Coraline - A Book Review

Over the past week, I finished the book Coraline by Neil Gaiman. It was recommended to me by my best friend and since I had just seen the movie, I figured it would be a good time to read it (that and it has been forever since I've sat down and read a book from start to finish. I just looked and my last book review was on Feb 9 and that book wise is a ridiculously long time ago, although I did start two books that I haven't finished between then and now.) Neil Gaiman could easily become one of my favorite authors once I begin to read more of his books, seeing that Coraline is the only one I have read. Mirrormask, a movie which came out in 2005, was written by Gaiman; I totally recommend that movie, especially if you liked movies like the Dark Crystal and the Labyrinth.

Anyhow, Coraline is a book about a young girl named, you guessed it, Coraline. I am typing that correctly too, in case you haven't heard of the book or movie, her name is not Caroline and this does play a part in the book, although knowing the character's name, I almost continuously read the book as Coraline even when Caroline was on the page. Coraline moves into a flat converted from part of an old house with her parents. Her parents seem ever busy and a bit clueless as to what to do with Coraline, so Coraline goes off exploring her new surroundings by herself. She explores the property and meets the new neighbors and then she finds a door in her flat that when opened leads to nothing but a brick wall separating her flat from another. But that's what happens only sometimes. When she opened the door again the brick wall was gone and she enters what I imagine to be a very creepy and supernatural air duct and finds herself in a mirrored version of her own flat, complete with parents. These parents take complete interest in her, almost as if their world revolves around her, and even the neighbors get her name right. These parents however have buttons for eyes and tell Coraline that she can stay with them if she accepts her own set of button eyes.

Instead Coraline asks to go home, which these other parents agree to, but when she gets to her real home, she finds her parents missing. Coraline knows that her "Other Mother" must have stolen them. So she goes back to her "Other Flat" to rescue them. Throw in three dead children locked behind a mirror and an unlikely ally in a talking cat, and you have one creepy, but very smart and creative, story.

What children would see as a story about a courageous girl trying to save her parents, adults probably would find this book to be a bit darker. The button eyes alone were enough to creep me out. I think that this is one of the stronger elements of the story as it is often difficult to write a children's book that can truly appeal to adults on a different level. This clearly is a demonstration of Gaiman's talent, but I'll hold out on any more judgement until I read another one of his books.

There are numerous parts of the movie that closely follow the book, but new elements were added in, to what benefit I'm not sure now having read the book. Since I saw the movie first, I actually enjoyed these additions including Wybie, a boy near Coraline's age who plays an important part in the movie (even though the role is somewhat small), and a doll that looks exactly like Coraline, only with buttons for eyes, that Wybie gives to her after finding it at his grandmother's house. As creepy as the doll is, it didn't play much of a role in the movie, and isn't in the book at all, so beyond it tying into Wybie's character and his believing in Coraline, I wasn't disappointed by this change from book to movie. I was a bit disappointed however that Wybie's character was not in the book (most likely stemming from my having seen the movie first, had it been the other way around I probably would have thought that he was an unnecessary element). I still recommend seeing it, especially in 3D (totally worth the extra money for that format).

No One Noticed the Cat - A Book Review

Let me preface this by saying that I find myself buying books to get the free shipping from places like Amazon, Borders and Barnes and Noble. I try to find a book which puts me just over that free shipping edge. This is one of those books found solely for it's price. I do not think that I would have sought it out otherwise. After reading the book, however, I am glad that I did find and buy it. I am also considering the purchase of some of the author's other books, but that will be once I finish the massively large "to read" pile that sits in my room, which gets larger faster than it shrinks.

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Today's book review is of No One Noticed the Cat by Anne McCaffrey. Known more for her Dragonriders of Pern series (which I have not read), this is a short (182 pages) story chronicling the events surrounding the Prince of Esphania after the death of his regent, including a hunting trip with the rulers of the neighboring kingdom, his wedding, and a plot to kill him and all other potential heirs to the other kingdom so that the Queen can rule for her infant son. Key in this story is the regent's cat, Niffy, who with a very limited vocabulary might be the smartest one in the book with a very big personality. Niffy is, clearly, no ordinary cat and often takes matters into her own paws.

I thought that overall the book was well written and clever, but sadly, I think the ending moves too quickly into a nicely bundled package. It clearly leaves little room for a sequel, which is something I look for in a standalone book, but even another 10 pages would have provided the adequate description which would have elevated the conclusion to a more satisfying level. I really wish that this book was longer.

That being said it is a quick read if one has a couple of hours to spare. I do recommend it.

Castle in the Air - A Book Review

One of the many things I hope to accomplish with this blog is to let you know what books I am reading and to review whatever one I just finished. Today is one of those days.

Although I said I was going to bring a book to the Super Bowl party and did, in fact, bring it with me, I never ended up reading any of it. The evening was too crazy with the game and everyone running around. I found myself enjoying the game almost as much as the commercials, my favorite were the three Budweiser commercials featuring the Clydesdale horses, the e*trade babies, and the one with Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head. Congrats to the Steelers and to the Cardinals for a very interesting game.

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I finished the last 50 pages of my book when I got home. The book is Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones and is the companion to Howl's Moving Castle. Diana Wynne Jones is one of my favorite authors and I recommend reading any of her books, especially Howl's Moving Castle, which is, so far, my favorite.

The book starts out with Abdullah, a carpet merchant in the land of Zanzib. Troubled by his father's other family Abdullah allows himself to daydream about an alternate life where he is a long lost prince found by his father after he was stolen from his castle by the bandit Kabul Aqba. He also dreams that since he is a prince, he is destined to marry a princess.

Then a strange man arrives and sells Abdullah a flying carpet. Protecting his investment, Abdullah goes to bed on top of the carpet and wakes up later that night in a beautiful garden. There in the garden is a princess, the Sultan's daughter, who aside from her father, has never seen another man. She, Flower-in-the-Night, actually confuses Abdullah for a female, after all, he is in a nightgown and night cap. She tells him that there had been a prophesy made about her that the first man she sees it the one she is going to marry. Abdullah is instantly smitten and visits her the next two nights, but on the last night, a djinn steals her away.

Abdullah soon finds himself in chains accused of having kidnapped the princess by the Sultan. He had been discovered by his nightcap having been found among the princess's possessions. In an entertaining course of events, Abdullah is rescued by his neighbors dog and the flying carpet and in fleeing to the desert, he finds the most unlikely of characters: Kabul Aqba from his daydreams who just happens to have a genie in a bottle.

The resulting tale follows Abdullah and the genie in a quest to rescue Flower-in-the-Night from the djinn. The genie is no ordinary genie either, the wishes he grants, if requested in too open-ended a manner, result in more harm than good. This causes Abdullah to meet many interesting characters along his journey.

This is a well written story with lively characters, the right amount of description, and a highly entertaining plot. One could easily read this story without having read Howl's Moving Castle, although I do suggest that one reads that book too.

For those who have read and loved Howl's Moving Castle, what I found somewhat frustrating, is that minus the Castle, the characters from Howl's Moving Castle do not appear until page 250. Thankfully the book is 383 pages long. It took me quite a long time to see exactly how this book was a companion, but in totality it definitely is. There is of course a twist to the story, but that I will not reveal. You will have to go read it to find out what it is.