This is Gaiman’s ( American Gods, 2001, etc.) first novel for children, and the author of the Sandman graphic novels here shows a sure sense of a child’s fears-and the child’s ability to overcome those fears. A drawing-room door that opens onto a brick wall becomes a natural magnet for the curious little girl, and she is only half-surprised when, one day, the door opens onto a hallway and Coraline finds herself in a skewed mirror of her own flat, complete with skewed, button-eyed versions of her own parents. 9-12)Ī magnificently creepy fantasy pits a bright, bored little girl against a soul-eating horror that inhabits the reality right next door.Ĭoraline’s parents are loving, but really too busy to play with her, so she amuses herself by exploring her family’s new flat. Slade’s illustrations add greatly to the tale, but the strange juxtaposition of reality and fantasy doesn’t quite gel. Some of the bizarre occurrences are truly imaginative. Eventually his dad and his dad’s girlfriend get involved in what becomes a seriously warped and possibly dangerous experience with ACME. Bryan’s first job is to plant popped corn in a vast field. Fellow school nerd Rebecca is hired as guard dog, acting and living life as a dog named Spot. Bryan is hired after answering a series of incredibly nonsensical questions. ACME is an acronym for Astro-Chrono-Magical-Enterprises, and weird things do happen there. Bryan’s realistic feelings about his divorced dad’s girlfriend seem incongruous when mixed in with the wildly fantastic plot.

Sensel’s first novel features 11-year-old Bryan Zilcher, who becomes involved with the terribly mysterious president of ACME Inc., Archibald Keen. This truly eccentric take on the power of imagination requires a big suspension of disbelief on the part of the reader.

Reality Leak by Joni Sensel