Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Title: Coraline

Author: Neil Gaiman

Publisher: HarperCollins 2003

Genre: Children's Fantasy

Pages: 211

Rating:  5/5 stars  Movie: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Neil Gaiman; Ebook; Books to Movie; Book Bingo -- 2 Rereads

How I Got It: I own it

"Coraline discovered the door a little while after they moved into the house. . . ."

When Coraline steps through a door to find another house strangely similar to her own (only better), things seem marvelous.

But there's another mother there, and another father, and they want her to stay and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go.

Coraline will have to fight with all her wit and courage if she is to save herself and return to her ordinary life.

I love this book so much.  We have a great heroine, a scary villan, quirky side characters, and a great plot.  I love how grounded Coraline is.  Sure, she has dreams and fantasies, but when it counts, Coraline fights for her family.  She doesn't have an annoying bit to her.  I want to be Coraline... And the Other Mother is downright scary, even on the page. I shudder every time she talks.  But the best character of the entire book has to be the cat (he doesn't have a name because cat's know who they are).  He reminds me of the Cheshire Cat from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.  We never know if he's trying to help Coraline or just helping himself.  There's this ambiguous quality to him.  I look at him as a survivalist who happens to give Coraline some good advice about the other world. Such a great character!  The world and storyline are both fantastic.  I could clearly see the house and the grounds.  I could see and feel the dark tunnel between the house and the world of the Other Mother.  I could hear the rat's singing.  Awesome little bedtime story, if you like them kinda scary and definitely quirky.

Movie:

Overall, I think the movie did a good job translating Gaiman's story.  The visuals are stunning.  I loved seeing the contrast between the slightly drab real world and the bright and colorful world of the Other Mother.  The voices match exactly what I heard in my head.  My only issue: the inclusion of Wybie.  I didn't need him.  He didn't add anything to the story.  I would have preferred to stay focused on Coraline vs. the Other Mother.