Another day, another overdue review. As most of you remember, Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon was a time of great accomplishment, especially for me, I think I read five books. I’ve only reviewed two of those books so far. (Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Bunnicula!). Coraline by Neil Gaiman was my second read for the ‘thon.
I wish I had read Coraline before The Graveyard Book, because I felt Coraline fell fairly short of my expectations. Do not get me wrong, Coraline was a fairly decent read, but to me it just lacked the sparkle of The Graveyard Book. Coraline is about a little girl with lameass parents who sit on the computer all day long. To be honest one of my thoughts was that it is pretty scary to think that one day my generation could be those parents.
Coraline also has weird has-been neighbors and an eccentric old guy who lives upstairs with his mouse circus. Well, she gets bored one day and her parents continue to neglect her, so she decides to go exploring. She finds a whole world of trouble.
I thought the characters were interesting, they all definitely had distinct personalities, but I just wanted more. I know the book is fairly short, so there may not be enough space to give me all I want with the book. I enjoyed reading about her weirdo neighbors, so it sucks they weren’t more developed. Granted, I understand this is a children’s book, not a character study. And, I concede, there are cool parts, like the theater scene, and well, the end is interesting. Also, Coraline is fairly well developed and we definitely see growth coming for her. I like that she’s a strong girl character. I think she has some admirable characteristics for younger readers to look up to.
While reading Coraline by Neil Gaiman, I would recommend lime kool-aid, as lime kool-aid is delicious, frivolous, and well, not something I would prefer to drink all the time. I also would say the Twister drinks aren’t too great on their own, but add some liquid grown up treats and they are great!
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I've not read Coraline or The Graveyard Book, but both are on my to-read list. I did, however, see Coraline 3D when it was in theaters. It was quite a visual experience 🙂
I feel totally the same way as you. Coraline was alright, but not great. I LOVE Neil Gaiman, and when Coraline came out, I was disappointed. I read the Graveyard Book after, and I felt like I got Neil Gaiman back! Yay! 🙂
Fab drinking choice.
I haven't still read a single Gaiman 🙁 I really really should!