Coraline by Neil Gaiman- Khadeejah
This post has spoilers for the book (if you’ve watched the movie you’re probably fine).
Many of you have probably seen the movie Coraline, but I recently read the book written by Neil Gaiman. For the most part the book and movie are similar. The overall plot, of course, is the same, as are the characters, except the movie has an extra character that the book doesn’t include, Wybie, but that didn’t make much of a difference.
Coraline Jones is the main character in the story. She is a little displeased with her life. Her parents work a lot, and she recently moved into a new house. She loves exploring, which is how she discovers the door that leads to another world, with another mother who wants to keep her there forever. Coraline herself is a little different in the movie and the book. In the movie she has a bit of a cold demeanor, is sarcastic, and determined to set things right. She loves the other world when she first visits, and only realizes that it is not what it seems when she is offered to have buttons sewn into her eyes. In the book, Coraline is still very determined. She is less sarcastic, but gets annoyed when people call her Caroline. In the book Coraline is smart and clever, and she is much more cautious. The first time she visits the other world she is suspicious, and doesn’t enjoy it as much as the movie. She is offered button eyes during her first visit but leaves immediately after. She goes home to find her parents have been taken by the other mother, so she goes to the other world again, determined to get her old life back.
Overall, the book was good. If you have already watched the movie it will take out a lot of the suspense from reading the book. I recommend reading the book first and then watching the movie if you haven’t already. One of the things I really enjoyed were the illustrations throughout the story. Since I had watched the movie beforehand, the book didn’t seem as scary and suspenseful, but it was still good. I recommend it to anyone who is looking for a short read and likes suspenseful books. If you have already seen the movie, it is still fun to read the book because there are some differences.
I remember watching the movie back in middle school. Overall, it was pretty decent. It was a bit confusing here and there, but I did not realize that there was a book for it. Even though I have already seen the movie, I might give this book a shot.
ReplyDeleteNice post! I am not super into horror and for some reason I've always remembered Coraline as something really scary, but searching it up again I realize it's much more family friendly... I liked your comparison between the movie and the book because often with stories that are well-known, one of them is so good that the other doesn't do it justice. I will check this out sometime!
ReplyDeleteI remember reading the graphic novel of Coraline when I was in elementary school and becoming scared because of the button eyes. I also watched the movie when I was younger and it was pretty scary to me too haha. I want to check out the book now and see how it differs from the two that I have already seen and read. I liked how you explained the differences between the two and went in depth about Coraline's character. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI've had this book on my reading list for a really long time. The movie kind of scared me when I was younger, but I enjoy it now. I think you did a good job of comparing the book and movie!
ReplyDelete