Coraline
#1704.13 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 2002 Reading commitment Low Neil Gaiman Last reviewed 2026-08-11
Overview
Neil Gaiman's Coraline (2002) follows a young girl who discovers a sinister alternate version of her own family behind a locked door in her new home. Registered as a `novella` per its own award categorization, even though it is commonly marketed and shelved as a children's book.
Dark fantasy · For Middle grade
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
Coraline (2002) core · 4.13 (800,166 ratings); Registered as `novella` per its own award categorization (2003 Hugo/2004 Nebula Best Novella wins) -- consistent with its actual ~30,500-word length, squarely within genre-standard novella range, even though it is commonly marketed and shelved as a children's book.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Coraline? Coraline's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is Coraline finished? Complete (2002).
- How much reading does Coraline take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book).
- How is Coraline ranked? #170 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 800,166 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #170?
Ranked #170 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 4.13 across 1 core book.
- Backed by 800k reader ratings.
- Less than 0.01 behind #169, Shades of Magic (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
- A single standalone novel: ranked on that one book alone.
Why explore this universe?
Highly rated · 1 book · Complete · 800k ratings · Ranks #170 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment dark fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- No awards found for this universe.
Related universes
- Same author American Gods: Both by Neil Gaiman. Deliberately distinct universes.
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Suggestions computed from what Coraline and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
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- Between Two Fires Dark fantasy / Historical fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.18
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.13 across 800,166 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Run 1: 3 further Neil Gaiman standalone novels/novellas admitted -- Neverwhere, Coraline, Anansi Boys accepted 2026-08-11
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia: Coraline Tier 2
- sfadb: Neil Gaiman Tier 1
Related universes: see the Related universes section above.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-11
Rule: Core = the 1 novella (2002). No Expanded Canon. Deliberately distinct from American Gods and Gaiman's other universes in this canon.