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Recommended by Andie Forster (@af_english123)
Form and genre: Prose – a gothic fairy tale
Length: 189 pages
Summary:
A scrutiny of family life through the lens of a gothic fairy tale. The banal monotony of Coraline’s life is broken when she meets her Other Parents, as entertaining as they are monstrous. When her real parents are kidnapped, banality suddenly becomes far more appealing as she must strive to save them from the evil clutches of her Other Mother.
Age recommendation and challenging content: Recommended for year 7 or year 8. No TWs but at times some of the images created can be distressing in a more typically horrifying sort of way.
Notable reasons for recommending this book: Links to the gothic genre, but an overall cracking read with extremely good characterisation and plot structuring.