I chose this book for the challenge (R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril VI!) because I was curious why a children’s novel would be kept in the horror section at Chapters. Also, the reviews were good - one said it is one of the scariest books ever (by the mysterious Lemony Snicket).
I don’t know about horror or even scary, but the imagery is definitely vibrantly dark and twisted at times, in an easy-to-stomach kind of way. It does make for a great children’s novel and slightly reminded me of a darker - and smarter - Alice in a nightmarish wonderland which includes a black cat and a lot of apples.
Coraline is a brave and intelligent girl who is bored and discontented with her life. She is looking for some serious adventure and stumbles across a hidden portal in her new home which leads her to a parallel reality – one darker and more dangerous than her real life. She has to learn to face her fears (the things that scare her, not just the scary things) and find strategies to escape – especially from her other mother (how cool).
All ends well and Coraline discovers how precious her real life is and learns to appreciate the stars, the sky, the trees – and her family – just the way they are.
The author says he’s most proud of this book and I can see why, in a really subtle way. In the intro he also says he came up with the name Coraline because of a typo and relayed that a science fiction author once told him that writers should cherish their typing mistakes. In this case I think that wisdom rings true. That he wrote this makes me like him, and Coraline, even more.
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