It was true: the other mother loved her. But she loved Coraline as a miser loves money, or a dragon loves its gold. In the other mother's button eyes, Coraline knew that she was a possession, nothing more. A tolerated pet, whose behavior was no longer amusing.

“It seemed to Coraline that it was crouching, and staring down at her, as if it …”

“There is a madness, yes, this is true. Few mortals possess it, the willingness …”

“It was love, I knew, and it tasted like champagne in my mind.”

“If not for Death, they’d be content to simply exist, but with Death, well, thei…”