Coraline

Rating:
Summary: Once again, he fails to let me down.
Review: I am an avid reader and a huge fan of everything Neil Gaiman has his fingers in. I've read almost all of his novels and graphic novels, but until he started coming out with children's books (namely, The Day I Swapped My Dad...), was unable to share them with my son.

I ordered Coraline, not realizing it was a children's book, however I was most pleasantly surprised.

My son is not big on reading, in fact, it's difficult to find things that he is willing to read from start to finish. Happily, Coraline has been added to that list (and in theory, anything Gaiman writes for kids from now on).

While a little twisted for younger people, it's sometimes that bizzare perspective that will captivate children. It's a little creepy and quite suspenseful, and Coraline is the sort of character you can identify with. Additionally, you can empathize with her desire to explore an alternate reality as well as her later desire to return to familiar surroundings. I think that children who are approaching puberty will very much relate to the story that emerges within this book.

I love being able to share Neil Gaiman with my son. I love that one of my favorite authors has spurred his interest in reading a little more.

It's not your standard children's fiction by any stretch of the imagination, but for kids who aren't interested in standards and who are reluctant to read books that are so sterile and contrived that they simply cannot relate, maybe turning to darker fiction is the solution. It is in my case :)

Rating:
Summary: pointless & worthless!!!!!!!!
Review: When Coraline moves into her new flat there is twenty-one windows and fourteen doors. One day she was going around and checking all the doors and what was behind them. When Coraline checked one of the doors it would not unlock, so she tried almost everyday to get it to open and when she did she saw that there was a brick wall on the other side.Coraline one day opened it and saw that the brick wall had vanished,so she decided to go inside. As a result she found out that the other flat was just like hers and had the same rooms,toys and parents. The only problem was that the parents had button eyes and tried to act normal trying to make her feel like she was at home. Coraline soon was seeing strange things, people behind the mirrors,voices telling her to "go", and the toys would move all by themselves. For example,the toy animals teeth would chatter and the wind up dolls would move. Coraline stopped going over there everyday and went only a couple of hours a week. Finally when she last went over to the other side of the flat the new so called "parents" told her that she should stay forever, they have everything she wants and that her real parents didn't want her. The new parents with the button eyes told Coraline lies to try to get her to become her daughter and never leave. When Coraline found out what they were doing she made a quick escape and ran to the door, she could hear the parents screaming her name. Later on, Coraline was in her bed on her side of the flat thankful that she had such nice parents and that they were real not evil.

Rating:
Summary: Coraline
Review: In coraline's famaily's new flat are twetny-one windows and fouteen doors.The real mystery is that only thirteen of the doors open and close.The fourteenth door is locked and behind the door is an wall of brick.Then one day coraline finds a big black key.Coraline one day looks behind the foutteenth door and the wall of bricks are gone.Coraline notices that the fourteenth door leads to an passage to another flat.Coraline fiqures out that the other flat looks like her flat.But only its different. At first things seem marvelous in the flat shes in.The food is better and the smell is to.But theres another mother and father that has button eyes.The other parents wants coraline to stay in ther flat and let coraline be there daughter.They want to change her and never let her go.Coraline trys to go go back but the ther parents are not letting her. Coraline wants to check the flat out.So coraline does.The other parents are nice to her treat her right but things are sure going to change.Then coraline decides to go out in the garden and check things out.Coraline finds an certain part of the garden and likes it there. Then past the garden theres notheing just fog. Every night Coraline wants to search the flat still. Now the other parents are acting weird and starting to wonder and take over coraline.Whlie searching and the other mother puts her behind an dark mirrow. Behind the mirrow theres other children with lost souls.Then it was up to coraline to get her real parents out of there and the childrens souls out of the hidden box. Coraline trys to fiqure out what is the childrens souls an ther happy thoughts. Then coralines fianlly fiqures out that there kids souls are there happy things.

Rating:
Summary: Thrilling, Interesting and keeps you guessing! I love it!!
Review: "Coraline" caught my eye when I saw it in the bookstore with its disturbing cover and intriguing book description. It is a quick-paced 'fairy-tale' gone sour about an adventurous girl who yearns to be loved.

Young Coraline and her parents have just moved into a new flat in a large, old house. When her parents pay little attention to her, she is drawn to the locked door in the off-limits drawing room. Behind the door is a brick wall. But one day while her mother is out, Coraline unlocks the door to find a hallway, and a flat just like hers. It even has her other mother and her other father, except, they're not quite the same as her parents. Everything is better on the other side, but when Coraline's other mother wants her to stay, she gets frightened and returns home. However, she discovers that her parents are missing, and she must return to this other flat in order to rescue them.

Neil Gaiman has crafted a marvelous children's story that is disturbing as it is good. Coraline's other mother is a twisted, evil creature, who will stop at nothing to keep Coraline with her. Along the way Coraline encounters various characters both real, and twisted recreations in the 'other' world. The illustrations by Dave McKean are excellent depictions of this nightmare that Coraline cannot escape. As much as I enjoyed the story, I found the ending to be a bit summary. While Coraline is brave and resourceful in conquering her other mother, I thought it was a bit too nicely buttoned up at the end (pun intended for those who have read the book). All in all, a quick, enjoyable, spooky read for anyone with as vivid an imagination as Neil Gaiman.

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: I really enjoyed this book.
I was able to imagine everything I read,from the "other-parents"
button eyes to the souls of the children Coraline rescued.

I read this book in 2 hours.I would really like to see someone like Tim Burton or even Stephen King make this into a movie.
D.Scott