"When you're scared but you still do it anyway, that's brave." 
 Astute, imaginative, and vaguely unsettling. 
 Nothing I haven't come to expect from Neil Gaiman--particularly his shorter works and/or those meant for a more Young Adult audience. I'd place this one on the darker shade of the Middle Grade scale. An urban fantasy with an alternate-reality basis. There are a few similarities to Ocean at the End of the Lane, but that is the closest comparison I could make--and then only in deep retrospect. 
 Coraline is a relatably flawed, malcontent young character; and the amount of growth she undergoes by the end of this story is remarkably satisfying, considering its length. The "villain" of this tale isn't given much background, but there's no real call for curiosity over that while readers are caught up in the in the moment (an advantage of otherworldly monsters, perhaps.) The quirkiness of other side characters, the cat in particular, do stick in the memory. As do several quotes that give this works such an enduring literary quality. 
 Gaiman's voice comes through with a particularly eerie flair. Though the descriptive details are sometimes sparse and abrupt, it services well for its target age range. (I wouldn't recommend for even the staunchest children under the age of 10, unless one enjoys dealing with disrupted sleep patterns.) It's a little slow to start and build, but once it gets there, it's worth the wait. 
 Easily read in one sitting, and not without thought-provoking qualities. 
 Favorite Quotes: 
 *"I don't want whatever I want. Nobody does. Not really. What kind of fun would it be if I just got everything I ever wanted just like that, and it didn't mean anything? What then?" 
 *'Cats don't have names,' it said. 
 'No?' said Coraline. 
 'No,' said the cat. 'Now you people have names. That's because you don't know who you are. We know who we are, so we don't need names."