Coraline, Week 2

Welcome to Week 2 of the Online Book Club discussion for Coraline by Neil Gaiman. 

Did you enjoy the beginning of the book? Do you think you've ever read a book like this before? It's an interesting idea to think that Coraline is able to travel to a different dimension through a simple door. 

What do you think of Coraline in these first chapters? She seems really lonely and is really looking for someone to spend time with. It's too bad that her parents are so busy and everyone in her building is so much older than she is. I liked how she did so much exploring in the first chapter. I thought that was pretty fun that she was willing to go and poke around by herself. 

Did you think anything of the door that lead to nowhere when it was first introduced? It seemed so innocent--a door that lead to a brick wall. Did you expect that it would be a magical doorway that would lead Coraline into a different world? In the second chapter, the older ladies read Coraline's tea leaves and predict that she will be in terrible danger. And, then, they give her a stone with a hole in it. How do you think those things connect to the magical door? 

When Coraline actually enters the doorway and goes into the other realm, it leads her to a place that is almost exactly like her home, but everything is just a little bit different. Why do you think everyone in this other dimension has creepy buttons for eyes? I wonder why the author included that detail? Do you think it made the figures more scary? The people in the other world seem friendly enough at the beginning, but there is still something unsettling about them. What do you think they are up to? 

What do you think of the cat character? I feel like he could have been more helpful to Coraline. It's obvious that he knows more than he is letting on. What did you think of the theatrical performance that Coraline watched? It was super weird that Miss Forcible and Miss Spink broke apart and had other people come out of their skins. I don't know how Coraline was brave enough to stay in there! I think I would have run away if I had seen something like that. 

At the end of the section, the other parents encourage Coraline to stay there with them. That was definitely pretty spooky. Were you surprised that they let her leave? And, were you surprised that the doorway actually worked and took her back to her regular life? I definitely expected something to keep her in that weird world. 

What do you think is going to happen in the next section? Do you have any guesses about what is going on in that other world? Do you think Coraline is going to go back? 

Before you go, check out this video clip in which author, Neil Gaiman talks about the creation of the book. Don't you like hearing how authors get their ideas for books? 

Thanks for following this week!