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Coraline
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The day after they moved in, Coraline went exploring....
In Coraline's family's new flat are twenty-one windows and fourteen doors. Thirteen of the doors open and close.
The fourteenth is locked, and on the other side is only a brick wall, until the day Coraline unlocks the door to find a passage to another flat in another house just like her own.
Only it's different.
At fi ...more
In Coraline's family's new flat are twenty-one windows and fourteen doors. Thirteen of the doors open and close.
The fourteenth is locked, and on the other side is only a brick wall, until the day Coraline unlocks the door to find a passage to another flat in another house just like her own.
Only it's different.
At fi ...more
Paperback, 162 pages
Published
August 29th 2006
by William Morrow Paperbacks
(first published August 4th 2002)
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This is both because it gives adults a different message and children a different message
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30
I've read this book many different times in many different ways.
I read it off the page when it first came out. Later, I listened to Gaiman's narration of the audiobook when I was sequestered in the north woods of Wisconsin in a desperate attempt to finish book two. I watched the movie and enjoyed it.
My most recent experience of the book was listening to it with my little boy on a long car ride. I wasn't sure he'd be able to get into it. Not because of the vocabulary. He's very sharp for being ...more
I read it off the page when it first came out. Later, I listened to Gaiman's narration of the audiobook when I was sequestered in the north woods of Wisconsin in a desperate attempt to finish book two. I watched the movie and enjoyed it.
My most recent experience of the book was listening to it with my little boy on a long car ride. I wasn't sure he'd be able to get into it. Not because of the vocabulary. He's very sharp for being ...more
I was such a cowardly kid that I never managed to read more than the blurb on the back
Now that I've finally summoned the courage to give it a try - I wish I read it sooner.
I love this novel.
Unlike Gaiman's fiction for adults, every sentence, every word has its purpose. And finally, Gaiman does not throw in some weird sex scene. Can I get a hallelujah?
One especially dull and rainy day traps young Coraline inside the new house. Her parents are busy and she must entertain herself. She finds ...more
Now that I've finally summoned the courage to give it a try - I wish I read it sooner.
I love this novel.
Unlike Gaiman's fiction for adults, every sentence, every word has its purpose. And finally, Gaiman does not throw in some weird sex scene. Can I get a hallelujah?
One especially dull and rainy day traps young Coraline inside the new house. Her parents are busy and she must entertain herself. She finds ...more
May 08, 2010
Nataliya
rated it
it was amazing
Recommends it for:
Fans of Gaiman and excellent YA dark fantasy
Coraline is a short but delightfully dark and creepy book that just happens to feature one of my absolute favorite characters. Is it wrong that I want to be Coraline's best friend???
“Because,' she said, 'when you're scared but you still do it anyway, that's brave.”Coraline is clever, quirky, curious and adventurous, brave and determined, independent, stubborn to no end, a bit reckless and not scared of danger. She will NEVER leave any mysterious doors locked and uninvestigated. In short ...more
............
Has anyone ever said to you “time heals all wounds?”
Well for the "villain" of this story that is clearly not the case. It’s easy to pinpoint Coraline’s bravery and talk about her experience, but that’s not what this review is about. I want to consider the “other mother” and her story.
I mean what exactly is her story? We can only presume that she has been doing this kind of trickery for years, perhaps even centuries. We don’t really know a great deal about her. She has three victims prior to he ...more
Well for the "villain" of this story that is clearly not the case. It’s easy to pinpoint Coraline’s bravery and talk about her experience, but that’s not what this review is about. I want to consider the “other mother” and her story.
I mean what exactly is her story? We can only presume that she has been doing this kind of trickery for years, perhaps even centuries. We don’t really know a great deal about her. She has three victims prior to he ...more
(A-) 82% | Very Good
Notes: A genuinely disturbing and creepy story with vivid imagery, it’s well-rounded and goes at a perfect pace and length.
Notes: A genuinely disturbing and creepy story with vivid imagery, it’s well-rounded and goes at a perfect pace and length.
3.5/5
"When you're scared but you still do it anyway, that's brave."
I think this would have been one of my favorite books if I read it as a child, but unfortunately 20-something me felt like it was lacking. I went into this with too high of expectations because the movie gave me nightmares after I saw it in theaters. Basically, I pretty much expected this to be a novelization of the movie - that was not the case. Though the big plot points remain the same, the movie was more fleshed out and atmos ...more
"When you're scared but you still do it anyway, that's brave."
I think this would have been one of my favorite books if I read it as a child, but unfortunately 20-something me felt like it was lacking. I went into this with too high of expectations because the movie gave me nightmares after I saw it in theaters. Basically, I pretty much expected this to be a novelization of the movie - that was not the case. Though the big plot points remain the same, the movie was more fleshed out and atmos ...more
My summary:
The story begins with Coraline, a young girl who has just moved into a new house with her parents which has been broken up into different apartments with neighbors. Coraline’s new neighbors are interesting: an old man who trains rats for a circus performance, and two old ladies who are retired stage actresses. The issue is that Coraline’s extremely frustrated and bored with not much to do. Her parents are simply too busy with work to spend any time with her and Coraline feels somewhat ...more
The story begins with Coraline, a young girl who has just moved into a new house with her parents which has been broken up into different apartments with neighbors. Coraline’s new neighbors are interesting: an old man who trains rats for a circus performance, and two old ladies who are retired stage actresses. The issue is that Coraline’s extremely frustrated and bored with not much to do. Her parents are simply too busy with work to spend any time with her and Coraline feels somewhat ...more
I saw the film before I read the book, which is not how I like to do things, as it can often be like taping a hockey game and having someone tell you the final score before you've had a chance to see the game for yourself. However, I can say that seeing the film first didn't really spoil the book for me.
Coraline starts off rather slowly but this independent, thoughtful, odd, distant, misunderstood child soon gains the reader's sympathy. This becomes more intense as Coraline gets more deeply enm ...more
Coraline starts off rather slowly but this independent, thoughtful, odd, distant, misunderstood child soon gains the reader's sympathy. This becomes more intense as Coraline gets more deeply enm ...more
This is the perfect Halloween read! It's creepy, eerie, and beautifully written.
Now I want to rewatch the movie! I loved it :D
Now I want to rewatch the movie! I loved it :D
Oct 31, 2016
Cecily
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Cecily by:
Apatt
This a perfect, traditional fairy* tale, with a slightly surreal twenty-first century warp. The writing is as magical as the plot.
Its thirteen chapters are delightful, dark, and funny, with a heroine many can relate to, as child, parent, or both.
Coraline is intelligent, inquisitive, slightly contrary, hates being bored, and wishes her parents paid her more attention, and didn’t feed her “recipes”. Perhaps, she wishes she had different parents. And you should always be careful what you wish for ...more
Coraline, not Caroline, thank you, the little girl who was small for her age, and found herself in darkest danger was the subject of Neil Gaiman’s 2002 publication, which was in Gaiman’s own words “refreshingly creepy.”
Gaiman said that he started writing the book for his young daughter Holly around the time they moved to America but, unintentionally, wrote it very slowly, “one word at a time” and thus stretched out the project for years. Refreshingly creepy is maybe the best way to describe this ...more
Gaiman said that he started writing the book for his young daughter Holly around the time they moved to America but, unintentionally, wrote it very slowly, “one word at a time” and thus stretched out the project for years. Refreshingly creepy is maybe the best way to describe this ...more
Jan 08, 2017
Reynita Maharani ★ The Night Reader ★
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
'She left us here' said one of the voices. 'she stole our hearts, and she stole our souls, and she took our lives away, and she left us here, and she forgot about us in the dark.'
This is a story about a girl named Coraline Jones, She and her parents move to a new house but they don't own all of the house. They just own part of it and they also have neighbors ...more
Jan 04, 2014
Carmen
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Kids; Parents
Coraline was woken by the mid-morning sun, full on her face.
For a moment she felt utterly dislocated. She did not know where she was; she was not entirely sure WHO she was. It is astonishing just how much of what we are can be tied to the beds we wake up in in the morning, and it is astonishing how fragile that can be.
This is like Stephen King's It re-written for children.
I adore Stephen King, obviously, and I highly enjoyed this creepy and horrifying children's book that Gaiman has written.
Cora ...more
For a moment she felt utterly dislocated. She did not know where she was; she was not entirely sure WHO she was. It is astonishing just how much of what we are can be tied to the beds we wake up in in the morning, and it is astonishing how fragile that can be.
This is like Stephen King's It re-written for children.
I adore Stephen King, obviously, and I highly enjoyed this creepy and horrifying children's book that Gaiman has written.
Cora ...more
This was so creepy, I loved it.
Full review to come.
Full review to come.
Coraline is a ravishingly wonderful tale of a brave girl confronting ghastly demons. Opening new doors, she builds an alternate house of monstrous reality, of fear draping the walls, of greed burying love. And now she has to redefine her rusty, curious world.
Coraline charmingly reflects the fears and trials all children experience. The power of evi ...more
It is astonishing just how much of what we are can be tied to the beds we wake up in in the morning, and it is astonishing how fragile that can be.
Coraline charmingly reflects the fears and trials all children experience. The power of evi ...more
“Because,’ she said, ‘when you’re scared but you still do it anyway, that’s brave,”
I thoroughly enjoyed this! A quick read that I blitzed through in a couple of hours, but of course it being Gaiman it left behind chills and the fears so prominent in childhood.
Coraline Jones and her parents have moved to a new flat. One with two elderly ladies next door and a crazy old man upstairs, not to mention the black cat who seems to belong to no one.
Having explored everywhere in the surrounding land o ...more
I thoroughly enjoyed this! A quick read that I blitzed through in a couple of hours, but of course it being Gaiman it left behind chills and the fears so prominent in childhood.
Coraline Jones and her parents have moved to a new flat. One with two elderly ladies next door and a crazy old man upstairs, not to mention the black cat who seems to belong to no one.
Having explored everywhere in the surrounding land o ...more
Click here to watch a video review of this book on my channel, From Beginning to Bookend.
Who doesn’t like a freaky middle-grade book to snack on (at nighttime) ever once and a while? I was in the mood for something freakish and gothic. I got it. (Plus, writing research for middle-grade books. I am a writer, after all.)
So between taking notes about style and description and length of MG books, I enjoyed the story immensely. A lot of a lot, okay? It’s written in such a simple way. It probably mentions about 3 or 4 times how Coraline is actually feeling. The rest is fact. This happened ...more
So between taking notes about style and description and length of MG books, I enjoyed the story immensely. A lot of a lot, okay? It’s written in such a simple way. It probably mentions about 3 or 4 times how Coraline is actually feeling. The rest is fact. This happened ...more
Coraline, Neil Gaiman
Coraline is a dark fantasy children's novella by British author Neil Gaiman, published in 2002 by Bloomsbury and Harper Collins. It was awarded the 2003 Hugo Award for Best Novella, the 2003 Nebula Award for Best Novella, and the 2002 Bram Stoker Award for Best Work for Young Readers. It has been compared to Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and was adapted into a 2009 stop-motion film directed by Henry Selick. Coraline Jones and her parents move into an old h ...more
Coraline is a dark fantasy children's novella by British author Neil Gaiman, published in 2002 by Bloomsbury and Harper Collins. It was awarded the 2003 Hugo Award for Best Novella, the 2003 Nebula Award for Best Novella, and the 2002 Bram Stoker Award for Best Work for Young Readers. It has been compared to Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and was adapted into a 2009 stop-motion film directed by Henry Selick. Coraline Jones and her parents move into an old h ...more
I've been looking for that book that would satisfy my craving to be creeped out, and sadly a few books I tried recently didn't do it for me. I didn't expect anything with this book, and that little shiver down my spine that has been evading me? This book gave it to me!
I was not a huge fan of American Gods, but I promised that I would give Neil Gaiman another shot someday. I figured if I enjoyed anything of his it would be this book. Despite my gripes with American Gods I couldn't deny that I fou ...more
“It is astonishing just how much of what we are can be tied to the bed we wake up in in the morning and it is astonishing how fragile that can be.”
In their new house, Coraline opens a door that leads to an other world with her other mother and other father, where things seem a little too good to be true...
First of all, where the hell does Gaiman get off thinking this book is acceptable for children?! 29 year old me was certifiably creeped out by that scene in the cellar! Younger me, who was a hu ...more
In their new house, Coraline opens a door that leads to an other world with her other mother and other father, where things seem a little too good to be true...
First of all, where the hell does Gaiman get off thinking this book is acceptable for children?! 29 year old me was certifiably creeped out by that scene in the cellar! Younger me, who was a hu ...more
Mar 03, 2013
Florence (Lefty) MacIntosh
rated it
really liked it
Recommends it for:
Anyone with the heart of a child – Gaiman fans
Recommended to Florence (Lefty) by:
Mary MacAskill
Deliciously disturbing, a modern fairytale with a surrealistic feel. I mean you’re stuck in an alternate dimension with parents with sewed on buttons for eyes, friendless except for a talking cat with a bad attitude. Coraline is totally believable; a bored sweet kid who gets herself into and out of a terrifying situation by being gutsy & resourceful. So unless you figure you’ve outgrown fairytales (which is kind of a shame) what’s not to like about it?
Nasty flu & a crummy day at work had ...more
Nasty flu & a crummy day at work had ...more
Creepy, creepy, creepy. This book made me feel like I'd just awoken from a disturbing dream I couldn't shake, but couldn't quite remember, either.
And the movie looks terrifying.
And the movie looks terrifying.
Jun 28, 2009
karen
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
teen-faves,
meowch-bad-kitty
this book makes me really cross i missed the 3d movie when it was out. there are definitely things i would have loved to have seen all up in my face. i think if i had read this as a young girl, it would be one of my favorite books ever. as a (physical) adult, i enjoyed it, but ive read too much in my life to be scared of it, or surprised by it, which is a shame. im going to turn this review into a request for people to scare me. when i was little, my brother would hide under my bed until after i
...more
Feb 16, 2017
Sr3yas
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
hall-of-fame-2017,
choice
Neil Gaiman weaves a chillingly beautiful story just as a spider weaves her immaculate web. *Poker face*
This is the tale of young Coraline Jones who moves to her new house with her parents. She is a lively little child who loves to explore and play around. But her parents are very busy and hardly have time to play with her. So, life is pretty much boring for the young lady.
But then, she finds a door.
*Ooh, ooh, does it leads to another world filled with talking animals and wonderful characters?* ...more
This is the tale of young Coraline Jones who moves to her new house with her parents. She is a lively little child who loves to explore and play around. But her parents are very busy and hardly have time to play with her. So, life is pretty much boring for the young lady.
But then, she finds a door.
*Ooh, ooh, does it leads to another world filled with talking animals and wonderful characters?* ...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Neil Gaiman, Coraline (Harper, 2002)
I'm not exactly sure what to say about this minor gem. It's a kids' book, but not really a kids' book. It's a fantasy/horror novel, but not a fantasy/horror novel. It has minor similarities to about a hundred books to be found over the ages, both children's and adult, but nothing strong enough to be called an influence (at least, not one that wears its heart on its sleeve). About the best thing I can come up with would be a much darker version of Roald Dahl's ...more
I'm not exactly sure what to say about this minor gem. It's a kids' book, but not really a kids' book. It's a fantasy/horror novel, but not a fantasy/horror novel. It has minor similarities to about a hundred books to be found over the ages, both children's and adult, but nothing strong enough to be called an influence (at least, not one that wears its heart on its sleeve). About the best thing I can come up with would be a much darker version of Roald Dahl's ...more
actual rating: 3.5 stars
Neil Gaiman really did some witchcraft and created the perfect book for halloween, huh?? he really Did That
Coraline is the type of horror that i like. it's that eery, uncomfortable, subtle kind of tension that i enjoy, the kind that has you feeling slightly uneasy. if i had read this as a child, i probably would've never opened a door i weren't supposed to open ever again.
i really liked the characters in this. even though i feel like they weren't very complex (as it o ...more
Neil Gaiman really did some witchcraft and created the perfect book for halloween, huh?? he really Did That
Coraline is the type of horror that i like. it's that eery, uncomfortable, subtle kind of tension that i enjoy, the kind that has you feeling slightly uneasy. if i had read this as a child, i probably would've never opened a door i weren't supposed to open ever again.
i really liked the characters in this. even though i feel like they weren't very complex (as it o ...more
SO glad I got the chance to read this, even if it was for a lame school assignment. I need to pick up more books by Neil Gaiman, he's such a fantastic writer. This story was both whimsical and dark and I had such a time reading it!
O Senso do Contra-Senso
Nada como uma boa descida aos infernos para encontrar o paraíso ;)
É como descobrir o Norte, rumando a Sul!
Ora digam lá se a vida não é deliciosamente paradoxal?!... ;)
"Coraline e a Porta Secreta" integra-se naquele grupo de livros capaz de cativar miúdos e graúdos.
É quase certo que os jovens irão perder-se pelos labirintos sinuosos da imaginação prolífica de Gaiman.
Porém, as mentes maduras irão mais longe, captando aqui e ali, alguma(s) mensagen(s) relevante(s)!
"Coraline e ...more
Nada como uma boa descida aos infernos para encontrar o paraíso ;)
É como descobrir o Norte, rumando a Sul!
Ora digam lá se a vida não é deliciosamente paradoxal?!... ;)
"Coraline e a Porta Secreta" integra-se naquele grupo de livros capaz de cativar miúdos e graúdos.
É quase certo que os jovens irão perder-se pelos labirintos sinuosos da imaginação prolífica de Gaiman.
Porém, as mentes maduras irão mais longe, captando aqui e ali, alguma(s) mensagen(s) relevante(s)!
"Coraline e ...more
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“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”
—
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“I don't want whatever I want. Nobody does. Not really. What kind of fun would it be if I just got everything I ever wanted just like that, and it didn't mean anything? What then?”
—
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