Dreamland Staff Pick, Shandra Conley

In another world… when a house reveals another home, which side would you choose? 

“Coraline” by Neil Gaiman is a fantastical telling of a young explorer finding ways to make a new house feel like her home. Gaiman begins this masterpiece with a quote by G.K. Chesterton that opens up the reader’s mind to the wonders that will soon be unraveled within its pages. 

As a child, I remember having this book on my shelf in my room. I specifically remember looking at the cover and thinking, “This book looks very scary,” at least compared to the film, which I was obsessed with. For a long time I could not bring myself to read the book. I had heard here and there about the differences of the book versus film, which made my younger self think there was no need to read the book. However, a decade or so has passed now and it became very obvious that my sister and I longed to read this book after all. 

Reading “Coraline” as an adult really allowed me to take in all the amazing details Gaiman put within this book which my younger self may not have fully appreciated. I will say my younger self was correct about one thing: this book was scarier than the movie. Although it had a darker aspect than the movie depicted, that is what really drew me further into wanting to know so much more about the lore of it all! I was not able to put this book down, reading it in a mere five hours! 

At 160 pages, Gaiman was able to give us not only the aspects of a single world in which Coraline navigates, but also reveal another world that comes with its own adventure for this little girl. 

Overall, “Coraline” highlights a great lesson about the idea of being brave. In this book, we are reminded that being brave is not just about doing something that scares you; being brave is about doing the right thing in spite of being scared. We often forget that bravery can come in many forms, yet it is what you do with this bravery that can truly change the world.