Book Review: "Coraline" By Neil Gaiman

It's my favorite time of the year. The heat is abating, the days are getting shorter, and everything has a spooky, sinister shadow to it. Halloween is nearly upon us, and if you are still looking for fall activities to do with your child or preteen that don't include candy or pumpkin guts, I suggest taking a trip into the world of Coraline by Neil Gaiman.

To be more precise, take a trip into the two worlds of Coraline. But we'll get to that in a second.

Some of you may know Neil Gaiman from the world of graphic novels and comic books, such as The Sandman, or from his novels, including American Gods. Coraline is Gaiman's award winning children novella about the trials and tribulations of the titular character, Coraline. 

So, let's step into the first world of Coraline. In this world, she is a regular 11-year old British girl. She lives in a house turned into individual flats with her very busy parents. Her father works from home and has a propensity to make overly fancy dinner recipes. Coraline's mother loves her very much, but she can be a little on the inattentive side.

Her neighbors are a pair of has-been actresses in the flat below her and a former circus performer and his supposed troop of trained mice above. There's also an empty flat beside hers that beckons her to explore.

One day while her parents are away, Coraline takes the key that opens the door connecting her flat with the empty one next door from the top shelf in the kitchen. Knowing she's doing something wrong, she continues to open the door to find a hallway where once there had been a brick wall. Entering the hallway, Coraline is now in an alternate world that is both familiar and different. In this world, she finds that the other flat is just like hers but more exciting. And there's also a new set of parents who look strikingly similar to hers, but they have big black buttons sewn over their eyes.

This new world is enchanting. 

The new parents want Coraline to stay with them, and Coraline only has to do one thing to stay: let her new parents replace her eyes with sewn big, black buttons.

Coraline flees back to the real world only to find that her real parents are missing. With the help of the stray cat from the yard and a good luck stone given to her by her actress neighbor, Coraline must find a way to retrieve her real parents from the grasp of her fake mom, the Beldam, while also helping three ghostly children—the Beldam's previous victims—escape as well.

The whole time I was reading Coraline, I got strong vibes of a modern day Alice in Wonderland with a little update on the scary factor to play right at the modern level of what's acceptable for a children's book. Coraline is a delightful book to read with your child over this Halloween weekend to bring a little fright and a little fun into the holiday—and possibly a little appreciation of your parenting unless you, as well, have big, black buttons sewn over your eyes. The suggested age level for Coraline is nine years and older.

Coraline is available is several print editors at the Birmingham Public Library. It is also available as a Book on CD, eBook, eAudiobook, large print, and graphic novel.

If you don't have time in your busy weekend schedule to read the book, there is a stop-motion animated movie also available through the library that would be a great addition to your Halloween movie line-up. 

By J. Michael Coe | Library Assistant Ⅲ, North Birmingham Regional Branch and Inglenook Branch Libraries