“As the first stars came out Coraline finally allowed herself to drift into sleep, while the gentle upstairs music of the mouse circus spilled out onto the warm evening air, telling the world that summer was almost done.”
The last line of Coraline, as I finished it on the flight back from Bohol, seemed to me to be a fitting end to a great summer. I was able to watch backlogged TV shows, watched some movies, read a book or two, played airsoft, went to some beaches, even dived. I wasn’t able to cook, climb, nor go karting but I guess I can always put them off for the next summer. But I’m digressing, back to the book.
As everyone probably already know, Coraline is a children’s book with a twist. A dark twist as you would expect from Gaiman. It’s the typical premise of a children’s book: bored kid(s) having imaginary adventures that become all to real. But Gaiman was able to make it dark and creepy (a crawling severed white hand with loooong nails, now if that doesn’t raise goosebumps). It plays on every child’s (and who wasn’t?) fears (spiders, rats, etc) and multiplies them tenfold (the vividness of your imagination plays a factor). But most importantly, he was able to make it quite entertaining.
Rating: 4/5
I’ve been listening to the car stereo while driving more often these days. I’ve realized how frustrating the experience can often be. First there’s the ads. These aren’t exactly the world’s best radio ads so it’s really not worth listening to. Then there’s the less-than-entertaining DJs. No matter what station you switch to, they all talk and sound the same. Then there’s the crap they force you to listen to. And it’s the same no matter where you go. Case in point, lately they’ve been always playing Barbie Almalbis’ stupid Summer Day. I switch to another station and it’s also the song being played!!! And worse, it is inevitably followed by Kamikazee’s equally stupid First Day High! Argh!!! I need control on what I’m listening to! I need an iPod!