I checked out Coraline because Neil Gaiman’s Newbery Award-winning work, The Graveyard Book, wasn’t available. But if The Graveyard Book is anything like Coraline, it’s no wonder it won the Newbery for excellence in children’s books! The first time I heard about Coraline was when the movie came out – I didn’t know that it was written as a children’s book by a Newbery Award-winning author. The movie looked dark and didn’t intrigue me too much but I’m glad I picked up the book (and now, of course, want to see the movie any way)!
At first, I was frustrated with Coraline’s life – it seems dull and lonely, she only has a few adult neighbors for company in a building stuck a ways out of town, so it seems she’s frequently forced to entertain herself and her somewhat disinterested parents don’t really treat her like the inquisitive, energetic child that she is.
When Coraline first steps into the mysterious house that parallels her own, I was ready for some adventure to come into her life, and so is Coraline! But as the somewhat sinister plot unfolds – with her “other” mother eerily following her, doting on her a bit too much and watching her with her strange button eyes – it makes the reader and Coraline alike long for the REAL house with its REAL neighbors in the REAL (if boring) neighborhood and REAL (if somewhat distracted) parents.
But there’s no easy way to get out of what Coraline has stumbled into. She must fulfill her bargain with her “other” mother, one that this mother will stop at almost nothing to see fail.
Although Coraline didn’t win a Newbery, the writing style and themes are none-the-less engaging and well thought-out. And although the book seeks to show readers a darker side of love – a side that can be dangerous and selfish and all-consuming – and although, yes, some of the characters are creepy and eerie, it’s not overwhelmingly so for the demographic toward which its geared.
After Coraline, I can’t wait to read The Graveyard Book!
