I have been fascinated by Coraline’s titular prepubescent heroine since I first heard about her in seventh grade. The Neil Gaiman novella, illustrated by Dave McKean, traces the journey of a neglected only child who wanders through a corridor in her new house into a dangerous but intriguing parallel universe. In the Other World, as it’s called, everything is better: Coraline’s parents actually care about her, she makes a friend, she sees singing rats and she eats delicacies that many children would envy. But here’s the catch—everyone in the Other World has buttons for eyes, and Coraline’s loving but secretly malevolent Other Parents want to sew a pair on her, too. While some might be spooked by the idea of entering a seemingly ideal but increasingly strange alternate universe, I was fascinated by what such a portal might offer. 

I encountered Coraline again in ...