Review Detail

Reader reviewed by Misty

This is an interesting book because I can honestly say I haven't read
it before. I know that sounds obvious, but with kid's books, they can
all blend together and lack originality, and this did not. I think that
was partly because Gaiman didn't try to hold back and keep it gently
creepy, kid appropriate. This is a genuinely creepy book, with a girl
who is held hostage basically by her "other mother" who is certainly
not human, and wants to sew black buttons into her eyes, and who
devours souls. The main character has a nice, distinct voice, and the
book is easy to read (age appropriate) without being dumbed down. As I
am a quote person, here are some of my faves, which give a good insight into this book:



"Small world," said Coraline.

"It's big enough for her," said the cat. "Spiders' webs only have to be large enough to catch flies."



"She kept us and fed on us until we've nothing left of ourselves, only snakeskins and spider husks."



"I swear it," said the other mother. "I swear it on my own mother's grave."

"Does she have a grave?" asked Coraline.

"Oh yes," said the other mother. "I put her in there myself. And when I found her trying to crawl out, I put her back."



The sky was a robin's egg blue, and Coraline could see trees and,
beyond the trees, green hills, which faded on the horizon into purples
and grays. The sky had never seemed so sky, and the world had never
seemed so world.