Mirrormask

From School Library Journal Grade 6-9–Coraline fans too young for The Sandman series (DC Comics) form the most likely audience for this novella of the film MirrorMask. A fitful dream the night before her mothers surgery takes 15-year-old Helena to a world split into light and darkness. The queen of the White City is ill, and only the stolen MirrorMask can save her and her kingdom. As Helenas quest to find the Charm wears on, she realizes that she might not be dreaming after all. McKeans stark but lively pen-and-ink drawings perfectly reflect the narratives sinister humor. The images from the film, however, are drab and unclear. While entertaining, this scant story is less developed than Gaimans other work and, being a movie tie-in, threatens to join the growing pile of pop-culture ephemera all too soon.–Lisa Goldstein, Brooklyn Public Library, NY Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Product Description Helena is about to embark on a most amazing journey.Raised in a family of circus performers, she’s always dreamed of leading a more ordinary life. But when haunting music draws her into a strange and magical realm, one where anything can happen, her real life is stolen by a runaway from the other side. Helena must rescue the realm from chaos in order to win back her own not-so-ordinary life.MirrorMask is a breathtaking film written by bestselling author Neil Gaiman and brought to life through the vision of acclaimed artist and director Dave McKean. This original novella is Helena’s tale in her own voice, a stunning and magical journey. From AudioFile Young British television actress Stephanie Leonidas reprises her film role as Helena Campbell, the daughter of circus performers who is cast into a dark realm that is part ALICE IN WONDERLAND, part WIZARD OF OZ, and part Salvador Dali. In a moment of rebellion, Helena wishes her mother dead. Later that evening, her mother falls into a coma, and Helena soon falls into a bizarre fantasy world in which a Dark Queen tries to wipe out Helena's past and make her a Dark Princess. Leonidas reads with a rich, sweet voice but lacks the energy and emotional intensity of her on-screen performance. Still, her enticing accent coupled with Gaiman's off-kilter storytelling makes MIRRORMASK a delightful, if at times spooky, family audiobook. S.E.S. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine About the Author Neil Gaiman is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels Neverwhere, Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, Anansi Boys, The Graveyard Book, Good Omens (with Terry Pratchett), The Ocean at the End of the Lane, and The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains; the Sandman series of graphic novels; and the story collections Smoke and Mirrors, Fragile Things, and Trigger Warning. He is the winner of numerous literary honors, including the Hugo, Bram Stoker, and World Fantasy awards, and the Newbery and Carnegie Medals. Originally from England, he now lives in the United States. He is Professor in the Arts at Bard College.Stephanie Leonidas, star of the film of MirrorMask, has worked extensively on British TV and at the Royal Court Theatre; her other films include Crusade in Jeans, Feast of the Goat, Yes, and Fogbound.