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Coraline Audio Book Review

Coraline

Coraline – An Audio Book Review

 

  • Author: Neil Gaiman
  • Narrated by: Neil Gaiman
  • Length: 3 hours and 36 minutes
  • Unabridged
  • Genre: Children/Fantasy

Download or CD available to BUY at Amazon.

 

 

Coraline Audio Book Summary:

 

In Coraline’s family’s new flat are twenty-one windows and fourteen doors. Thirteen of the doors open and close. The fourteenth is locked, and on the other side is only a brick wall, until the day Coraline unlocks the door to find a passage to another flat in another house just like her own. Only it’s different…

At first, things seem marvelous in the other flat. The food is better. The toy box is filled with wind-up angels that flutter around the bedroom. But there’s another mother, and another father, and they want Coraline to stay with them and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go. Other children are trapped there as well, lost souls behind the mirrors. Coraline is their only hope of rescue. She will have to fight with all her wits if she is to save the lost children, her ordinary life, and herself.

One reason to listen:
Coraline is a children’s tale that is not only a great read/listen for young ones but also for older fans. At its heart, Coraline offer more depth in character and atmosphere than most children’s book on the shelf. A smart, fun and sometimes scary read.


 

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Reactions:

“Although this is ostensibly a children’s book, I would hesitate to let my 10-year-old listen to it because it’s really rather disturbing. For anyone older than ten, though, it’s a lovely read, and Gaiman’s narration adds a great deal. Coraline’s dark adventure with the “other” mother is chilling and paced exquisitely. Highly recommended!” – Laura


 

“Thank goodness for the British and their love of scaring the pants off of little kids. This book is CREEPY. It’s very odd, as well. People compare it to “Alice in Wonderland” with good reason. The imagery is just as vivid, and the language just as good. However, I found Coraline to be much more disturbing. The things that happen about two hours in are disturbing enough to me as a 26 year old woman that I would strongly hesitate to give it to any child under 10, and that only for children who have never been afraid of the dark, or of rats…” – K. Duderstadt

 



 

“This story is one of my favorites and I am well outside the target age range! It’s not scary so much as downright creepy- you’ll never look at buttons the same way again. I don’t think I’d recommend the book for really young children- about eight is the youngest I’d go- but I don’t think there would be any problems with older children. As for the audio version, Neil Gaiman is the perfect narrator for this. He reads beautifully and maintains the creepy thrill without ever pushing the listener into real fear. Don’t think I’d suggest Coraline as a bedtime story but it’s perfect for afternoon reading time or on a car trip.” – Euryleia


 

“I love a story that doesn’t take a month to get to the point. And a thriller that gets to it is even better. If I’m going to be creeped out, I need to really care about the character, so generally a book needs to spend some time introducing you and explaining why you like the protagonist. It’s easier to do that if the protagonist is a child. Young enough that you can immediately like them and want them to win, but old enough that they aren’t completely helpless (making their victory unbelievable). Gaiman has done this, and done it well. Coraline is a nice girl, too bad about the creepy reflections of her parents that want to adopt her now that her real parents have gone missing. The audio is fantastic. The singing rats were creepy. I loved the song that opened the reading. I kind of wished there was more to it.” – Amazon Customer

 



 

“My family listened to this book on the way back from vacation. The group consisted of my mother (62), me (42) and my two sons (9 and 11). This story, as is typical of Neil Gaiman, was atmospheric, lyrical and always imaginative. My mother, who can be a talker, didn’t interrupt the story even once. But, the story, which is about a girl’s parents who are kidnapped by a fairy tale type character and replaced with strange reproductions, is pretty dark, and scary enough that my 9 year old asked if we could turn it off for a while at one point. Of course, the next time we got into the car, he wanted to hear the rest, so although frightening, it is still an involving story. So, if you have a particularly sensitive child, I would be careful with this book, but otherwise, I highly recommend it.” – Melise

Score on Audible: 4.3 out of 5
Score on Amazon: 4.4 out of 5


 

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