Coraline by Neil Gaiman

The day after they moved in, Coraline went exploring....

In Coraline's family's new flat are twenty-one windows and fourteen doors. Thirteen of the doors open and close.

The fourteenth is locked, and on the other side is only a brick wall, until the day Coraline unlocks the door to find a passage to another flat in another house just like her own.

Only it's different.

At first, things seem marvelous in the other flat. The food is better. The toy box is filled with wind-up angels that flutter around the bedroom, books whose pictures writhe and crawl and shimmer, little dinosaur skulls that chatter their teeth. But there's another mother, and another father, and they want Coraline to stay with them and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go.

Other children are trapped there as well, lost souls behind the mirrors. Coraline is their only hope of rescue. She will have to fight with all her wits and all the tools she can find if she is to save the lost children, her ordinary life, and herself.

Critically acclaimed and award-winning author Neil Gaiman will delight readers with his first novel for all ages.

Okay, so originally, The Peeb reviewed this book. It sounded fairly interesting and then Jeanius mentioned one day that she owned it. Obviously at that point I asked if I could borrow it and she ended up putting it into the Book Club library.

So I read it. Literally in like an evening, Friday evening in fact. And I have to say, I don't get it. I mean it's an okay enough story but I didn't really think it was scary or frightening. I can see how it might be for the characters (obviously) but it certainly wasn't for me, the reader. And the story line, to be fair, is lame and dull. My other issue with it was that nothing was ever explained. Was she just imagining this fantasy-world escapism or what? What did the Beldam even want with her or the other 3 children she'd captured?

Oh, and what is the deal with her name?! They make quite a thing about people getting it wrong ... fair enough since it doesn't seem all that common to me. But still, why didn't he just call her Caroline then? It didn't really add anything extra to the storyline.

Yeah, a little beyond me. I'm not into the deep and meaningful (if that's in fact even what it was - I remain unconvinced!). I'll stick with murder, mystery and forensic detection, thanks :)

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