Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Fun, creepy and entertaining
Coraline is bored. Her parents work more than she'd like them too, her clothes are dull, her new home is boring, and the neighbors, though interesting, aren't entertaining enough to hold her interest for long. Eventually she finds her way through a bricked-over doorway into a new world. She meets her kind-but-creepy "Other Parents," enjoys a delicious meal, talks with cats and rats, and plays with new, marvelous toys. Still, she decides to go back to her real parents and her real life. Her "Other Mother," however, has different plans for Coraline. Coraline is a fun and haunting read. I particularly enjoyed the character of Coraline herself - she lacks the supreme self-possession displayed by the protagonists of many other children's books. Sometimes she's a very brave little girl, and at other times she's just a little girl, preoccupied with neon green gloves and boots shaped like frogs. The book has some genuinely creepy moments in it, and may be too scary for younger children. The "Other Mother" in particular, as she increasingly reveals her true self, can be quite frightening. The disconcerting prospect of having buttons sewn on where one's eyes used to be is another unpleasantness that lingered in my mind's eye long after I'd finished the book.
Rating: - great story
I really liked this story. Although Amazon.com lists the reading level as ages 9-12, this is really a great read for older readers as well. It's about a girl named Coraline. She's bored and explores everything in her family's new flat and outside of it. She has quirky neighbors, parents who don't have time to play with her at the moment, and the flat has a door that opens to a brick wall most of the time. When it doesn't, it opens to another flat, exactly like the one her family lives it. The food is better there and everything is more interesting. Unfortunately, her other mother and other father want her to stay there forever.It's a bit predictable at times (for instance, I realized where Coraline's parents were long before she did), but the story is interesting and creepy. It's been a while since I've read anything that put shivers down my spine like this book did. Gaiman's voice didn't always make the story seem very creepy, but the bits where the rats are singing are definitely worth a few shivers. Just a quick note on the cd version, though. Although it's great hearing Gaiman read it, it might be better to get the audio cassette version of it. That way you'd still get to hear him read it and you wouldn't have to deal with the way the book is divided up in the cd. When I listen to a book on cd, I like it best if each track (part of the book) is short, about 5 minutes long, since you can't just stop a cd and be at that exact spot a few hours or days later. This cd breaks up the book at each chapter, which means the tracks are each anywhere from 9 to 22 minutes long. If you don't mind that, that's great, but I just thought I'd warn those who do mind that sort of thing.
Rating: - excellent one-off read
We fellow the adventures of Coraline, a young girl wise beyond her years in the Other House. Gaiman builds an entire world (albeit a small one) that is deliciously creepy and strange. The attention he pays to small details - an eerie theme song guaranteed to give you the shivers, the 'doughy' texture of the Other Father's face, the malicious expression in the Other Picture - are touches that make 'Coraline' a gem and a wicked scare.
However, if I could give 3.5 stars, I would. 'Coraline' is really an excellent one-off read but not worth the price (I own the paperback novel) I felt that without the suspense, much effect is lost upon re-reading the book. It's still an enjoyable read the second time around, but falls short when compared to Gaiman's other works. Coraline as a character lacks emotional depth. While I rooted for her, she's easily forgettable. More interesting characters are the cat and the Other Mother, but they are under-developed (forgivable within the constraints of length of a Children's book)
For children, 'Coraline' is highly recommened. For older readers, I do recommend the book as a light read, but Gaiman has written better.
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