Inkheart
By Cornelia Funke
Hi! Have you ever wished that you could disappear into one of your favorite books? Well, that’s exactly what Meggie’s mother did! However, Meggie herself doesn’t know this. All she knows is that her mother disappeared when she was still little. Now, her father, Mortimer, takes care of her. Meggie calls her father “Mo.”
One day, a stranger appears at their house. Meggie and Mo move around a lot, so they’re hardly ever in one place. Meggie thinks this is because her dad’s a bookbinder, and he gets calls from people all over Europe. They want Mo to bind their books.
Anyway, back to the stranger at the door… Mo calls him “Dustfinger.” And Dustfinger (Dustfinger? What a weird name!) calls Mo “Silvertongue.” Mo takes him into the house and they discuss something in Mo’s workshop where he binds books. Meggie sneaks down and hears some of their conversation. But when she hears Mo leaving, she rushes upstairs and gets into her bed and pretends like she is asleep. However, Mo catches her in the act. Then, Meggie really goes to bed.
The next morning, they leave to go to Meggie’s Aunt Eleanor’s house. Silvertongue takes Dustfinger with them. While they’re there, Meggie learns the truth about her mother: she disappeared into a book while Mo was reading aloud. Mo has a special ability to read someone or something out of a book. However, when that things comes out, something else from the human world replaces it and goes into the book. That’s how he lost Meggie’s mother. He was reading out of a book called Inkheartwhen two horrifying villains come out of the book, along with Dustfinger (that explains the weird name). The two villainous people are called Capricorn, the main bad guy that comes out, and Basta, his loyal servant. They somehow were able to read other characters out of books to join them in their evil schemes. They are all now in the human world.
Now, back to the story… One night, Dustfinger gives a performance for Meggie. He can touch fire without it hurting him. But, over the music that Dustfinger was playing, Meggie heard voices - dark and scary voices. It was Capricorn’s men. They had come to take Mo so that he could do something for Capricorn, most likely read something out of a book. Capricorn’s men take Mo and his copy of Inkheart.
Meggie, Dustfinger and Eleanor go after Mo. But, when they reach Capricorn’s lair, they find that men are already there, waiting for them! Who could have told the soldiers that they were arriving? Will they ever be safe? Will this story have a happy ending? As I always say, read the book to find out!
A few helpful things I like to say about the books I read:
“Run and Get Mom” (how I describe the scariness factor – zero being not scary at all and five being majorly scary): 4
“Yucky-Lovey Stuff” (how I describe the romance factor – zero having no yucky-lovey parts in it and five having major yucky-lovey parts):2
I give this book 5wands.
This story was adventurous and magical, a book within a book.If you love excitement, adventure, scariness, and magic, then this is the book for you!
