Coraline Review by Neil Gaiman | Teen Ink

Coraline Review by Neil Gaiman

January 25, 2018
By Kennarae SILVER, Welch, Minnesota
Kennarae SILVER, Welch, Minnesota
6 articles 0 photos 0 comments

When I was younger I absolutely hated reading books, but I loved scary things like Goosebumps and The Haunting Hour. When I saw Coraline for the first time I was in love with it. But it took me until I was 14 to read the book, which I do regret not doing sooner. The book is different than the movie, it’s a lot scarier, which I was surprised by because I knew it would be more detailed but I was not expecting the book to be scarier than the movie. Coraline has been through a lot of adaptations even a graphic novel; through all of them Coraline still gives you the same message, which is being brave is being scared. The setting, the people, and the differences are all things that make this book.
     

The first thing that I think needs to be talked about is the setting, in the book it gives you an uneasy feeling at first but as the story goes on you start to get scared. Because you start to understand that just on the other side of the door there's a house full of button eyed people. At first the other house is a wonderland for Coraline, with everything she likes and amazing food.  As the story goes on the house slowly turns into her worst nightmare. The house itself isn’t responsible, it’s the button eyed people inside it.


The people on who live in the flat stay the same in both worlds. Coraline's parents are loving and caring in the real world and its the same way on the other side. The man upstairs is a little weird in both worlds, with his mouse circus. But on the other hand you have Miss Spink and Miss Forcible. They are two very wise women who help Coraline even without knowing it. But in the book and the movie they help Coraline in the same way, unlike some of the things in the movie.


The thing that a lot of people get mixed up on with the book or the movie are the differences. For starters in the movie you have Wybe, a friend of Coraline and a good helper. But he isn’t in the book they only put him in the movie so Coraline didn’t talk to herself a lot. Which I do wish they didn’t put Wybe in there because it sort of took away the spotlight from Coraline. Another thing is the door to the other world, in the book it's full sized, but in the movie it’s just a little door that Coraline can only crawl through. To me I do wish that the door was full sized because a tiny door to me doesn’t make sense to me. And I could go on and on about how many differences there are but you’ll just have to read it yourself.


In conclusion Coraline is a great book, and I do think everyone should read it even though its a kids book. You can learn a lot about bravery and standing up for yourself, being brave is being scared. And if Coraline can stand up to a mother with buttons for eyes I’m pretty sure you could too. But there is one last thing I would like to say, I have read this book and seen the movie countless times but it still scares me. And it makes me think at night if there's someone watching me with their button eyes, waiting for the right time to strike.



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