Coraline

This is a somewhat scary children's (maybe middle grade) story - our POV character finds a portal to a somewhat different dimension and has to be brave and use creativity to save herself and others. In the end, she realizes that real life is quite interesting after all, and love isn't about always getting what you want. Well done.

This is a popular, well-known middle grade book (though, I suppose to most the movie is better known) that I've had the pleasure of revisiting recently. Still an absolute joy to read...an eerie, haunting, and disturbing joy, but a joy nonetheless. Gaiman always writers masterfully, and even though Coraline is geared toward a younger demographic, I loved it.

minor spoilers

This was very well written (although a bit creepy). I absolutely love Neil Gaiman reading aloud in creepy voices. I also really liked how Coraline was such a determined and smart little girl, who loved exploring and didn't shy away from problems she knew could only be solved by her and no one else.

That said, I got a nightmare thanks to the scene with the other-mother