Coraline
Written by Neil Gaiman
Narrated by Neil Gaiman
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
New York Times bestselling and Newbery Medal-winning author Neil Gaiman’s modern classic, Coraline—also an Academy Award-nominated film
"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.
Neil Gaiman's Coraline is a can't-miss classic that enthralls readers age 8 to 12 but also adults who enjoy a perfect smart spooky read.
Editor's Note
Delightfully dark…
Delightfully dark, Neil Gaiman’s tale of the curious, brave, and clever Coraline is sinister and suspenseful, yet filled with quirky charm. With the author’s own narration of his novella, the unforgettable Coraline comes to vivid life.
Neil Gaiman
NEIL GAIMAN was awarded the Newbery and Carnegie Medals for The Graveyard Book. His other books for younger readers include Coraline (which was made into an Academy-Award-nominated film) and The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish (which wasn’t). Born in England, he has won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards. You can learn more at www.mousecircus.com.
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Reviews for Coraline
2,464 ratings411 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I think I liked the movie a little better, but I think that's only because I saw it first, so I knew where the story was going.I like the little illustrations in my edition, scratchy and creepy, not unlike the aesthetic in the film. A blurb on the back of the book compares the door in Coraline's flat to the closet in Narnia, and I think it works as a reflection of the two stories, except while Narnia is genuinely wonderful, the place on the other side of the door only appears that way.Coraline herself is also a quirky character and I enjoyed her doings, plus those of the cat.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Very creepy!!
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Just the right mix of charming and creepy.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This book is terrifying. The uncanny haunts every pages, making you question not only Coraline's world, but your own world. It's scary yet enjoyable by those old and young alike. It would be a great book to read with a young one who's entering their spooky phase and likes Halloween and all things ghostly because there's nothing too overtly terrifying in it--- in fact, I think it might be more scary for the adults than the kids! A great adventure story with a wonderful young protagonist.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Coraline
by Neil Gaiman
I'd give this classic 4 black buttons out of 5.
Now, let's see... What's a good way to describe this book? Several words come to mind.
Creepy. This is probably one of the most common words used to describe this book.
Clever. I think this word describes the protagonist quite well.
Hand. Yes, the hand! See the first word.
The novel, Coraline, follows a young girl of the same name - Coraline Jones. Her family recently moved into a new apartment, surrounded by some very eclectic and interesting characters. It was all very viseral.
When Coraline's parents get absorbed in their work, and personal activities, they fail to pay attention to her, and she decides to go exploring. Along the way she meets talking animals, former theatre actresses that want to tell Coraline's fortune, and a loony guy on the top floor that swears mice talk to him and play him marching band music. It's all very mysterious feeling.
The book really starts to take off when Coraline discovers a small door sealed off by a brick wall in one of the parlors. One night she follows a mouse into the door and through a dark corridor, and out the other side in a bizarro world of sorts. There she meets her "other mother," and "other father." Those parents eventually reveal that they want her to stay with them, and their black buttons for eyes. As the story moves along, Coraline realizes that her "other mother" is some kind of god-like creature that created the other world she then found herself in, and continues to manipulate it to keep Coraline there.
The story is about Coraline's exploring nature, and how, even though her parents weren't paying much attention to her, there was nothing she wanted more than to be with her family again.
This is a really good novel, full of palpable adventure, and creepy characters and environments. And it's not just the descriptions that create the creepy ambiance, but the dialogue too. The "other mother" is very tricky, and subtle in her lies and deceptions. Coraline rises to the occasion, however, and delivers a creative, satisfying ending, besting the "other mother" at her own game.
If you or your kids don't mind slightly horrific scenarios and characters, then you'll likely receive this well. Note: This book was adapted into movie form, and it was well received.
Note: This book was adapted into movie form (clay/stop animation I believe,) and it was well received. You might want to check that out too.1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Coraline discovers an alternate reality though a small door that at first, seems to open onto a bricked up wall in the new house that her family has moved into; but in fact leads her to her Other Mother and Other Father. Coraline's Other Parents extend a tempting invitation to remain in this Other place which is very much like the one she has left; but much better in terms of the food, care and, attention from parents that Coraline craves.
There is a temptation to view Coraline as something of a dark and distorted version of Alice in Wonderland: there is the young female protagonist, a looking glass, an enigmatic cat, a prandial setting in which the absurd reigns... and yet, to insist on this analogy would diminish Gaiman's work as merely derivative ---- which it certainly is not, at least not in the pejorative sense. There are certainly multiple influences, literary in form and style that have come to bear in this young adult tale; but it would be more apropos to consider Coraline as the extension of literary tradition. e.g. that of the Knight's Tale or even of the troubadour tradition.
The tenth anniversary edition of Coraline also includes interviews with Neil Gaiman at the end of the book: the first set of questions & answers are from when the book was first published and the second set of questions & answers are on the occasion of the book's tenth anniversary. Gaiman mentions that Coraline is a book about bravery and it is; but more than that, though Gaiman himself does not draw the correlation, Coraline speaks to the classic tales of heroism and quest that are usually reserved for boys. Coraline is a Knight's Tale for girls: Coraline is an Everygirl who wants for nothing extraordinary, but is cast upon a mission or quest for three things - three things that will engender True Love from a Mother figure and, who ultimately must confront a dragon. The leitmotif of the dragon is introduced in the epigraph by G.K. Chesterton and reinforced with descriptive phases in regard to the antagonist and again underscored in the interviews.
Fairy tales are more than true; not because
they tell us that dragons exist, but because
they tell us that dragons can be beaten.
--- G.K. Chesterton
Coraline is a fairy tale, a Knight's Tale, a very dark tale that draws on some fine literary traditions; but presents the reader with novel and creative images that make it uniquely the work of Gaiman.
For parents: The imagery in Coraline is very dark and may not be appropriate for children who are prone to fearfulness or nightmares, especially of rats, actors and/or the door in your house that leads to the crawl space. Parents may also have to answer questions about parental love, neglect and abuse, smother love, abstract concepts of creativity and parallel universes.
Redacted from the original blog review at dog eared copy, Coraline (10th Anniversary Edition); 10/08/20121 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I bought this for my sister a while ago, and always meant to read it, but in the end I ended up reading it on the HarperCollins site, when they put it up as a free browse inside thing. It's up right now as I write this, but I don't know how long for. It is/was here, though.
Coraline is, I think, aimed at the youngest audience of all Gaiman's books that I've read. That doesn't stop it being slightly creepy, slightly weird, and full of trademark Neil Gaiman observations about things. I loved all the little comments about parents being dumb -- when you're little, parents are, aren't they? It's not often a child knows better, but sometimes they do. I'm still right with Coraline in thinking it's ridiculous to buy something huge in the hopes the kid'll grow into it someday. That's just tempting fate (as proved by me being a mere 5'3", after all my parents' hopes of me being very tall!).
Coraline's pretty short and easy to read, and wasn't even too bad to read on the screen like that. I wish there was more of it, in a sense, since I pretty much swallowed it down in one gulp, but on the other hand, it's just right as it is. It reminded me a little of MirrorMask.1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5It was alright. Very different from the movie. Like way different!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A great spooky, comfort read for both children and adults.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book was absolutely amazing I loved it I will definitely be listening to this again❤️
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/54.5⭐️
i love Neil gaiman. god bless this man, he is truly an amazing author - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5As an introduction to Neil’s writing, I would say that not only this was really fun, it also made me wonder why did I wait so long to start on Neil Gaiman’s work.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Neil Gaiman must be the last true mouthpiece of heaven that Hozier talked about because oh my GOD
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Neil Gaiman’s narration is fabulous and makes the book even creepier! Highly recommend.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Love it so much! 2nd Gaiman book I’ve read so far and this one’s a 5-star ⭐️ In awe about Coraline’s clever character
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I revisited this story for spooky season. It's wonderfully written, spooky and whimsical. It was my favorite as a kid, and I still love it!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wonderful ❣️❣️❣️ Book much more suspenseful than the movie but still both are. Excellent
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An incredible tale of surrealism and deceit, Coraline is a literary masterpiece.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I cannot believe it has taken me this long to read this book. Ok, well I listened to it as it was read by Neil Gaiman himself and his voice is perfection (though FYI listening to this one as you are walking home from work on a dark and dreary night might not be the best idea - I'm a 46 year old women and I was spooked). This is THE perfect book (Just like his other middle grade title The Graveyard Book) for the middle grader. Gaiman is a truly gifted storyteller who never writes down to children, he treats them like the intelligent beings they are. That being said, kids who do not like darker tales, may want to stay away from his work. But I think they will be missing something by skipping this one. Gaiman has created a brilliantly magical world filled with dark creatures, unusual adults and one of the most delightful little heroines. I have to say my favorite parts of the novel included any part that the Cat was in (Yes Gaiman must have cats, as he truly understands them). I also got a kick out of the two retired actress', especially as the one mentioned all the roles my Mother in Law has played. I truly believe the child that picks this up will turn into an adult who loves to read. I am ending this review as it truly saddens me that I cannot express in more articulate and brilliant words how outstanding Gaiman's middle grade novels are. This is a classic my friendFavorite Quotes/Passages“Because,' she said, 'when you're scared but you still do it anyway, that's brave.” “Coraline wondered why so few of the adults she met made any sense.”“The cat dropped the rat between its two front paws. "There are those," it said with a sigh, in tones as smooth as oiled silk, "who have suggested that the tendency of a cat to play with its prey is a merciful one - after all, it permits the occasional funny little running snack to escape, from time to time. How often does your dinner get to escape?” “I think most things are pretty magical, and that it’s less a matter of belief than it is one of just stopping to notice.”
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This is a cute (scary) story, I enjoyed it, but it's not one of my favourite Gaiman novels. I have such good memories of The Graveyard Book, but I'm wondering if that's because I read it so long ago.
Anyway, good read! - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This story has more to it than meets the eye. It is layers upon layers of rich storytelling. Yes, it is a bit scary for young readers, but the overall message of love and family is timeless. Coraline is a strong, smart, and sophisticated heroine. Her relationship with her mother and father is believable as is her personality. The dialogue is well-written and the images jump off the pages. It is a great read and both children and adults will love it.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Coraline is textbook Gaiman: a fantastical adventure with its fair share of creepy. A compact horror/fantasy novella that'll make you rethink buttons forever.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A short and fun read. It was amazing to see what the movie was based on. Well written and well narrated!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I loved the different ways the narrator would speak. This was a bit different than the movie, and in that, I enjoyed it even more!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This was great! From beginning to end: the music, the author's narration, the plot, the characters... Listening to the story is quite the experience, I was very involved into Coraline's aventure and I even got frightened a couple times (many times actually). I'm looking forward to get more Neil Gaiman's books. And this is definitely one I think everyone (child or adult) intereses in a dark, quick read, should get to know.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5If you are a fan of N.G. Books and Tim Burton’s screenplay I implore you to give this book a listen. Loved it better than the movie! It was nice to envision it all in my head on my commutes.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It also sounds good in audio especially with the extra sounds which makes it mysterious.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I like Mr. Gaiman's style. He reminds me somewhat of Ray Bradbury. This book held my attention throughout and was quite the enjoyable read/listen.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A book that got read to me when I was smaller, but for some reason, I never got the ending. I'm now happy to get that ending. Not my favorite book but I feel like it's a chapter I can close now.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Love all of Neil Gaimans’ work!
I’ve seen the movie many, many times, but have yet to read the book. Of course, I compared them in my mind.. not much is different to be honest.
Young Coraline is bored with life, and happens to stumble upon something out of this world. Is she quick witted enough to save everyone? With vibes of Alice falling down the rabbit hole, Coraline must journey through the unknown and watch her every step along the way.