Twelve year old Meggie lives in a world of books. In her house books are everywhere; stacked under tables, on chairs, they fill every corner of her home.
Books fill the long and quiet nighttimes and books distract her from the pain when she misses her mother who mysteriously disappeared nine years ago. Yes, Meggie lives in a world of books, and the world inside of her books is about to cross the line.
Plot Summary of Inkheart (The Chicken House, 2003)
One dark night, a scarred and mysterious stranger arrives looking for Meggie's father, a bookbinder named Mo. He is Dustfinger, a character who Mo unwittingly brought out of the pages of a book called Inkheart, and he wants to be read back in. Unfortunately, when Mo, a Silvertongue, uses his gift to read characters and things out of books, someone from his own world goes back in. He already lost his wife into the book, and he won't lose his daughter, too.
Dustfinger didn't come out of the book alone, however, with him came an evil tyrant named Capricorn who is determined to capture Meggie and Mo. Capricorn, whose heart is a void that is as black as ink, is obsessed with Mo and Meggie's gift. He is determined to use it to release from Inkheart the evilest villain of all: a force of destruction called the Shadow.
In order to find her mother and save her world, Meggie must track down the book's author, find the only existing copy of Inkheart, learn to harness the power of her Silvertongue gift to change the story's ending before her world is destroyed.
Review of Inkheart
There's something satisfying about curling up with a thick book (this one is 548 pages) and being drawn into a story that entices, thrills and entertains for a good long while. Filled with truly brutal villains, frequent mortal danger, and cameo appearances from beloved childhood stories, Inkheart is a truly satisfying read for anyone who appreciates a really good story.
Although the books appears in the children's section of some libraries and bookstores (due to 12 year old heroine) be warned that the villains are disturbingly twisted and Meggie is often in mortal danger, making this a read too intense for many of the the under-10 set. It is, after all, a Young Adult book.
The plot is imaginative and unique (what would happen if characters could come out of books?) but what makes this book truly appealing is the language used to tell the story. Inkheart is incredibly well written; full of poetic phrasing and vivid imagery.
Although some critics say that the book was entirely too long to tell the story, what they don't realize is that savoring all those lovely words is part of what makes Cornelia Funke's book so appealing. Because we live in a world of “hurry up,” this book is especially endearing. It's not a pulp novel to devour and forget, it is a delicious treat for those who love to savor and digest a truly wonderful story.
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