Coraline
by Neil Gaiman
★ Top 5 book of 2002 · #2 on Best Books of 2002
Bored in her family's new flat, Coraline slips through a hidden door into a mirror version of home, where a smiling Other Mother offers her everything she wants. But the price of that perfect life grows steadily more sinister. Read the full description
Best for: Brave middle-grade readers and adults who enjoy spooky, atmospheric fairy tales
Coraline is #96 on BookWard's Top 100 books for October 2026, with a BookWard Score of 47 out of 100. It is new on the chart this month.
BookWard review of Coraline
★★★★☆ 4.0 out of 5, from 207 reader ratings
BookWard rates Coraline 4.0 out of 5. That is the average of 207 reader ratings on Open Library (4.06), adjusted toward the typical book so that a small number of ratings cannot inflate it. Beyond the rating, it is #96 on BookWard's Top 100 books; 2,688 readers want to read it, 116 are reading it right now and 297 have finished it.
How this rating works
BookWard’s rating is calculated, not hand-scored. We take the average rating readers have given the book on Open Library and adjust it toward the typical book: adjusted = (n × average + 25 × 3.8) ÷ (n + 25), where n is the number of ratings. A book needs at least 50 ratings to be rated. The rating reflects how readers received the book, not whether it is right for you. Your own ratings on your shelf are private and are not part of this number.
Coraline: reading interest over the past 12 months
Sources: Open Library’s public reading-log and ratings data (dump of 2026-09-30), Wikipedia page views and Wikidata. Monthly counts are exact; they show relative interest among readers of these public sources, not total readership.
Ranked against the other books on this list, Coraline’s reading interest has run from #80 to #95 over these 12 months. Interest rank blends shelf adds, Wikipedia page views and rating activity, each compared with the other 99 books that month.
Shelf adds by month
Coraline was added to Open Library readers’ shelves 289 times in the past 12 months, peaking in October 2025 with 39 (62% above its monthly average of 24). Over the latest three months (Jul 2026 to Sep 2026) shelf adds were up 6% on the three months before. 88% of the adds were “want to read”, 3% “currently reading” and 9% “already read”.
Want to read Currently reading Already read
Wikipedia page views
Its Wikipedia article was viewed 217,462 times in the past 12 months, peaking in October 2025 with 38,390 views. The latest three months were up 45% on the three before.
Source: Wikimedia monthly page views for the article Coraline.
Adaptations
- Coraline (animated film), 2009
Adaptations are listed from Wikidata; a release date near a rise in the charts above is context, not proof of a cause.
Awards and honours listed on Wikidata: Hugo Award for Best Novella, Nebula Award for Best Novella, Bram Stoker Award for Best Work for Young Readers, Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book, BSFA Award for Best Short Fiction.
What the data says about Coraline
- Moderate swings. Monthly shelf adds averaged 24 with some ups and downs.
- Busiest and quietest months. October 2025 was its busiest month (39 adds), about 3.5 times its quietest, June 2026 (11).
- Attention and shelf adds move together. Months with more Wikipedia views for Coraline were also months with more shelf adds (correlation 0.70), which suggests the same events, such as new editions, adaptations or social media, drive both.
- Against its genre. It had 76% fewer shelf adds than the average Horror book on this list.
- Share of the list. It accounts for 0.3% of all shelf adds recorded for the Top 100 over these 12 months, #95 of 100.
- Its age. First published in 2002 (24 years ago), it is older than 54% of the books on the list.
Each finding is computed from the public data above and shown only when the numbers support it.
Coraline on the Top 100: rank history
First charted in October 2026. The chart gains a point with every monthly update, so its peak, climbs and falls will show here as they happen.
| Month | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|
| October 2026 | #96 | 47 |
Is Coraline rising or falling?
Holding steady Its weekly, monthly and yearly ranks are close together, so interest is steady rather than spiking.
On Open Library, Coraline ranks #95 this week, #158 this month, and #211 over the past year. A longer bar means a higher position. Comparing the three windows shows whether readers are arriving faster than the book's long-term pace. Readings as of 2026-10-02.
Why Coraline made the Top 100
Coraline made the list mainly on momentum (+19.6 points) and reader love (+11.3 points). Its smallest contribution is rising (+1.8). The BookWard Score blends five public signals, each scored from 0 to 100 and weighted as shown.
The reading-now, rating and rank signals come from Open Library’s public data, not from BookWard’s own readers. The score measures reading interest, not quality or sales. How the score works.
Open Library reader stats for Coraline
Source: Open Library public reading logs, as of 2026-10-02. BookWard’s own monthly snapshots are added to the picture, and anonymous BookWard reader data will be layered in as the community grows.
More readers have Coraline open right now than 7% of the other books on this list. These counts come from one public source, so they show relative interest rather than total readership.
Where it sits among Horror books
It is #3 of the 3 Horror books on this month’s list.
About Coraline
What it’s about
Coraline Jones and her parents have just moved into an old house split into flats, where the neighbors include the eccentric April Spink, Miriam Forcible and Mr. Bobo. Coraline finds a small locked door, and behind it lies a flat that looks just like her own. Waiting there are an Other Mother and Other Father, warm, attentive and strange, with buttons where their eyes should be.
The Other Mother offers her a place to stay forever, on one condition involving buttons and Coraline's own eyes. A talking black cat, who slips between the two worlds, warns her that all is not what it seems. Neil Gaiman's short, dark fairy tale is eerie and whimsical in turns, and it explores bravery, belonging and the risk of getting exactly what you wish for. It suits young readers who like their stories a little frightening, and adults who enjoy the same.
At a glance
- First published
- 2002-07-24
- Genre
- Horror
- Also described as
- Gothic fiction, fantasy literature, children's book
- Length
- about 176 pages (the median across its editions)
- Original language
- English
- Languages
- editions in 8 languages listed on Open Library
- Editions
- 94 on Open Library
- Setting
- United States
- Awards and honours
- Hugo Award for Best Novella, Nebula Award for Best Novella, Bram Stoker Award for Best Work for Young Readers, Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book
From Open Library and Wikidata public records. Missing rows mean the records do not list that fact.
What reading it is like
At about 176 pages it is a medium-length read: roughly 4 hours at an average reading pace (about 250 words a minute, 300 words a page). Audiobook and edition lengths vary.
The premise
A bored girl named Coraline discovers a hidden door in her new home that leads to a mirror version of her life, where everything seems better at first. As she learns what her cheerful double family really wants, she has to rely on her own courage to get back.
What you’ll get
- Creepy, atmospheric storytelling
- A brave and curious young heroine
- A quick, spellbinding read
You might skip it if you dislike eerie imagery or dark tones in books aimed at younger readers.
Pairs well with: The Little Prince · Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Keep exploring the chart
Also on the chart at #95 and #97
More Horror on the Top 100
Coraline on the Best Books of 2002
Coraline came out in 2002. Of the 32 books first published in 2002 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #2 on our Best Books of 2002 list.
Why it made the list: 3,085 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.1 out of 5 (207 ratings); 116 are reading it right now. The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
It earns Being read right now.
Nearby on the 2002 list
- Romancing Mister Bridgerton Julia Quinn, #1
- Room on the Broom Julia Donaldson, #3
- Why Does He Do That? Lundy Bancroft, #4
See all Best Books of 2002 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 2001 Best Books of 2003.
Questions about Coraline
What rank is Coraline on the Top 100 books?
Coraline is #96 on BookWard's Top 100 books for October 2026, with a BookWard Score of 47 out of 100. It is new on the chart this month.
Is Coraline rising or falling?
Holding steady. Its weekly, monthly and yearly ranks are close together, so interest is steady rather than spiking. On Open Library, Coraline ranks #95 this week, #158 this month, and #211 over the past year.
Why is Coraline on the Top 100?
Coraline made the list mainly on momentum (+19.6 points) and reader love (+11.3 points). Its smallest contribution is rising (+1.8).
How many people are reading Coraline right now?
Open Library's reading logs show 116 readers currently reading Coraline, 2,688 who want to read it and 297 who have logged it as read (as of 2026-10-02). These are counts from one public source, not all readers.
How much interest has Coraline had over the past year?
289 Open Library shelf adds in the past 12 months (peak October 2025, 39); latest three months up 6% on the prior three; 217,462 Wikipedia views in the past 12 months (up 45% over the latest three months); Adaptations on Wikidata: Coraline (2009). Figures come from Open Library and Wikipedia public data.
Who is Coraline best for?
Brave middle-grade readers and adults who enjoy spooky, atmospheric fairy tales.
Ask a question about Coraline
Ask about this book's chart history, reading interest, or who it is for. Answers come from this page's data and can be wrong.
Answers are AI-written from BookWard’s own help content and can be wrong. Please do not share personal information: questions and answers may be saved and, if they are useful, shown on this site without your name.
How we know
This page is built from public data: Open Library’s dated reading-log and ratings dumps, Wikipedia page views, Wikidata, and BookWard’s own monthly Top 100 snapshots. The interest rank blends shelf adds (45%), Wikipedia page views (30%), rating activity (10%) and, for months where a snapshot exists, BookWard’s own score (15%), each as a percentile among the Top 100 books. Every month shown is real data; nothing is estimated. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Last updated October 2026. Read the full methodology.
Track Coraline and find your next favorite
Add it to your shelf, rate what you have read, and BookWard will recommend what fits you.
Free while in beta. No credit card needed.