Inkheart

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Summary

Twelve-year-old Meggie learns that her father, who repairs and binds books for a living, can "read" fictional characters to life when one of those characters abducts them and tries to force him into service.

Published Reviews

Booklist Review: "Gr. 6-12. One dark night, a mysterious man called Dustfinger appears at the house where Meggie lives with her father, a bookbinder. Dustfinger's arrival sets in motion a long, complicated chain of events involving a journey, fictional characters brought to life, dangerous secrets revealed, threats of evil deeds, actual evil deeds, a long-lost relative found, and the triumph of creativity and courage. Despite the presence of several well-developed, sympathetic characters, the plot is often driven by the decidedly menacing, less-convincing villains. Although Meggie, one of the few young people in the book, remains the central character, she is not always in the forefront of the action or even on the scene. The points of view of sympathetic adult characters become increasingly important and more fully developed as the story progresses. Like many other fantasies, this will appeal to a broad age range, though the writing is far less child-centered than it is, for example, in the Harry Potter series. Translated from the German, this long book was written by the author of The Thief Lord (2002). --Carolyn Phelan Copyright 2003 Booklist"
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Publisher's Weekly Review: "In Funke's (The Thief Lord) delectably thick and transfixing fantasy, 12-year-old Meggie learns that when her bookbinder father, Mo, reads a book aloud, the characters and other objects appear in the real world. Nine years ago, Mo accidentally brought out evil Capricorn and his loyal man, Basta, from Inkheart (as well as the "fire-eater," Dustfinger), and they are hot on his trail. Capricorn wants to destroy Mo's copy of the book so that Mo can't return Capricorn to his fictional life, and Capricorn wants the bookbinder to read out treasures (as in "gold") for him (as well as a murderous "friend" from Inkheart known as the Shadow). While the specifics of how the magic works remain a bit fuzzy, the characters are wonderfully complex, from tragic Dustfinger, who would stop at nothing to return to the world he misses, to the superstitious Basta who remains loyal to his boss even after the villain sentences him to death. Readers will quickly find themselves entranced by the well-orchestrated plot, commiserating with Meggie's great-aunt Elinor when Capricorn's men burn the bibliophile's library of rare books, and jumping when events take a suspenseful turn. Funke plans every exquisite detail: chapters begin with quotes from books such as The Wind in the Willows, setting the stage for this book about books, and bookworms will appreciate the opportunities to identify with the characters (e.g., Dustfinger does not want to learn the ending of Inkheart, both Mo and Elinor warn Meggie of the dangers of fire to those who surround themselves with pages, etc.). Meggie makes a triumphant heroine and in the end discovers her own secret talent. Funke once again proves the power of her imagination; readers will be captivated by the chilling and thrilling world she has created here. Ages 11-15. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved"
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Additional Information

Series	Inkheart trilogy #1 - Inkheart #2 - Inkspell #3 - Inkdeath
Subjects	Books and reading Juvenile fiction Characters and characteristics in literature Juvenile fiction Magic Juvenile fiction Bookbinding Juvenile fiction Authorship Juvenile fiction Books and reading Fiction Characters in literature Fiction Magic Fiction Bookbinding Fiction Authorship Fiction Fantasy Juvenile Fiction Italy Juvenile fiction. Italy Fiction. Electronic books.
Publisher	New York :Scholastic Inc.2011 2011
Edition	1st American ed.
Other Titles	Tintenherz.
Contributors	Bell, Anthea. OverDrive, Inc.
Language	English
System Details	Mode of access: World Wide Web. Format: Adobe EPUB eBook Format: Kindle Book Format: OverDrive READ Requires Adobe Digital Editions or Amazon Kindle
Awards	A Junior Library Guild selection.
Description	1 online resource
ISBN	9780545406239 9780545406239
Other	Classic View