Coraline - Neil Gaiman

  “Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”

I first read Coraline after the stop-motion movie came out when I was in high school. I was completely floored by the beauty of the movie that I wanted to read the source. I was very happy then, and during this re-read, it felt like I was a kid again experiencing the magic that I did the first time. 

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Started: February 21, 2024

Finished: February 23rd, 2024

Synopsis: Coraline is a young girl who moved into a new house for her parents' jobs. She is an only child and doesn't have much to do since her parents work all of the time. But when Coraline finds a small door that connects to another world, she goes in and finds her Other Mother and Other Father. They look like her parents except everything is perfect...oh, and they have buttons for eyes. When Coraline realizes the other world is not what it seems, she must find a way to protect her parents and get out of there alive.

My Review (Spoilers):  Neil Gaiman does it again with his children's stories. Coraline is a story about a spunky girl who just want to explore and do fun things, just like any other child would do. Of course, since I watched the movie first, I automatically went in looking for discrepancies and differences between the two mediums. But what I didn't remember from the first time I read this book was that most of the dialogue between characters are EXACTLY the same as the movie. It felt like I was re-watching it in my mind and hearing it in Coraline's voice. The settings remained as magical as ever and the wide cast of characters as interesting and eccentric as how I remember them. 

My only critique of this book is that sometimes, in children's books, the tone of the protagonist comes off as simple and bland. Coraline's tone does come off as a bit simplistic, considering the extraordinary things around her. And believe me, I taught every grade as a teacher. The age group that Coraline would have belonged to have pretty extensive vocabularies and always want to talk with people and tell them the most trivial piece of trivia they know. I'm not saying that Coraline is like most children, but the dialogue could have had a bit more substance. Though, I did enjoy Coraline's inner monologue through the story. 

Final Thoughts: I know this review is pretty short, but there is not much fault I can find with this book. It is a perfect creepy book to introduce to young children and paired up with the movie, it will be enjoyed by any age for years to come. Just don't let the Other Mother put buttons in your eyes!