This was my third time reading this book, but for some reason I have still not written a review.

The first time I read it, I thought it was really scary for a kids book. This time through (although this book is undeniably creepy) I actually think that I would have loved it as an 8 year old. I'm impressed how well it holds up as a book for adults too. Coraline herself is a very mature kid. She realizes very quickly that a "perfect life" probably wouldn't feel very perfect if it were a reality. I love children's books that give kids the message to be brave. Even normal things can seem really scary for children, and when characters in the books they read can face and defeat actual terrors it makes them more equipped to handle real life "scary" situations. Coraline was very brave and in a very realistic way. At one point she tells herself she is brave and Gaiman writes, "and she almost believed it." I love that! Of course she was being brave, but sometimes even when you are actively doing something brave you don't believe that you yourself are brave. And that is okay! I think I love this book more everytime I read it!