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chainsawmochi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Recently, I saw that it was available online through the Libby App, via my local library. On a whim, I borrowed the lone copy available and dug in. Life got in the way, as it tends to do; it took me far too long to actually manage to read the entirety of the book. It's not a very long novel, as it is classified as a children's book. Yet every moment spent not reading it was maddening. I wanted so deeply to delve back into the world of "Coraline," back into Gaiman's blunt yet whimsical prose.
Finally, while I was watching for a doctor's appointment today, I finished the book. "Coraline" is a five-star read, no doubt about it. Gaiman has a wonderful ability write in the way I remember thinking as a child. Everything is very matter-of-fact, yet there is magic there, in those words. He crafts a beautiful, disgusting, haunting world that suits Coraline's character very well. I viewed her story as a story of growing up too quickly, of yearning to still be a child, of learning to slow down and appreciate the small things. The things that make us mothers and fathers, children and family. The things that make us human, boring, normal, and unique. Coraline's world is full of juxtapositions and non-sensical parallels. She begins as a child that no one listens to--but by the end, she realizes she was not listening, either.
"Coraline" comes highly recommended if you have an afternoon or two to spend in a world very much like our own, with a few extra shadows and a few extra nightmares at the edges.
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Kidnapping, Child death, and Body horror
pacifickat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Gaslighting, Confinement, Toxic relationship, and Body horror
Moderate: Slavery and Violence
Minor: Kidnapping, Murder, Animal death, and Abandonment
patchthecat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Confinement and Kidnapping
rafacolog's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Death, Kidnapping, and Body horror
epeolatrist's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Body horror, and Child death
Moderate: Abandonment and Kidnapping
riverofhorton's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I found it to be just the right level of horror to be a casual read, which I find I'm most likely to return to in the future. A good portion of the horror content of the horror was of the slightly-to-the-left-of-normal kind, rather than being overt and graphic.
This book offers depth to the world and story, rather than a shower of blood and guts found in some other horror book I've read. Sometimes I think this kind of horror takes more work, and this is even more true when it's a children's book and the author (presumably) knows adults will also read it and so also need to be thrilled. To me, this shows the mastery of the art of writing that Neil Gaiman repeatedly demonstrates.
Graphic: Bullying, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Cannibalism, Physical abuse, Violence, Child abuse, Confinement, Gaslighting, Murder, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Torture, Slavery, Abandonment, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Stalking
matildag00's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Body horror, and Confinement
Moderate: Kidnapping, Abandonment, and Death
Minor: Blood and Animal death
bookb1itch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Kidnapping
booknerderika's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, and Child death
Moderate: Kidnapping, Abandonment, and Death
Minor: Animal death and Blood
lydia_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Minor: Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Kidnapping