"3. Coraline by Neil Gaiman. This may be the only truly �great� book of the year, a terrifying Alice in Wonderland for our era. The only reason it�s not number one is from worry that adults will turn it into some kind of �family� reading. But this archetypal tale of narcissistic parents who are self-absorbed in one world and needy and grasping in another should be left on a dusty shelf for kids to discover so they can be scared shitless all on their own, since isn�t this what great literature is for?"
(The Little Friend, and The Crimson Petal and the White come in at numbers 1 and 2.)
Coraline's also a Barnes and Noble 2002 Favourite --http://btob.barnesandnoble.com/bestof/cds2.asp?pid=717&btob=Y&kids=y
Over at http://www.preserveusfromthehouseofclocks.com/ the guestbook is slowly becoming a rather wonderful piece of interactive fiction. Or, of course, reportage.