Neil Gaiman’s Coraline tells a story about a young girl named Coraline. She and her family have just moved in to a converted house which they share with two retired actresses and ”a crazy old man with a big moustache”. There is a locked door in Coraline’s apartment which opens to a brick wall. Coraline is very curious about it and one day when her parents are away she takes the key and opens the door. Instead of a brick wall she sees a corridor which leads into another apartment almost identical to her own.
In the apartment, Coraline meets her other mother and other father who look just like her real parents but they have black buttons instead of eyes. Coraline’s other mother would like Coraline to stay and she wants to sew black buttons into her eyes too. Coraline refuses and returns home. When the evening comes her parents haven’t come back. And they aren’t back the next day either. Coraline realizes that her other mother has taken her parents prisoners. She must return to the other world if she wants to see her parents ever again.

Even though Neil Gaiman’s Coraline tells the story of a young girl, it definitely isn’t a children’s book. If my parents had read this book to me when I was a child, I would have been scared to death! The book is surprisingly scary for such a short one – mainly because of the twistedness of the other world – but the storyline is simply fascinating. I’d recommend this book to everyone despite their age or interests, but not for young children. Read it if you dare!

Review by Unda.

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