INKHEART (by Cornelia Funke)

It comes into a thrilling adventure about magic and self-discovery. A twelve-years old girl, Meggie, lives quietly with her father, Mo whose job is a bookbinder. Since her mother, Resa, disappeared nine years ago, Maggie and her father centered their lives on books and reading. But Mo has a deep secret which Maggie has never known, until they meet Dustfinger and everything seems strange and blur for Meggie. This stranger comes to their house in the middle of the night, calling Mo “silvertongue”, Meggie is curious. The purpose of Dustfinger coming to Mo is to warn him about an evil named Capricorn who is looking for him. Finally revealed that Mo posseses an extraordinary magical power. When Meggie discovers that Mo can literally read characters from books into life, she begins to think that there might be more to her mother’s dissapearance than she has always been told. 

The both characters Dustfingers and Capricorn are those who had been accidentally read out by Mo from the book called Inkheart. To avoid the chase of Capricorn, the next day, Mo and Meggie leave to go to aunt Elinor’s house. Mo had been trying to get away from Dustfinger, which didin’t work, because Dustfinger had followed them. Unfortunately, they end up by being caught and dragged off by Capricorn. Meggie has herself in a valley where the malicious, merciless Capricorn live, all things in the valley came from the Inkheart: palace, village, and even the people. Meggie then finds out the other things: the contents of the book, the reason her mother dissapeared, and how Capricorn and his dark cast came from. In this story, Meggie must deal with revelations: the truth about her father’s secret, the story of how her mother dissapeared and the discovery that she has inherited her father’s magical talent. 

Like many other fantasy stories, this will appeal to a broad age range, not only for children. Funke has created a mysterious adventure tale for book lovers. Well-developed characters (some humorous, other sympathetic and some downright nasty in their deeds) and a strong sense of place will make readers curious to continue reading. The character of Dustfinger brings another view of human being. He is kind a loser who has no bravery at all but at the same time he has a good side as well. 

Inkheart is a book about books, very recommended for book lovers. Funke begins each chapter with quotes from well-known children’s books and successfully links them with the events of the chapters. It is good for children as they need such an education through books they read. And this kind of style can be applied to bring them a good effect, so what they have read won’t be usless. 

 Funke’s writing style combines a modern stuff with fable. At 534 pages, this book is longer than most young-adult novels, but it is dividedinto short and digestible chapters. Readers will feel amused by those sympathetic characters, including the villains whose words are far more threatening than their actions. An interesting part in the book is the time when Meggie reads the “Tin Soldier” out of a book. She slowly finds out that she also has Mo’s silvertongue power. Another interesting part is when Meggie finally meets her mother. There is a view of mother and daughter unseen bound which seems very strong.  

This book leaves us guessing as we know fictional characters come to life and struggle to make a place for themselves in the real world. What a fantasy! It’s an amusement when readers have such an imagination of their perfect character that will come into reality. They can play with the fantasy and also have their own favorite character. The lead character, Mo, becomes one of children’s favorite father role models. He is kind and cheerful. He likes to make a situation seems right even though it doesn’t. When he quarrels with Meggie, he’s often the first to apologize. He also realizes that reading characters out of the books can be so dangerous, since his wife Resa went into a book. 

The second book and third book of this trilogy, Inkspell and Inkdeath will lead the readers into another world of fantasy and adventure. The author writes in a very descriptive, imaginative waythat makes you want to keep reading. She has a distinct style, a creative mind that formulates a fabulous and thrilling story. This book is very recommended to all readers who like fantasy and adventure.