When Coraline steps through a door in her family's new house, she finds another house, strangely similar to her own (only better). At first, things seem marvelous. The food is better than at home, and the toy box is filled with fluttering wind-up angels and dinosaur skulls that crawl and rattle their teeth.

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 all the tools she can find if she is to save herself and return to her ordinary life.

This beloved tale has now become a visual feast. Acclaimed artist P. Craig Russell brings Neil Gaiman's enchanting nationally bestselling children's book Coraline to new life in this gorgeously illustrated graphic novel adaptation.

Coraline lives with her preoccupied parents in part of a huge old house--a house so huge that other people live in it, too... round, old former actresses Miss Spink and Miss Forcible and their aging Highland terriers ("We trod the boards, luvvy") and the mustachioed old man under the roof ("'The reason you cannot see the mouse circus,' said the man upstairs, 'is that the mice are not yet ready and rehearsed.'") Coraline contents herself for weeks with exploring the vast garden and grounds. But with a little rain she becomes bored--so bored that she begins to count everything blue (153), the windows (21), and the doors (14). And it is the 14th door that--sometimes blocked with a wall of bricks--opens up for Coraline into an entirely alternate universe. Now, if you're thinking fondly of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe or Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, you're on the wrong track. Neil Gaiman's Coraline is far darker, far stranger, playing on our deepest fears. And, like Roald Dahl's work, it is delicious.

What's on the other side of the door? A distorted-mirror world, containing presumably everything Coraline has ever dreamed of... people who pronounce her name correctly (not "Caroline"), delicious meals (not like her father's overblown "recipes"), an unusually pink and green bedroom (not like her dull one), and plenty of horrible (very un-boring) marvels, like a man made out of live rats. The creepiest part, however, is her mirrored parents, her "other mother" and her "other father"--people who look just like her own parents, but with big, shiny, black button eyes, paper-white skin... and a keen desire to keep her on their side of the door. To make creepy creepier, Coraline has been illustrated masterfully in scritchy, terrifying ink drawings by British mixed-media artist and Sandman cover illustrator Dave McKean. This delightful, funny, haunting, scary as heck, fairy-tale novel is about as fine as they come. Highly recommended. (Ages 11 and older) --Karin Snelson

Customer Rating:
Summary: Coraline
Comment: This book is . . . refreshingly creepy but a GREAT read. I recomend this book to anyone ages 10 and up. :)

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A twist on normal fantasy novels
Comment: All of my friends said "Do not read this book. It's really scary." Naturally, when someone says that it makes you want to read the book even more, so I read it. It was a fairly easy read, and interesting as well. I didn't think it was scary at all though. I would definitely not call it horror, it was a fantasy book. The story line was entertaining and action packed. The characters were very well thought up and the descriptions of them precise. The end was wrapped up very nicely, and I think even a hint of comedy shone through. Absolutely a great book. Even if you do think it is scary, it is not gory. I reccomend it for anybody wanting a change from normal fantasy books.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: amazing
Comment: Me myself was never fond of creepy, scary books. Coraline is the first scary book that I really enjoyed.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: P. Craig Russell Steals Gaiman's Magic...Again
Comment: CORALINE is a wonderful book...one of the best children's/Young Adult books ever penned (although I know more adults who've had the heebie jeebies scared out of them by this fine novel). For reasons unknown, Neil Gaiman seems to allow artist P. Craig Russell to adapt Gaiman's prose work, turning them into "graphic novels." It's not a match made in heaven. Russell's illustrations add NOTHING to Gaiman's fine prose. If anything, Russell's illustrations tend to steal the thunder of unleashed & wild imagination that comes from reading a Gaiman story or novel. P. Craig Russell's artwork is pedestrian (at best)and, truth be told, "mundane" would be a more accurate word to describe it. His illustrations are so mediocre that they actually detract from Gaimans' fine storytelling abilities. I do not know why they continue this collaboration...perhaps they're trying to hit the audience with Attention Deficiency Disorder, those who might not otherwise read a book unless EVERY last detail is reproduced in colorful illustration. Much of CORALINE'S magic works in the same way that old radio programs worked (in the pre-television days) or the way songs worked so well (in the pre-MTV days)..Gaiman's prose allows the reader to open up the mind's cathedrals to conjure up our own nightmarish & magical worlds. Russell's intrusion on this sacred bond between writer & reader breaks an otherwise near-sacred relationship. A movie version of this book? Yes. I can see how this will allow the story to flourish in a new way and direction (although I imagine some of the more gripping psychological aspects of CORALINE might be lost when released in cinema houses...of course, this remains to be seen). As with P. Craig Russell's other adaptations of Neil Gaiman's prose works, his illustrations only cheapen what are otherwise masterfully told stories. Please DO NOT think that I am knocking P. Craig Russell's known abilities/skill as an artist: his collaboration with Neil Gaiman on an ORIGINAL/JOINT effort, such as their joint work on SANDMAN'S "Ramadan" remains one of the finest comic books in existence. However, Russell's adaptations of Gaiman's prose work are worlds removed from their beautiful, landmark issue of SANDMAN...and, instead, makes the CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED comics of old seem like masterpieces by comparison. I'd love nothing more than to see Gaiman/Russell collaborate on a comic-book such as "Ramadan" (or the later SANDMAN-related story "Death in Venice"). However, Russell & Gaiman should do their reputations...as well as their readers...a favor and stop creating graphic novels out of Gaiman's fine prose. It insults Gaiman's legacy, as well insulting the intelligence of Gaiman's readers.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Downloading from Audible
Comment: Coraline is great and I would recommend buying the audio version, but stay away from Audible, Amazon.com's "trusted partner" in audio books. It requires the installation of software to even download the audio file and if you want to play it on your PC, don't even think about using your favorite media player. Compare this to songs bought and downloaded off Amazon.com itself which are DRM free and in MP3 format. (Note: Good job with that Amazon). Even iTunes, which I normally shun, may have been better.
An advantage theoretically would be that it can be transferred to any MP3 player, but guess what, doesn't work on my Creative MP3 player despite advertising that it does. What a surprise.
Bottom line: Good sound quality, the actual product is perfect, but the delivery is distasteful if you like having an MP3 format and nobody constantly looking over your shoulder, buy the CD. I would give Coraline 5/5, Audible 1/5. Regretting the purchase from Audible, I must admit.

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