Coraline

Rating:
Summary: I really enjoyed Neil's "Coraline"!
Review: Terrific book! This is the first time I have ever read ANYTHING by Neil Gaiman. "Coraline" is a facinating fast paced book that will leave you with chills. I enjoyed little Coraline's adventures and could not put the book down until I finished it. Then, when I was done, I started reading it again. You can be sure that I will be reading other books by this author. Not just for children, this book is a great read!

Rating:
Summary: Very Creepy ... but very entertaining.
Review: This is the third Neil Gaiman novel I have had the pleasure of reading. I bought it for my 6th grader and read it to make sure it was "appropriate". I find that for the most part it is, but it has its disturbing moments. The illustrations in the novel definitely add to the unnerving nature of the book. The character of the other mother is not fully developed, but is a villain you can still root against. Coraline is a fine, strong character. The novel is also filled with trademark Gaiman off kilter humor. I found it very enjoyable and would recommend it to most anyone.

T

Rating:
Summary: Good but may be scary for 9+
Review: This is a great story. But I hold back in handing it over to my 9 year old daughter to read. The creepy "other" mom who wants to sew on button eyes---oh my!
What about that thing in the sac on the ceiling when the "other" world is coming apart, or the falling apart in the cellar of the "other" father?
I have told my daughter about the significance of the disembodied hand in all great works of horror! And here it is.
If your child is older or can handle it, if your'e one of those parents who lets your child watch "Scream" in kindergarden, than this should not even traumatize or frighten them.
Coraline goes through a door into another world, where theres another mother and father. They can't make that world as good as her own, but they try. Coraline gets help from a hilarious cat and a couple of ghosts; its really a cool story. Its one of those stories you have to write for "kids", even if it really is for adults.

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Summary: A Fascinating, Strange, Creepy and Fabulous New World
Review: Coraline discovered the door soon after moving into the new house, a very old house. Her family shared the house with a crazy old man who lived upstairs and two old ladies who lived downstairs.

They were definitely old and strange. They had many strange stories to share with Coraline and the old man would always talk of his mouse circus which Coraline could never see.

Bored with her own world, Coraline goes on exploring to find that through the strange door in her house was a whole new world awaiting for her to explore. In this new world, beyond the door she found everything was similar to her own world and life except strangely tweaked. There is another mother and another father that looked very much like her own except with freakish features and they wanted her to stay there with them.

Coraline's exploration turns into a fascinating and scary journey of talking cats, mice that play music and dance and creepy parents that aren't quite right. She has to fight to figure out how to get back to her real parents and the world that she once thought so boring and ordinary.

Coraline is easily enjoyed by children and adults. With it's imaginative characters and exciting plot, this is a page turner that will scare and excite readers until the very end.

Gaiman's creation of wonderful characters is incredible and well thought out. The spooky and beautiful illustrations by Dave Mckean help pull the story together and the reader even further into the story. It is no surprise that this New York Times bestseller has been called magical and declared the new Alice in Wonderland. This is a fairy tale that will not be forgotten.

Rating:
Summary: One girl,One door, a whole new world!
Review: This fascinating, thought provoking book Coraline by Neil Gaiman with illustrations by Dave McKean has 162 wonderfully written pages that take you into a frightening world of the unknown.

Coraline a young girl had just moved into an apartment in an old house. She has nice neighbors. Although they are a little strange they still encourage her to explore which is one of her greatest interests. One rainy day since, of course she may not go outside, she decides to explore her apartment. Finding some keys she opens a locked door in her living room and looks into an empty apartment. Not interested, she leaves and forgets about it until her parents leave the house. Finally she decides to go back to the place. This time she does not find a deserted room. Instead, she meets head on with two creatures that claim they are her "other parents." In fact, these "other parents" seem to be living in an entire magical other world. In this world there are millions of toys to play with and better things than she had before except for the love from her real parents.

What seemed so wonderful suddenly becomes dark and scary when she finds out that the "other" mother will not let her leave. Hidden in this magical house she finds ghosts of children kidnapped years ago. While with these ghost children she realizes that both her body and her soul are is danger. Will she find the key to her escape and be reunited with her real family? Read this book and become part of this magical adventure.

I recommend this book to people who like to curl up and get immersed in an exciting mystery. This wondrous book is for ages 8 and over. I particularly like the suspense and creativity.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book! M.B
Review: I recently read Coraline, by award-winning author, Neil Gaiman. Some of his books include American Gods, The Wolves in the Walls, and Endless Nights. Like most of his books, this one is directed to children and young adults. This is a fiction book with many themes; love, hate, curiosity, and many more.

Coraline and her family just moved out of their home and into a new flat, a one story apartment. This flat was very big, and had twenty-one windows and fourteen doors. She knew this becuase, just as anyone would do, she went exploring around the building; she saw the tennis courts, the mysterious black cat that belonged to the people upstairs, and the courtyards. She found the place to be quite boring, being the only child there. Nothing really caught her interest except the fourteenth door door, because unlike all the other, it was locked. She vigorously and determinately opened it. On the other side of the door was a brick wall. What she didnt know was that the wall was a passage way to another world, another dimension- another flat just like the one she moved into. Only it was different. In the beginning, life in the new flat was fascinating. Captivating memorabilia, better food, toy boxes that were filled to the top, new books, everything- until she came across a man and woman. Now they want Coraline to be the child they never had. She explains to them that it's a mistake and that she must return home, to her real parents. But they won't let her go. There are other children ensnared in the flat as well. They are lost souls stuck in the mirrors. Coraline is the only one who can save them. Now she must fight to save the children, and to get her life back...

This is an excellent book for anyone interested in a cone-chilling mystery/horror. It teaches significant lessons about life without directly coming out and saying it.Its a wonderful story.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing Book- The best I've ever read!
Review: Coraline is about a ten year old girl who lives in a flat or apartment house somewhere in Europe. The other people living in her house are Ms. Spink and Ms. Forcible, who are retired actresses, a crazy old man who claims to be training a bunch of mice to do circus acts, and Coralines's parents. One day when her parents are out she goes into a normally bricked up room. In it she finds what say to be her parents- they look like her parents except they have paper white skin and black button eyes. They want her to be their child and claim that they are her other mother and father. Things are twisted in the "other mother's" world. When she returns from the strange world she finds that her parents are missing and has to get them back from the other mother's clutches. A really fantastic book full of mystery and just enough horror to make you shiver. This book is wonderfully written!

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Summary: Now this is the Gaiman I've learned to love.
Review: I was a bit disappointed with Neverwhere. I'm just now getting to American Gods. I rated Neverwhere as a mediocre read and that is insulting in my opinion towards one of Gaiman's works. Coraline on the other hand is very typical Gaiman. While people would hate to hear the word "typical" attached to their work let me assure you "typical Gaiman" means it kicks hind end. This book is eerie and brooding and I believe it is better suited to young adults and teens than it is for children, so you might want to read through it before taking it to the bedroom with your 8 year old for a bedtime story. I'm not gonna detail the plot or themes of the work because it's been done here one hundred times over, but I would like to list these comments to note my support for this book. Five stars worth of recommendation.

Rating:
Summary: Coraline
Review: The book Coraline was a well written mystery that really made you want to read on. One thing leads into another, and before you know it, you're done with the book. However, as a reader that reads often, it was still hard to understand the plot at some points. The main character Coraline was well portrayed and developed by Neil Gaiman.
In the book Coraline is unlike your average teenager. She is an only child that lives in a flat with three other adults. She doesn't really like to hang around them but she has no one else to hang around with and she is often extremely bored. She is very lonely and never has anyone to talk to or confide in. Through out the whole book you never find out what is going on in her head. Coraline loves to explore and is up to any challenge she is offered.
One day when Coraline was bored, she went around and counted how many doors were in her home. She found out that there were fourteen doors, but only thirteen of the doors opened and closed. She asked her mother what was behind it, but all she said was that there was a brick wall. While everyone was asleep that night she took the key and opened the door again. Only this time, there was no brick wall. She walked down the long hallway to see another woman that looked just like her mother. This frightened and confused her. The woman introduced herself as Coraline's "other" mother. The "other" mother said that they wanted Coraline to stay with them and be their little daughter. She didn't like what she was going through at all, so she ran back to her original home. As she ran away, the "other" mother shouted, you'll be back! After returning from the other house she fell asleep. When she awoke, she found that her parents had vanished. Coraline realized that the other mother must have taken them. She enters the other house once again. This time the other mother takes the key and will not let Coraline out. She has a chance to stay with the other parents forever, with anything she could ever want. Now Coraline has to decide what she would rather have. Will she choose to stay in a place where she gets what she wnats, or will she go on an exploration to find her beloved parents?
I really enjoyed reading this book. I would recommend this book to any one that is interested in reading a mystery novel.

Rating:
Summary: Best Scary Book Ever!!!
Review: Coraline is a extremely exciting book to read! There is so much suspension and scary places that you shouldn't read it at night. Coraline is so creepy it'll blow your socks off. All of the characters have their own, creepy personality that takes you on an adventure. The pictures are equally scary too! If you want action, adventure, creepiness, and a bit of a mystery, read Coraline, and be zapped into a place you'd never even dream of.

Vic B.