Inkheart

Rating:
Summary: The Exact Opposite of Cliché
Review: Just imagine it--if you had the ability to bring characters in books to life! The people you could meet, the things you could talk about...But think about the dark side of that power--what about the nasties, the evil ones, the shadows...?

"Inkheart" is a wonderful book, and a complex one, intelligent and challenging, with unclichéd characters and plot-twists, and a truly novel, double-sided premise: that Meggie's book-loving bookbinder father has the ability to draw characters out of books when he reads aloud--literally--and his gift has caused sorrow and tragedy to weigh over their lives. In less capable hands this could go very twee and icky, but Ms. Funke's incredible talent makes it work--the magic is believable, workable, with limits and rules. The villains are nasty, but interesting, multi-faceted. The good guys have their flaws, the bad guys have their human quirks. And the Italian towns and landscape are wonderfully-evoked. Really fine writing!

Plus she brings something else to the task--perhaps it's the fact that she's European, and not writing for publication in the American kids-lit pipeline, but there's a cosmpolitan richness to this book that's hard to describe, a sort of assumption that her readers are intelligent book-lovers, which I appreciate greatly.

I would nominate "Inkheart" as one of the best young reader's novels of 2003. What a wonderful creation!

Rating:
Summary: About a Book
Review: The author does a good job of weaving the story of the adults just as well as she does the story of the main character - twelve year old Meggie. It's not quite as often that one sees a children's fiction book with the kids hero/heroine going on an adventure with his or her parent(s). This is great for the 9-12 age range the book's aimed towards, but it can possibly entertain adult readers too. It's full of magical creatures, an evil villain and his sidekicks, and even a bit of a love story (a love triangle - sort of - a sad love for someone that doesn't belong to you, enough to make the main story interesting). But mainly it's Meggie's story, a story about stories and how they can be the most powerful things in the world. And quite literally, in Inkheart.

Rating:
Summary: Whoa
Review: This book is sooooo great. It's just fantastic! I am a high school freshman and have read many books and this is one of my favorites. For anyone who enjoyed Harry Potter, The Lord of The Rings or The Thief Lord (by the same author) InkHeart is for you. This story just pulls you in from the first page. Any Fantasy Lover would utterly enjoy this book.

Rating:
Summary: Book Review of Inkheart
Review: Inkheart Chicken House, 2003, 544 pp., $19.95
Cornelia Funke ISBN: 0-689-82699-0

I wonder have you ever imagined a book's character to be real? I mean, real. So real like your friends that you hang around with. So real like an ordinary human.
This is what this book is exactly about. One night, a man reads the book out loud. He unleashed characters in the book. Which is just fine, I might say. However, what if they are evil? Believe it or not, or most unfortunately, I might add, he has unleashed unspeakably evil characters.
Now is the time. The man and his daughter must find a way to terminate the characters that the man has summoned. How are they going to stop them, now that the man has accidentally called the horror?
This book is fun to read. Frankly, I might have exaggerated the summary. So excuse me! Please do not get scared. This book contains an exciting adventure. You can never take your eyes off of that book and it is a fine book to read. Very truly, I tell you, I definitely can recommend this book to others who like to read fantasy.

- Philip Kong

Rating:
Summary: Plot needs to be reigned in
Review: I read this book out loud to my kids, ages 8-14, and that says a lot about the book--it held their interest and mine through more than 500 pages. The translation makes for smooth out-loud reading, which I appreciate. Reading a book out loud is the ultimate test of the skill of the writer (as Funke herself knows. Fenoglio she's not, and Mo _I'm_ not, but we all enjoyed ourselves).

So (...).

I appreciated the existential themes underneath the adventure story. What _would_ it be like to face your creator? What would you feel like if you suddenly discovered that somebody has invented you--made you up (how about that?)? What would it be like to meet a character you created? There was nothing hackneyed about Cornelia Funke's answers.

I took _Inkheart_ out of the library, paid a couple of dollars in overdue fines on it, spilled coffee all over it (still waiting to see if they'll charge me for that)...I've decided her other books are worth buying, at least used.

Rating:
Summary: The Book-Lovers Book
Review: This is the story of Meggie, a girl who has been brought up on books,and loves them more than anything, except her father, whom she calls Mo.
She, like everyone, has often wondered what it would be like to live in a book world, but when a book world comes to her life, it isn't as nice as you might think.
Mo is called Silvertongue, because when he reads aloud, things come out of books.Sometimes the things are alive, and not very pleasant.
Capricorn, a villain from the book Inkheart came to life in our world when Meggie was just a baby, and Mo has been running from him ever since. He couldn't run forever, and when Capricorn catches him, only Meggie---who might also have the silvertongue curse---can save him, with the cooperation of the slightly bonkers author of Inkheart,Fenoglio.
Things end all right, but many bad things happen that can never be healed. That's what gives this book its beautiful realism.

Rating:
Summary: Review for Inkheart
Review: After finishing this book just a few hours ago, I have many thoughts and comments on its ending, and overall, itself. Ms. Funke' s idea to enlight Mo and Meggie with the ability to read characters out of their books is absolutely delighting. It gives the reader a thought about the real book, Inkheart, itself and what would happen if characters in it would literally pop-out!
The end popped questions in my mind like: Are we part of a story that is on ink and paper? How can the real inkheart (book) tell a story about the precious one full of fairies and trolls?
The ending wasn't how I expected Cornelia Funke would tie up her story. Shadow just kills Capricorn and the rest of his men, happiness is restored, and everyone lives happily ever after...good for a fairy tale, but not this one. She did better with The Theif Lord, which I thought was as excellent, if not better, than Inkheart.
Overall, four/five stars would be my rating for this book.

Rating:
Summary: Dull and difficult to finish
Review: I found the idea behind this book to be rather intriguing, but while reading it was highly disappointed.

The first 50 pages or so of this book were pretty good, but then after a few more, it felt like it was about to climax and end. However, there were still 300+ pages left to go. The book felt on the verge of ending almost the whole time. It tried to drag the high-energy level on for far too long, and you ended up exhausted and bored when you finally finished . . . which feels like a lifetime. The actual ending is very predictable, and the effort it took to actually get to the real ending isn't really worth it.
Although this book originally showed promise, I found it to be dull, slow, and bogged-down in too much plot. A friend of mine who read this also felt the same way.

Rating:
Summary: Amazingly Awesome! Five Star Review
Review: Inkheart by Cornelia Funke has had my 6th graders cajoling me to read just one more chapter each day. Cornelia Funkes' book appeals to boys and girls alike. It's rich vocabulary and irresistible characters make it an excellent choice for a read aloud. We have predicted and done character studies after each chapter and not one complaint. I am enjoying this book as much as my students. They are excited and inspired to read and write about Inkheart. We are all rooting for Meggie, Mo, Aunt Eleanor and Fenoglio and waiting non-to patiently for Capricorn and his swarthy crew to get their just desserts.Inkheart is a gift with a treaure-trove of characters, a superb plot and wonderfully descriptive writing. Loved it...recommend it immensely!

Rating:
Summary: An excellent read.
Review: Highly recommended for boys ages 8 and up. I also loved it, it's a real page turner.