Stephanie Zvirin (Booklist, Aug. 1, 2002 (Vol. 98, No. 22))
Coraline has recently moved with her preoccupied parents into a flat in an old house. The neighbors above and below are odd but friendly: Mr. Bobo trains mice; elderly Misses Spink and Forcible serve her tea and tell her fortune. No one lives in the flat next door. But Coraline knows better, and one evening she discovers what's there: a tantalizing alternate world, filled with toys and food (unlike any of the boring stuff she has at home) and weird-- though wonderfully attentive--parents, who happen to have black button eyes sewn on with dark thread. Although her "other parents" beg her to stay, she decides to leave, but by doing so Coraline sets in motion a host of nightmarish events that she must remedy alone. Gaiman, well known for his compelling adult horror novels (see "The Booklist Interview," opposite), seems less sure of himself with a younger age group. His "nowhere wonderland" setting (think Alice on acid) is magical, deliciously eerie, and well captured in the text and in McKean's loose, angular sketches. But the goings-on are murky enough to puzzle some kids and certainly creepy enough to cause a few nightmares (ignore the publisher's suggestion that this is suitable for eight-year-olds). What's more, Coraline is no naive Alice. She's a bundle of odd contradictions that never seem to gel--confident, outspoken, self-sufficient one moment; a whiny child the next. Gaiman's construct offers a chilling and empowering view of children, to be sure, but young readers are likely to miss such subtleties as the clever allusions to classic horror movies and the references to the original dark tales by the Brothers Grimm. Gaiman has written an often-compelling horror novel, but, as with so many adult authors who attempt to reach young readers, his grasp of his audience is less sure than his command of his material. Category: Books for Older Readers--Fiction. 2002, HarperCollins, $15.99, $17.89. Gr. 5-8.

Joan Kindig, Ph.D. (Children's Literature)
Coraline and her family have moved to a new flat and life continues as normal. Mom and Dad are always busy and she is always bored. When her father offhandedly suggests that she count the doors and windows in their new home to keep her busy, Coraline finds one mysterious door that is locked. Intrigued, Coraline finds the key, opens the door, and finds herself in a very different world. Here, her parents are at the ready to entertain her and keep her happy. This "Other Mother" even cooks everything she likes. At first she thinks this is wonderful, but when she realizes that this Other Mother does not want her to return home, Coraline becomes determined to resist. Coraline makes one trip back home only to find that her real parents have disappeared. Knowing that the Other Mother is behind all this, Coraline returns to find out what has become of her real parents. With the help of a black cat, Coraline manages not only to resist the Other Mother but finds other children who have fallen under her spell. Ultimately, Coraline frees the children and makes sure that the Other Mother can harm no one else. Coraline ends up returning home to her real Mom and Dad and appreciates them in a way she never did before. This story provides a good edge-of-your-seat read without being terribly frightening. For those children who like to be scared, Gaiman's novel is a well-written alternative to Goosebumps. 2002, HarperCollins, $15.99. Ages 8 up.

Susie Wilde (Children's Literature)
Neil Gaiman creates Coraline, a plucky heroine who saves the day in this spooky story. At the book's beginning she describes herself as bored. Her parents mean little to her until they are parent-napped by the Other Mother. The Other Mother is really an evil force who exists in a frightening parallel world. She resembles Coraline's mother except that she has black buttons sewn into her eyes and has a habit of stealing humans just for the thrill of it. Coraline, adept at adventuring, overcomes this powerful force by using her wiles and wit. Gaiman wrote this novel years ago, but it was judged too frightening for children. It isn't. Gaiman was right to trust children's steel nerves. Too bad he didn't trust them. Plunging directly into his story would have won young readers over quickly. Instead, they must wade through the Gaiman's child-phobic preamble. He spends almost a third of the book getting chummy with children. Gaiman works to win his audience, with comments like "Coraline knew that when adults told you it wouldn't hurt, it almost always did." The adult characters are paper-thin stereotypes of disinterested grownups. Coraline's parents are narcissistic and show little emotional attachment to their child. Not that she deserves it. In the book's beginning, Coraline's only use for her parents is their satisfaction of her every whim. This brattiness is the counterpoint for Coraline's growth, but will readers get through the first part of the book? If Gaiman was really buddy-buddy with children, he would know they have no compunction at closing an uninteresting book quickly. 2002, Morrow, $15.99. Ages 10 up.

CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices, 2003)
Some teens will be familiar with Neil Gaiman's work as creator of the Sandman graphic novels. Coraline is Gaiman's first novel written specifically for older children and young teens, and it's deliciously scary, perfect for those who like spine-tingling reading. The novel is about Coraline, who finds a mysterious passageway in her new home that leads to another flat strikingly like her own, right down to the furniture in the rooms and the pictures on the walls. There is also a mother and father there-and they look and sound a lot like Coraline's own parents, with the exception of their pale skin and button eyes. And unlike her real parents, Coraline's "other" mother and father, as they call themselves, seem eager to spend time with her. Too eager. When they show Coraline the pair of black buttons they've been saving just for her, she swiftly retreats to the safety of her real home, only to find her real parents are missing. They've been taken prisoner by her "other" mother to lure Coraline back to that frightening place. Coraline goes, uncertain of her bravery but sure in her determination to get her parents back. Gaiman's eery, edgy story features a world that is an empty, chilling mockery of Coraline's real life, and one frightening turn of events after the other. But that world-and the story-is warmed and tempered by the courage and heart of its hero. Illustrator David McKean has worked with Gaiman on some of the Sandman titles and other ventures. In Coraline, his occasional black-and-white illustrations enhance the story's gothic feel, while his cover image will help attract readers who like to be scared while deterring those who don't. CCBC categories: Fiction For Children; Fiction For Young Adults. 2002, HarperCollins, 162 pages, $15.99. Ages 10-14.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, June 15, 2002 (Vol. 70, No. 12))
A magnificently creepy fantasy pits a bright, bored little girl against a soul-eating horror that inhabits the reality right next door. Coraline's parents are loving, but really too busy to play with her, so she amuses herself by exploring her family's new flat. A drawing-room door that opens onto a brick wall becomes a natural magnet for the curious little girl, and she is only half-surprised when, one day, the door opens onto a hallway and Coraline finds herself in a skewed mirror of her own flat, complete with skewed, button-eyed versions of her own parents. This is Gaiman's (American Gods, 2001, etc.) first novel for children, and the author of the Sandman graphic novels here shows a sure sense of a child's fears-and the child's ability to overcome those fears. "I will be brave," thinks Coraline. "No, I am brave." When Coraline realizes that her other mother has not only stolen her real parents but has also stolen the souls of other children before her, she resolves to free her parents and to find the lost souls by matching her wits against the not-mother. The narrative hews closely to a child's-eye perspective: Coraline never really tries to understand what has happened or to fathom the nature of the other mother; she simply focuses on getting her parents back and thwarting the other mother for good. Her ability to accept and cope with the surreality of the other flat springs from the child's ability to accept, without question, the eccentricity and arbitrariness of her own-and every child's own-reality. As Coraline's quest picks up its pace, the parallel world she finds herself trapped in grows ever more monstrous, generating some deliciously eerie descriptive writing. Not for the faint-hearted-who are mostly adults anyway-but for stouthearted kids who love a brush with the sinister: Coraline is spot on. 2002, HarperCollins, $15.99. Category: Fiction. Ages 9 to 12. Starred Review. © 2002 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Vicki Arkoff (Midwest Book Review, "Vicki's Bookshelf" column, November 2002)
The first novel for children by best-selling adult novelist Neil Gaiman ("The Sandman," "American Gods") is a surreal masterpiece that makes other ghost stories pale by comparison. It's a creepy, gothic "Alice In Wonderland" in which a self-sufficient, inquisitive and neglected girl seeks excitement by embarking on a nightmarish adventure in her own rambling, old home. She mysteriously passes through the bricked-up entrance to an "empty" apartment next door, where she finds a frightening-yet-alluring alternate universe that distortedly mirrors her own. Here is Coraline's "other mother," except for her black button eyes, paper-white skin and spidery fingers. Unlike Coraline's distracted real father, her "other father" takes time to talk with her, until he devolves into a murderous grub. Yet in this nightmarish place, people yearn to be with her. They pronounce her name correctly, cook her delicious food, and provide her with wondrous toys. So why is their desperate desire to keep her "for ever and always" so menacing? When she discovers that the souls of her true parents are at stake -- and the souls of less fortunate children who have gone before her -- Coraline rises to the challenge, bravely facing her own deepest fears to save them...and herself. Eccentric neighbors provide unique subplots and additional "Alice in Wonderland" parallels, particularly the quizzical Cheshire cat clone, which provides Coraline with clues to her salvation. Elements of psychological terror (think Edgar Alan Poe) and frightful fairy tales (the Brothers Grimm) lend distinctly Victorian chills to the haunting tale, yet Coraline is a thoroughly modern filly of a protagonist: a genuine heroine to be admired and cheered on by sleepless generations to come. 2002, Harper Collins, 166 pages, $15.99.

Laura Bullock (The ALAN Review, Winter 2003 (Vol. 30, No. 2))
Educators and parents: Here is a book you will actually want to read alongside your charge! Almost like a Buddhist sutra with its complex themes veiled by more simplistic ones, Coraline does not disappoint. If you are looking for a twist on an old standard--a black cat instead of a rabbit, a couple of washed-up actresses in place of Tweedledee and Tweedledum, and a parade of mice replacing a retinue of other worldy creatures--it is all in this phantasmagoric fantastical horror novel. Coraline is Alice in Wonderland set in the 21st Century. Themes in the book include the power of imagination, the relationship of parents to their children, and a child's emerging sense of self, and how this growing individuality leads to the development of courage and fortitude to face life's difficulties. Because of graphic depictions and startlingly vivid imagery, I would be likely to suggest a middle school and older readership. Category: Fantasy/Adventure/Horror. YA--Young Adult. 2002, HarperCollins Publishers, 176pp., $15.99. Ages young adult.Petal, Mississippi

Kate McDowell (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, November 2002 (Vol. 56, No. 3))
Coraline and her parents have just moved into a big old house that has been divided into several apartments, and Coraline has been meeting a cast of oddball but friendly neighbors. One strange architectural feature of her new home is a door that opens only to reveal a brick wall. Coraline finds this door intriguing, especially the day she opens it and, instead of the wall, finds a passageway. On the other end she finds a home identical to her own, complete with two people who call themselves her “other parents”; the only physical difference between these people and her real parents is their eyes: “[Their] eyes were buttons, big and black and shiny.” Thus begins a nightmare that doesn’t stop until Coraline escapes and, in a gruesome conclusion, throws her “other mother’s” evil disembodied hand into the pit of a dark well. The nearly candy-coated opening, in which Coraline blithely explores her new neighborhood, provides a perfect complement to the creepy, bug-and-rat infested world of Coraline’s horrifying experience. Gaiman’s pacing is superb, and he steers the tension of the tale with a deft and practiced narrative touch. McKean’s black-and-white illustrations depict first sunny and then eerie scenes in an old-fashioned style with spidery and elongated lines. Although this is not for the faint of heart, readers who have long coveted a horror story that would play to their most vivid fears will find the unforgettable “other mother” to be the perfect terrifying villain. Review Code: R* -- Denotes books of special distinction. (c) Copyright 2002, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2002, HarperCollins, 162p, $17.89 and $15.99. Grades 4-7.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2003)
Coraline passes through a door in the drawing room of her new home to a very similar house with an "other mother" and an "other father." What started out as a world set slightly askew turns nightmarish as Coraline joins the creepy other mother in a game of hide-and-seek for her real parents--winner take all. The danger and the heroine are convincing; the whirlwind denouement will leave readers bemused but elated and slightly breathless. Category: Intermediate Fiction. 2002, HarperCollins, 165pp, $15.99, $17.89. Ages 9 to 12. Rating: 2: Superior, well above average.

Loveta Campbell (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 15, No. 4))
Coraline's family moves to a new flat, and she becomes acquainted with her eccentric neighbors. These neighbors have such interesting lifestyles, and Coraline is curiously drawn to them. She explores the outdoor garden and her indoor surrounding because she is an "explorer." She meets a black cat that plays a vital part in the story. Inside, Coraline discovers a door with a brick wall behind it. When she finds the access key to the door and opens it, without her parents' permission, she discovers a totally new world that appears as her real world. Weird and disgusting characters who claim to be her "other parents" reside there. Coraline experiences numerous frightening, confusing, and dangerous events in this evil world before she finds her way back to her real house. Children who enjoy weird fairy tale mysteries may enjoy reading CORALINE. Author Neil Gaiman is a winner of American Library Association's Alex Award, the World Fantasy Award, and the Bram Stoker Award. Fiction. Grades 3 and up. 2002, HarperCollins, 162p, $17.89. Ages 8 up.

Beth Gallaway (VOYA, October 2002 (Vol. 25, No. 4))
Think of all the stories that would not be if a child could ignore a locked door-from Francis Hodgson Burnett's Secret Garden to J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Scholastic, 1998/VOYA December 1998). Here the door in question appears bricked up the first time Coraline opens it, but one afternoon she goes through and discovers a misty world peopled with other versions of the inhabitants of her building-with a few major differences. In this ghostworld, her workaholic parents pay attention to her at last, but they have become creepy beetle eaters with black button eyes. Should she stay or should she go? When Coraline declines to remain in this alternative world and have her eyes replaced with buttons, the other mother kidnaps her real parents to lure her back. One cannot help comparing this tale to Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its companion Through the Looking Glass. Coraline enters a fantasy world where mirrors figure prominently. She is aided by a talking cat and must participate in a game of sorts to rescue her real parents and reclaim the souls of three other children. Coraline is a more savvy and sensible heroine than Alice, and the lack of nonsense creates a frighteningly realistic fantasy. Lean crisp prose adds to the suspense and propels the story, and the eerie black-and-white illustrations by Dave McKean heighten the nightmarish quality of the tale. Do not read this one before bedtime! Illus. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P M J (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2002, HarperCollins, 176p, $15.99. PLB, $15.89. Ages 11 to 15.