I know this is a young adult book "officially" but Neil Gaiman always gives you a story with levels and quirkiness and sly humour, and Coraline is no exception.

When Coraline, bored and ignored by her parents, decides to explore the new flat the family has just moved into, she discovers that a door that should go nowhere actually goes into what seems to be a parallel world with a parallel set of her parents and all the other people living in her building.

At first Coraline thinks it might be fun to have parents who want to play with her, and do fun things with her. But soon Coraline realizes something odd is going on, and before long she understands that she's in a fix, and in order to get back to her "real" world, Coraline will need to use every bit of ingenuity, cleverness and courage she can muster.

This was a great story with a little bit of everything: adventure, puzzles to solve, mystery, suspense, family values, talking cats, evil creatures - you name it, it's in Coraline. This was a fun read and I enjoyed it!

Although I'm no longer in the group that this book was written for I did still enjoy it.
I found it captivating and easy to read. I thought the story was good, and definitely creepy at parts. I actually shuddered at the button eyes!
Definitely would recommend it for anyone from age 8 and up and I'm looking forward to watching the movie.

I admit, I started reading this book, because I saw a preview for the movie. I have not seen the movie - but the book was Fantastic! I couldn't read it quick enough and when it came to the end I was a little disappointed because I wanted it to go on. What an engaging nightmare. I guess I will definitely have to see the movie now, too.

I've heard of Neil Gaiman for years but have never read anything of his before. I will certainly read him, now.

Coraline though has lots of it's own individuallity is somewhat similar to Lewis Carrolls original book.
1) They're both bored, so they venture off, and find another world. 2) They end up not enjoying the world, and wish to go home.
3) There is a mysterious cat, who offers interesting and somewhat confusing advice.

Though Coraline is much darker, in the sense that there is much danger. And the fact that after reading it you may be paranoid for a while.
It was a really good book, each page, each word was interesting. I enjoyed this amazing peice of literature, and it's quite frank that many other generations after this one will read it as well.
This is the next Alice in Wonderland.
Great discription, riveting, and unique in it's own special way.
It makes you wonder about your other mother.
I will never think of hands, or buttons, in the same way again after reading Coraline.

Coraline has hit the jackpot!! She has found another house just like her own, only better! The food tastes better, the animals talk, and her other mother and father give her all the attention she wants. But things are never as good as they seem, and when things turn bad when other mother kidnaps Coraline's realy parents and puts them in a mirror.
This book was creepy and fun. Gaiman is one of the most brillantly imaginative people working today. (My dream is a Gaiman, King, Burton team effort. AAAAAAhhh the bliss of it.) When Gaiman writes for kids, he tones it down, but doesn't write down to them. He keeps is a little scary, a little creepy, and a little twisted, realizing that kids love that as much as adults do.

Coraline is a charming yet terrifying novella. For being a children's book, it sure gave me chills at times. It sort of reminded me of Pan's Labyrinth by Guillermo del Toro with that scary feeling of a cruel fairytale. It is the story of a lonely girl who one day finds a passage to a strange place that promises her everything she ever wanted, but for a great price. To come back home she must find her parents, free lost souls, and fight the terrible evil that created this magical place.

The Other World is very imaginative, and Neil Gaiman did a great job at keeping the reader's attention. Once the search for the children's souls and Coraline's parents began I couldn't put the book down. A real page-turner. The girl's adventure in the deserted theater and the gloomy cellar surely kept me on my toes, and the character of Beldam turned out brilliantly menacing. At first I thought I'd read another childish story, but Coraline proved itself exceptionally original and satisfying. A great book that I'll read many times more.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman is a short, eerie and enjoyable tale about a girl learning to appreciate her parents through a peculiar experience. The story is interesting enough to keep a person's attention throughout. The story was brilliant and aspects of it reminded me of 'Alice Through the Looking Glass' by Lewis Carroll. The writing is amazing and makes the most ordinary events seem exciting. I believe I would have enjoyed it more if someone didn't ruin the ending for me.


Coraline's family moves into a part house that has a door in it, which when opened, leads to a brick wall. In the other parts of the house lives a crazy old man named Mr. Bobo, and two elderly women that claimed to be actresses, named Miss Spink and Miss Forcible.

One summer night, Coraline awakens to find that the other side of that strange door leads to another world in which lives the other mother, the other father, the other crazy old man, the other Miss Spink, and the other Miss Forcible. These parodies of the people she knows have buttons for eyes, and the other mother does not want Coraline to leave.

Will Coraline ever manage to make it back home to her true parents?

4/5

I can't believe this is a children's book because it was enough to give ME nightmares. I loved this story because it was original, smart, well written, well acted, the characters were fantastic and the world in which Caroline lives in and explores is so amazing and at the same time frightening and eerie. I loved it. This, for me, is the best creepy cartoon since Nightmare Before Christmas.

It may be a children's book, but it's one of the creepiest books I've ever read. Neil Gaiman takes the real world and gives it a 90 degree twist.

A scary story about the problem with getting what you want. Fortunately, Coraline is smart and resourceful and will get herself out of it, too.

If you like this one, check out The Graveyard Book, Gaiman's Newberry Winner.

This is the strangest, deliciously creepy book I have read in recent memory. I could not put this book down. It is not a long story, but is definitely satisfyingly complete. The illustrations just add to the flavour.

Coraline is easily bored, especially since she and her parents moved into the new house. But Coraline likes to explore. There are fourteen doors in the new house but one is locked and won't open. There is a key; when her mother unlocked the door nothing was revealed but a brick wall. The house is made up of probably three flats on her side of the big house, and the other tenants are nice, though a little strange. Two old ladies who read tea-leaves in one flat and a strange old man who talks of his musical band of mice in another. Returning to her own flat after visiting her neighbours, Coraline dwells on the problem of the door that is locked. There must be an equal part of the house on the other side.

Alone one day, she climbs up and snags the bunch of keys hanging high on the wall, which fall to the floor. Taking the one odd key, and on opening the door discovers that the brick wall is not there but there is a long corridor. This is where the book moves from a somewhat typical young adult book to a horror story with all its mystical and exciting thrills, because down the corridor is a replica of their own side of the house, but not quite right. Strangely the rooms are furnished with the same furniture, but slightly off. And strangest of all, Coraline's mother is there, but not quite. From here the story must be read because what thrill would one get if there are spoilers in the review!

I really enjoyed this book, was fascinated by it, and will definitely be reading a lot more of Gaiman's books. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes shivers from ghost stories told around a campfire (this is not a ghost story, but the analogy works). I would not recommend it for younger children, though.

Coraline is an explorer. Her parents work at home so can't give her their full attention, which means she needs to find other ways to occupy her time. She explores the grounds of her home. One day she decides to open up every single door in her building and comes across one that leads to brick.

The next time Coraline opens this door, it leads to a hallway. Coraline follows it and finds her mom and dad... except something isn't quite the same about them. Coraline must challenge her "other mother" and fight to get back to her real parents.

This book was an easy read and was entertaining, but was just plain creepy. This would scare the crap out of me if I was a 12 year old.

This was a fun, creepy story about a girl who ends up in another world and is trying to make her way back home. This one started a little slow, but picked up real fast. Another great creepy story from Gaiman!

Coraline lives with her very busy parents. Downstairs is a couple of elderly women directly from the stage and upstairs is a crazy old man who is training a mouse circus. Coraline wants some more attention. She is bored.

In her parlor is a locked door, behind which is a wall. One day when Coraline opens the door there is a long dark corridor. This leads to the 'other' family and people. At first it seems like this is a dream come true. But soon after it is only a nightmare from which Coraline must save everyone. She must be brave.

This is a children's novel. A delightfully scary and interesting premise. Coraline learns that she really has everything she need right in front of her.

This book is very different from your average children's book, and makes you feel as though you are stepping through a fascinating, surrealistic dream. Coraline is a very likeable character, and the other mother is truly terrifying!

Although this is for children, make sure it isn't for a child who is prone to nightmares. I would suggest it for 12 or older, just because of the content (and pictures, freaky good). Great read and beautiful artwork for anyone who loves dark/gothic graphic novels. The main character "Coraline" has moved to a new house (which is actually quite old), and in her exploration finds a door that goes nowhere. When a portal opens between her home and another world the explorer in her runs heads on into the otherside and finds a twisted, creepy strange world. Just when she thinks she got through the adventure unscathed, she realizes that the "Other mother" has taken her parents, and she must go back to save her family. Wonderful story about bravery in the face of fear and how to make friends with a cat.

Coraline discovers something sinister behind a dead-end door and must find a way to be rid of it before it is too late. As with Neil Gaiman's other work "Stardust", this novel reads as a simple and straightforward story - good overcoming hurdles along the wayl in a fantasy world where evil lurks everywhere - yet can be so much more.

The events, characters and objects may seem like a random assortment, but somehow they all fit together. Complemented with the well done illustration that has a mysterious quality to it, this is a nice lead-up to the upcoming animated feature film of which I am eagerly anticipating.

"Coraline" is a creepy little book. I read in one sitting, which attests to its shortness. Being an "adult" I still found it spine tingling, especially the black and white drawings that enhance the story. There is a graphic novel of this story coming out later this year and I will definitely check it out.

Kids from ages 8 to teen will love this book and its dark characters and its terrifying creepiness

I nabbed this CD on a whim, and was lucky to have done so. It was wonderful - and read by Gaiman himself, (and well, to boot, which isn't always the case when the author steps up to the plate).

The tale is pretty straightforward in its beginning: Coraline is bored. Bored bored bored. So, after a few other attempts at "busywork" from her parents, she starts counting things, and finds a door that is bricked up - but when she finds a way through it, she finds herself in a mirror-flat where her parents exist, but are distorted, and have black buttons instead of eyes, and sharp teeth, and oh, they say they'd love her to stay...

Creepy, but ultimately a story about a brave little girl, Coraline is definitely a good choice for a spooky night's listening pleasure!

Gaiman has proven throughout his body of work that he has a mastery over a very old style of fantasy. He tells old tales of tricks, magic and luck. In Coraline, he displays this talent in a Brother's Grimm, Roald Dahl sort of narrative. There is innocence in Coraline, and a deep evil. Coraline is a story that carries a lot of darkness and is not for the sensitive child, but my friend who leant it to me seems to have come to another conclusion. "Kids get something different out of it," she told me. "They take what the author really intended, while we're stuck reading it as adults." Certain scenes, for example, are thrilling because they leave a lot to your imagination. Perhaps adults, with our experiences, fill in those holes with deeply disturbing thoughts while the children take it for what it is. Coraline is great for kids looking for a thrill, or even if they aren't.

In the end I deeply appreciated Coraline. Something about the story, however, left me feeling somewhat unsatisfied. Either way, I leave this openness to the appreciation of the youth, because I know they can see something here that I can't. This one is a real rainy-afternoon-by-the-fireplace read.

In a modern fairy tale, replete with strange house, magic mirrors, and evil "witch", Gaiman has created a gothic atmosphere of unnatural grays and blacks. Coraline, newly moved to a new flat, is suddenly met with the disappearance of her parents. Her exploration of her environs reveals a passage to an alternate house, with an "other" mother and "other" father - all created by an evil creature that wishes to possess and "please" unsuspecting children. Read by the author, he clearly understands that he has written a book full of universal fears and chilling details. His words and his voice are spare and restrained. He lets the evocative plot carry the burden of scaring the listener - except for some unnecessary bits of incidental music. An unforgettable listen, not even the happy ending will banish the dark mood. Not everyone's cup of tea, but truly effective. For more details on the Parents' Choice Foundation, please visit www.parents-choice.org