Although I am not very far into the book, I’ve begun reading “Inkheart” the first title in the “Inkheart trilogy. I discovered the title when I was perusing a list of recommendations in my Overdrive account. The title intrigued me so I added it to my list of titles to read. Recently the e-book became available to check out.
Inkheart (German title: Tintenherz) is a 2003 young adult fantasy novel by German author, Cornelia Funke. I’ve been intrigued by the plot, the fantastic characters and events that interact with everyday modern people. That interaction is the underlying motivation of the story and is the most compelling element of the story.
The book is also, in a sense, all about books, and this adds to why I like the book. When I was working on my masters degree in librarianship, I took courses in children’s and young adult literature. I also read a lot as a child and teen, thus, I’ve had a broad exposure to children’s literature. I think this will be a plus as I get deeper into the books. I suspect that if readers have a fairly good knowledge of classic children’s literature, they will enjoy those connections.
The use of quotations from many other children’s books make the story even more enjoyable as does the vivid images Funke is able to conjure up. The plot is convoluted and fantastic, the writing creative and engaging as are the characters. I can already tell that not all the characters are likeable, in fact, I suspect will find at least one character detestable. Other characters aren’t clearly good guys or bad guys, which is similar to real life. Because this is a fantasy, it won’t surprise me if I also find some plot twists to be very unbelievable.
Although styled as a “young adult” series, I think adults will enjoy Inkheart , and likely the remaining two tiles in the trilogy, Inkspell and Inkdeath, which I plan to read. I understand that a movie was made of Inkheart and was released theatrically on December 12, 2008, in the UK and January 23, 2009, in the US, but I know nothing about this film.
- Age Range: 8 – 12 years
- Grade Level: 3 – 7
- Series: Inkheart Trilogy (Book 1)
- Paperback: 560 pages
- Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks; 1st edition (June 1, 2005)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0439709105
- ISBN-13: 978-0439709101
Susie Learns 2.0 