Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - Coraline

I never realized this movie from my childhood was based on a book. I enjoyed the story telling. The other mother was honestly creepier to read about than to see. I was surprised at how many pieces were added to the movie adaptation.

I didn’t really love the way the story was told. My friend who recommended this book (and whose copy I’m reading) told me he thinks the prose is purposeful. He thinks it pokes fun at the whimsical writing style usually employed by YA authors. To me it just felt clunky and unengaging. That though is truly my only complaint with this book. Appropriately freaky and I got a good sense of who each character was.

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pacifickat's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

Neil Gaiman understands how to write magic, especially dark magic, in a way that makes it feel real and old and timeless. He also picks at the edges of our deepest, most primal fears without revealing too much at a time. Love the way he plays with old magic tropes (black cats, talismen, portals, the monster under the bed, mist) in ways that make them feel both refreshingly new and impossibly ancient at the same time.

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epeolatrist's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

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riverofhorton's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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 want to start this review by saying that this book is firmly on my re-readable pile, and it may well be my new favourite modern horror book. Which I find amazing considering this is a children's book.

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.

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matildag00's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

A great fucking children's book! Such a good atmosphere. Listened to it, narrated by Neil Gaiman and hearing his words in his voice and the added affects and sounds were creeping me the hell out but in such a good way!

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annie_brewer's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

Having read the book after watching the movie, my imagination was spoilt!

However, the colourful imagery from the screen fit in nicely with the tale and I am impressed how strong and accurate the movie adaptation was. The parts of the writing not included in the movie were also able to fit in seamlessly in my reccolection of the movie world and were testament to Gaiman's storytelling writing.

The impatient and paticular temprament of Coraline is exceptionally believable, the oddball characters she encounters are an unsettling delight, and the other mother is the queen of creepy!

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nicolescottwv's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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booknerderika's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious

3.5

I watched the movie before reading the book. It was good, but I wanted the doll with the button eyes and Wybie!! It wasn't as good without him.

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