Overall, I enjoyed listening to the book. Usually, when books are read by the author as this one was the result is poor, but Neil Gaiman exceeded expectations. The manner in which he read was extremely inexpressive so even in near death situations the speed of the reading was the same as one would expect when a character were taking a pleasant walk through a meadow. Because of this, the horror story was actually quite calming.
The book begins with Coraline and her parents moving to a new flat. It's quite exciting for a while, with all of the new places to explore and the neighbors to meet and have tea with. But, of course, that English weather has to go and ruin it all by raining. For the first rainy day in the new flat, Coraline has nothing to do but bother her parents while they try and work and look in all the nooks and crannies of her flat. She wishes for a more exciting life with more exciting parents who don't cook 'recipes.' And that night, she gets a lot more than she bargained for.
Late at night, she sneaks through a little door she finds in the wall and finds herself in a world parallel to her own. In this Other World, she has an Other Mother and an Other Father who love her and are quite interesting, toys that are much more entertaining than the variety back home, and the accompaniment of a talking black cat who warns her against running into the open arms of her Other Parents.
For the Other World is not as glorious as it seems. Locked away behind mirrors are other children the Other Mother has taken from the real world and hidden away in her own fantasy land. As Coraline learns the evilness of the seemingly wonderful place she has discovered, she- with the help of the nameless black cat- battles the Other Mother to set the other children free. But it will not be easy in any event. ★★★★☆
I love your new formatting, although it's a bit unlike you. But still nice.
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