Great Middle Grade Reads discussion

Please share your thoughts about Coraline on this thread!

Yay! Now to see whether I can fit it into my schedule. :)

I had it easy this month. I read this earlier this year and I also read the graphic novel adaptation, Coraline. I really enjoyed the story. Coraline was so brave and clever and everything a good young heroine should be. The story was creepy and some younger, sensitive readers might not like it, but it wasn't too bad. I enjoyed the writing and there was a lot of wit to be had. She wasn't a perfect child and had a bit of naughtiness and an inability to entertain herself just like a real child. :)
(view spoiler)[
I loved what her reaction was to being told to stay away from the well because it was dangerous.

So Coraline set off to explore for it, so that she knew where it was, to keep away from it properly.

Good reasoning, Coraline. :)

It was also amusing to see adults through the eyes of a child. They are doing their adult things and assuming that a child would know how important and serious those things are.

Coraline wondered why so few of the adults she had met made any sense. She sometimes wondered who they thought they were talking to.

The cat was my favorite. He was so matter of fact and cat-like. He tells Coraline that cats don't have names because they already know who they are, unlike people. He also tells her that calling cats is like trying to call a whirlwind. Also true. :) (hide spoiler)]

I read Coraline last year in October and I loved it! It's one of my favorite books now. It is deliciously creepy and very good.

I listened to the audiobook over the weekend and loved it! It had been on my "to read" list for a long time so I'm very glad it came to top of pile with Book of the Month. It's a real page turner and very atmospheric. I'll be recommending this one to Middle Schoolers looking for a creepy read! 5 stars!

I made a start and decided I wasn't in the mood for creepy. But I could tell it was good--even though I didn't want to read it, I kept flipping pages!

I’ve just started it and I like his voice already. I think I’m going to enjoy it.

I remember reading Coraline for the first time when I was in middle school and it still creeps me out rereading it now. Neil Gaiman is so great at great at creating unnerving atmospheres in his books. There is just enough left to the unknown to make Coraline really creepy.
Plus the characters are so well developed, Coraline is a great main character. Loved it, would definitely recommend!

I like the voice of the narrator. I feel as if I am in a campfire huddle and getting ready to be frightened by the campfire leader's story. The book feels like the dream world, where not all things make sense, but they happen anyway. Not everything is explained, but there is enough adventure and tension that when you come out of it at the other end, you are satisfied. In other words, I enjoyed it!