[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]
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Coraline is a modern fairy tale with a little girl, a talking cat, a door to a strange world, ghosts, and a mysterious evil. Coraline has recently moved with her parents to an old mansion in the middle of nowhere. Her downstairs neighbors are a pair of little old ladies who used to be great actresses and singers, and the man living upstairs is training rats to perform in the circus. But one day when her parents are too busy to play and it’s raining outside, Coraline discovers a door to a magical new world…one with a dangerous secret.
There is a reason why Neil Gaiman is a world-famous fantasy writer. This is a lovely book that combines the fun and excitement of Alice in Wonderland with real danger. The language is not too difficult, and the novel is not too long: it is a good choice for practicing extensive reading (多読).
My two cents: This book was made into a movie, a little like Nightmare Before Christmas or The Corpse Bride, which I also recommend: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0327597/