in the book to get you goosebump.
Rating:
Summary: Tremendous all-ages horror
Review: Coraline is a smart, sassy heroine who finds herself in a lot of trouble when she does as she was told not to and goes through the forbidden door. She has to think quickly, take care of herself and help others when faced with some seriously creepy creatures. This book has great suspense and is a joy to read. Dave McKean's drawings perfectly complement the atmospheric weirdness of the story.
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