Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane. or American Gods.

Well lets start by saying that I saw a huge trend between this and Caroline and what I read  mostly in the fact. They both have the bad home life and the transition between worlds and being the chosen one. Both of these characters wanted to escape on Caroline wanted to escape from her neglectful parents and from several examples from this book shows escapism like when the kitten was killed by the gambler. Both of these feel like escapism but there not. I also do not Feel like the fantasy itself was reinvented. At least from what I read. It seems to follow the archetype. But reading what Neil Gaiman wrote. It feels well written and interesting. When I do end up finishing I will have more to say.