MirrorMask »

Novelist Neil Gaiman has sent a British businessman tumbling into a fantastic underworld and had a devil and angel comically conspiring to thwart the Apocalypse. He found his biggest success, though, in Death, Dreams and Destruction -- and the four other similarly named siblings who controlled the reins of the human race's emotional impulses in his graphic-novel series The Sandman, a wholesale rejuvenation of graphic fiction that had everyone from Tori Amos to Norman Mailer spinning with, yes, Delirium.

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, written by master storyteller Neil Gaiman and accompanied by original art by Dave McKean and images from the film; it is a stunning and magical journey.

Norah Piehl - Children's Literature

Created by the same team that brought us Coraline--the creative reimagining of Alice in Wonderland--this book is in essence a novelization of the 2005 movie by the same name. Directed by McKean with a screenplay written by Gaiman, the film falls short of the duo's previous creative genius. Unfortunately, the children's book resulting from the collaboration also disappoints. Fifteen-year-old Helena is a gifted artist and circus performer who loves her parents but longs to leave the circus environment and "run away and join Real Life." When Helena's mother suddenly falls ill, Helena finds her wish coming true, but in a horribly wrong way. The world Helena finds herself in is much like her own--many of the circus workers she knows inhabit it--but it also seems like an odd inversion of her own world, with fantastic beasts and dark shadows. Indeed, Helena herself seems to be mistaken for an evil princess who has stolen a mysterious charm and thrown the land's queen into a deep sleep. Accompanied by the enigmatic Valentine and assisted by a book modestly titled The History of Everything, Helena must try to restore the balance to this odd new world--and to her own. The best parts of the novel are the drawings created by famed graphic novel illustrator McKean; stills from the movie simply seem blurry and unfinished instead of surreal and dreamlike. The novel's frenetic design and frantic pace lack depth. Young readers who are really interested in Gaiman's work would instead find more in the illustrated screenplay of the movie, which includes much more context as well as background on the film's genesis. 2005, Harper Collins, and Ages 11 to 15.