Neil Gaiman

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.

Coraline

In Coraline's family's new flat there's a locked door. On the other side is a brick wall—until Coraline unlocks the door . . . and finds a passage to another flat in another house just like her own. Only different. The food is better there. Books have pictures that writhe and crawl and shimmer. And there's another mother and father there who want Coraline to be their little girl. They want to change her and keep her with them. . . . Forever. Coraline is an extraordinary fairy tale/nightmare from the uniquely skewed imagination of #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman.

⋆.˚⭒⋆𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆⋆⭒˚.⋆

"Because," she said, "when you're scared but you still do it anyway, that's brave."

lily

“Sharper than a serpent's tooth," she said, "is a daughter's ingratitude. Still, the proudest spirit can be broken, with love." 

"Because," she said, “when you're scared but you still do it anyway, that's brave." 

Coraline ventures through a mysterious door into a world that is similar, yet disturbingly different from her own, where she must challenge a gruesome entity in order to save herself, her parents, and the souls of three others.

Nica

"I don't want whatever I want. Nobody does. Not really. What kind of dun would it be if I just got everything I ever wanted? Just like that, and it didn't mean anything. What then?"

"And what if you do everything you swore you would? What then? Nothing's changed. You'll go home. You'll be bored. You'll be ignored. No one will listen to you, not really listen to you. You're to clever and too quiet for them to understand. They don't even get your name right."

It is always easier to be afraid of something you cannot see.

Nobody sensible believes in ghosts anyway-that's because they're all such liars.

"The names are the first thing to go, after the breath is gone, and the beating of the heart. We keep our memories longer than our names."

"Sharper than a serpent's tooth," she said, "is the daughter's ingratitude. Still, the proudest spirit can be broken, with love."

"Mirrors," she said, "are never to be trusted."

"But how can you walk away from something and still come back to it?"

"Easy," said the cat. "Think of somebody walking around the world. You start out walking away from something and end up coming back to it."

It is astonishing just how much of what we are can be tied to the beds we wake up in in the morning, and it is astonishing how fragile that can be.

I will be brave, thought Coraline. No, I am brave.

"When you're scared but you still do it anyway, that's brave."

"No," said the cat. "Now, you people have names. That's because you don't know who you are. We know who we are, so we don't need names."

i always love neil gaiman's introductions/forewords

Being brave didn't mean you weren't scared. Being brave meant you were scared, really scared, badly scared, and you did the right thing anyway.

Iris van der zanden

The cat wrinkled its nose and managed to look unimpressed. 'Calling cats,' it confided, 'tends to be a rather overrated activity. Might as well call a whirlwind.'

Misfortune

Miss Spink and Miss Forcible made apoint of telling Coraline how dangerous the well was, and they warned her to be sure she kept away from it.So Coraline set off to explore for it, so that she knew where it was,tokeep away from it properly.

raia – inactive

“How do I know you’ll keep your word?” asked Coraline.

“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.”

“No,” said Coraline. “I don’t see. And I don’t believe it either.”

The #1 New York Times bestselling author's critically acclaimed novel for readers of all ages, now in a special trade paperback edition. . . . “One of the most truly frightening books ever written.”--New York Times Behind a locked door, a young girl discovers a passage to a world eerily similar yet darkly different from her own in this remarkable fable from the acclaimed modern master.

Quand j’ai lu ce passage, j’ai été frappée par la magnificence de cette métaphore cachée. En ayant en tête le film, on comprend que l’autre mère est indirectement comparée à une araignée, et ce passage l’illustre parfaitement : elle crée tout un monde pour s’emparer de Coraline, comme une araignée tisse une toile pour capturer des mouches. Le roman en entier repose sur ces trois phrases, j’en ai été renversée.

Maelie Dolbec

- Il est bien assez étendu pour elle, en tout cas, commenta le chat. Une toile d'araignée n'a pas besoin d'être immense : il suffit qu'elle soit assez grande pour attraper les mouches. » 

avarni

It was true: the other mother loved her. But she loved Coraline as a miser loves money, or a dragon loves its gold. In the other mother's button eyes, Coraline knew that she was a possession, nothing more. A tolerated pet, whose behaviour was no longer amusing.

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

'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.'

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and could not put it down. It's short, but incredibly good. Gaiman does a fantastic job with his descriptions and his wording. It kept me engaged the whole time. I was never bored and things progress at a relatively quick pace so I was always eager to read more! It was also very creepy. The book is way more creepier than the movie. 

Suzy

As a kid I was terrified of the movie but as much as I hate to say it I’ve grown such an appreciation for this story! The movie was good but the book was great!!

ophelia ross 

This book is a bit faster paced in comparison to the movie, which i absolutely love and can watch over and over again forever. I was afraid the book would be completely different and make me think differently of the movie (as a lot of book to movie adaptations have) but I love how much of the book made it into the movie. 

Overall, a really great simple fast read, especially for a “kids” book, it does great to set a scene. 

This book is a bit faster paced in comparison to the movie, which i absolutely love and can watch over and over again forever. I was afraid the book would be completely different and make me think differently of the movie (as a lot of book to movie adaptations have) but I love how much of the book made it into the movie. 

Overall, a really great simple fast read, especially for a “kids” book, it does great to set a scene. 

There is something strange about Coraline's new home. It's not the mist, or the cat that always seems to be watching her, nor the signs of danger that Miss Spink and Miss Forcible, her new neighbours, read in the tea leaves. It's the other house - the one behind the old door in the drawing room. Another mother and father with black-button eyes and papery skin are waiting for Coraline to join them there. And they want her to stay with them. For ever. She knows that if she ventures through that door, she may never come back.

Scarlett

Yo soy súper fanatica de la película y tenía que leerme el libro 
En si me gusto, pero siento que todo iba muy rápido era como que no te dejaban procesar una cosa para lanzarte otra

Maureen

"Be wise. Be brave. Be tricky."

***

Revisiting a childhood story! I watched the movie a long time ago, so I was happy to find a secondhand copy of the book in the marketplace. 5 stars because I loved the movie and the book did not disappoint. Simple yet great storytelling by Gaiman; it was fun to imagine the events of the movie play out in my head whilst reading.

Terry Benzie

Delightfully dark story that reminds me that I need to read more children's literature as it is always a good investment, especially if it is as well-written as this book. I'd previously read (and immensely enjoyed) The Graveyard Book and this is of a similar vein. This is certainly worth coming back to for a re-read.

/3.5 ⭐️’s/ This book was good! I enjoyed it but for the first time I will say I liked the movie better. The movie felt more put together and the book felt overly descriptive which I didn’t enjoy sadly. But overall I still liked it and will buy the physical copy. I will say I missed Wybie and didn’t know he wasn’t a part of the actual story and was just made for the movie 😭.

Helene Collon

Amelia P

I always wanted to watch Coraline but I just couldn’t find it on any streaming platforms… so I bought the book and it was totally worth it. The story was amazing and thrilling through and through!!

Emma

id probably read this book whenever i miss my parents :"]

Bria

i used to be terrified of the movie and for no reason bc this is worst. i'm scary lol

Leon

Léa

So easy and terrifying and genuinely good

Miranda Hall

Hanna Rybchynska

This was a fun and fast read! 
Would recommend if you liked other Neil Gaman's books.

Chloé

Okay I loved this. Not as creepy as the film. But just as whimsical. I listened to the audiobook with Gaimen and he is a great narrator. I love Gaiman as a writer as this cemented that.

This edition of New York Times bestselling and Newbery Medal-winning author Neil Gaiman’s modern classic, Coraline—also an Academy Award-nominated film—is enriched with a foreword from the author, a reader's guide, and much more. 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. This enhanced edition contains the full text of the novel, plus the following bonus content: Original Coraline manuscript pages Coraline’s Many Houses: A Retrospective Video: The official Coraline Movie Trailer An excerpt from the Coraline Graphic Novel , adapted and illustrated by P. Craig Russell Audio: Coraline Graphic Novel Podcast Audio: Music from the Coraline audiobook, performed by the Gothic Archies Excerpts from other books by Neil Gaiman with illustrations by Dave McKean: The Graveyard Book, The Wolves in the Walls, The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish, and Crazy Hair Coraline Foreign Edition Cover Gallery

Coraline 10th Anniversary Enhanced Edition

read this before going to bed for the last few days and i’d like to say that reading the book now was creepier than watching the movie when i was a kid,, neil gaiman u are a gem

zoe ☘︎

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 Graphic Novel

Sarah Sammis

A year ago my family went through a Coraline frenzy. With the film coming out my husband saw that I had a copy of Gaiman's book and decided to read it. He hadn't yet become a fan of the author's books so was reading it out of skepticism. When he loved it he lent the book to his family. When we got the book back he read it to our son (then six) who thought the Other Mother was the coolest book monster ever.

After the book reading frenzy we rented the film which I loved. Although I adore most of the things by Gaiman that I've read, Coraline didn't wow me as much as it did the rest of my family. The film did, though. When we rented the film we didn't show it to either Sean or Harriet, feeling they were both too young for it.

Sean though, having heard of the movie through friends at school pestered us to see it (for about six month). I decided to test his readiness by getting P. Craig Russell's adaptation of the novel as a graphic novel. I figured if he liked seeing the Other Mother in that form he could handle an animated version of her. Sean ended up reading the book in about a week. It was a hit and he showed it to his sister.

Anyway before I returned the book to the library I read it to. I still prefer the film to either version of the book but I see it as a sliding scale. At one end is the book and at the other end is the film. Bridging the gap is the graphic novel.

Now please don't get the wrong idea; Russell doesn't change the text of Gaiman's novel. He doesn't introduce characters like the film does. But his visuals are similar. The house looks a good deal like the Pink Lady in film and the location is once again moved from Britain to the United States.

Since Sean ended loving the graphic novel and the original novel, we re-rented the movie and let him and Harriet see it. Although Harriet had a few hide behind the couch moments she stuck with hit through the end (about six times too) with her brother. Sean loved it, even the changes. Yesterday I saw the film on sale and bought a copy for our DVD collection. We've already watched our copy twice.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman is a book I meant to read at the start of the year. I loaned it to my family who also wanted to read it, thinking I could find a copy in my library. With the movie still relatively new, the book was always checked out. By the time I had the book back I had other things I was reading. Eight months passed before I finally got it read.

With my husband and mother in law both having read it and loved it I came to the book with exceptionally high expectations. I had also read and loved a number of other Gaiman books this year. It has all the elements I normally enjoy: an adventure involving an old house, a secret door, "other" versions of characters, magic, danger, ghosts and so forth. But somehow it just didn't knock me over like The Graveyard Book did. 

Coraline and her parents have moved into an old house that like so many old homes in Britain has been divided into flats. It's summer but an unusually cool and rainy one and Coraline's parents are too busy to entertain her as she's cooped up inside. In exploring the house she comes to meet the other neighbors, none of whom can remember her name; they all call her Caroline. She also finds a locked door that leads to a brick wall.

Locked or bricked doors are never an obstacle for long in this sort of book. Coraline does find her way to the other side of the door and encounters a magical but off putting interpretation of her own world, populated with "other" versions: Other Mother, Other Father, and Other Neighbors. Despite some alluring qualities to this other world, she quickly realizes she had best stick to her own world.

CoralineAgain, trips through portals are ever that simple. Coraline like Richard Mayhew (of Gaiman's Neverwhere) finds that things are not right in her world and the only way to fix them is to go back. Coraline has a lot of similarities with the older Neverwhere. There are doors to places that most people don't know about and doors where doors shouldn't be. There are mice and rats who bring messages. There is an ordinary protagonist who must give up everything to be a hero.

But there is something lacking in Coraline too. Although it is maybe a third the length of Neverwhere, it took me three times as long to read it. It did not hold my attention. I had to go back and re-read long sections to see what had just happened. Had I not been planning to see the film, I would have left the book unfinished.

I did want to see the film, having listened to the haunting sound track by Bruno Coulais. The film is very different from the book; a new setting, scenes moved around and the back story flushed out. The narrator is replaced by a new character named Wybie who serves to turn much of the lengthy descriptions into dialogue. So the book moves from Britain to Ashland, Oregon and the time of year to winter. I liked the changes between book and film and plan to get a copy for my DVD collection.

maitha mana

A good all hallows-read by the creator himself.

river

honestly i had fun which is all that matters .. and it got me out of my months long reading slump so .. thank you coraline

𓆨

i know i shouldn't compare but the movie goes harder

This makes a nice spooky tale for children and maybe I should rate the book according to that standard? Maybe, and i'd definitely recommend this book to my nieces and nephews. It has suspense, a moral lesson, adventure, mystery, and middle-grade appropriate horror which is pretty fun but not too much that you'd be scared to put this under your pillow. But aside from a subjective evaluation of how this book ticks boxes, i didn't feel anything strong when I read this. 3.5 lah.

Zahra

What a quick and fun yet creepy read! I really enjoy it. Haven't read the book but now I really want to.

Coraline

Reviews

Highlights