Name: Inkheart
Rating: 3.946829268292683 (615 reviews)
ISBN: 9780439709101

Cornelia Funke

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.

Inkheart

I have a deep-seated love and respect for this book rooted in nostalgia. I read it for the first time when I was in fourth grade, and it helped cultivate my interest in fantasy. That being said, this was merely an okay introduction to the trilogy.

The concept is amazing and executed fairly well, but the pacing was all over the place. This could’ve been shorted by a hundred pages and been exceptional. There were some scenes that were entirely too long or unnecessary altogether. It’s clear that the author thought of every single detail and included it in the novel (literally).

I’m looking forward to the second book because I have fond memories of it being my favorite.

Nik ✨

I have a deep-seated love and respect for this book rooted in nostalgia. I read it for the first time when I was in fourth grade, and it helped cultivate my interest in fantasy. That being said, this was merely an okay introduction to the trilogy.

The concept is amazing and executed fairly well, but the pacing was all over the place. This could’ve been shorted by a hundred pages and been exceptional. There were some scenes that were entirely too long or unnecessary altogether. It’s clear that the author thought of every single detail and included it in the novel (literally).

I’m looking forward to the second book because I have fond memories of it being my favorite.

Tintenherz

Schon immer eines meiner absoluten Lieblingsbücher, und auch nach all den Jahren wieder aufs neue verzaubernd.

Anna Stocker

Love this book so much! It's a super fun read and always keeps me on the edge of my seat. I read it once when I was a kid and it has haunted me ever since. Rereading it was a bit nostalgic, but it's one of those books that makes you want to read more.

Yvette

Haley Murray

Finally finished this after continually picking it up and putting it down in my childhood.

Kirsten Simkiss

Inkheart was, ultimately, not my favorite book. While the concept is certainly well explored, I felt that I had read other stories of similar design where characters leave their stories that felt better realized. This one is a solid 3 stars for me. While it's an easy read and the characters are relatable, I don't feel particularly that this book is something I will ever read again. I'm still on the fence about reading the second book. I suppose we'll see.

The main character, Meggie, is a twelve year old living in Europe when literal story book villains descend upon her life. Her father Mo, a repairman of antique books, has the special ability to read things out of books when he reads them aloud - often at the cost of swapping something from his world for something in the world of the book. When he accidentally pulls the main villain of a book named Inkheart and getting his wife stuck inside the pages of the story, Mo takes Meggie and runs far away.

Ultimately, the premise is good and the characters are interesting, but for a 534 page book (at least in my paperback) there were a lot of scenes that were just repeats of prior scenes without any real purpose other than prolonging the story and splitting characters up again after only briefly being united. It could have been much better realized.

Also, having not seen the movie but having looked at the casting, I have some serious questions as to why half of the characters look nothing like they're described in the book whatsoever. I'll probably watch the movie just to compare and see how they visualize the magic, but seeing as I'm not super optimistic about the book, I'm even less interested in the movie.

This is something I might recommend to a middle school student, but honestly there are better middle school level books to read.

Thank you Jenna of live_1000_lives for picking this book for a throwback readalong! I never read this as a child, which surprised me as this book is grim but relatively clean aside from some violence. It was slow at times but thoroughly enchanting and an intriguing concept!

Liz Griffin

Celeste Richardson

Full review now posted!

Is there anything more magical than a book literally coming to life?

“Books have to be heavy because the whole world’s inside them.”

For Meggie, books have always been the hub around which her life spins. Her dad, Mo, is a book doctor, rebinding books that have seen better days. Books are what the two bond over, are what they decorate their home with, and are how they relate to the world around them. But Mo has never ever read aloud to his daughter, that she can remember, and in the pages of Inkheart Meggie discovers his reasons.

“Some books should be tasted, some devoured, but only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly.”

This was a wonderful adventure, and is one that I’ve taken before and look forward to taking again. As I’ve said time and again, I love books about books. And Inkheart is an ode to the written word if ever there was one. However, Inkheart isn’t just a long song to stories, but to the physical books that house them. I’m a big believer in e-readers, especially for their portability, but nothing will ever take the place of a physical book for me. The sound of the pages, the smell of the ink, the texture of raised letters on a cover, the beauty of spines lined up on a shelf, can never be replaced by an electronic document. There’s just something about taking a book down off a shelf and knowing that you’re holding an entire world in your hands that an incredibly heady feeling.

“If you take a book with you on a journey, an odd thing happens: the book begins collecting your memories. And forever after you have only to open the book to be back where you first read it. It will all come into your mind with the very first words: the sights you saw in that place, what it smelled like, the ice-cream you ate while you were reading it … yes, books are like flypapers. Memories cling to the printed page better than anything else.”

The above quote is so true. If I pick up my Edgar Allen Poe collection, I remember being ten years old and reading “The Tell-Tale Heart” for the first time while hiding under the covers with a flashlight. When I open Ender’s Game, I remember sitting in alone in a Gifted classroom during my 5th grade year, reading through tears because Ender made me feel less alone. I remember reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in one day, when I had to stay home from school sick with the flu. Flowers for Algernon will always bring back to mind a road trip to Tennessee right after I graduated from college. Books matter. They really do preserve memories better than anything else, be those memories flower petals pressed between pages or personal memories that reside right inside the cover.

The fictional Inkheart novel inside of this book was also wonderful. I adore books about books that don’t actually exist, especially this one, The Princess Bride, and The Shadow of the Wind. I always wish I could somehow reach into the book I’m reading and pull out the fictional book within it, but alas. Inkheart is populated with fairies, trolls, little glass people, murderers, fire-breathers, and magic. It was a wonderful addition to the story of a man who could read things right out of the pages he held in his hands.

I was afraid that I wouldn’t enjoy this book as much on a reread, but thankfully I was mistaken. There was still just as much magic housed in its pages. And it’s a magic that I heartily recommend sharing with any children in your life, especially those who already love books. I can’t wait for my niece to be old enough to experience the magic that can be found within the written world.

“Is there anything in the world better than words on a page? Magic signs, the voices of the dead, building blocks to make wonderful worlds better than this one, comforters, companions in loneliness. Keepers of secrets, speakers of the truth … all those glorious words.”

Original review can be found at Booknest.

Anna-Lea Bentke 

Cornelia Funke writes beautiful words. But what I admire most, is her ability to name charakters. Great Charakters, great Plot, great autor. There are Szenen burned into my mind, in a good way. For A kids book it holds up even for older Readers, in my opinion it belongs on a similar Level as Harry potter 

The first book in Cornelia Funke's internationally celebrated trilogy - magical, thrilling and mesmerising. 'I don't think I've ever read anything that conveys so well the joys, terrors and pitfalls of reading'Diana Wynne Jones Meggie loves books. So does her father, Mo, a bookbinder, although he has never read aloud to her since her mother mysteriously disappeared. They live quietly until the night a stranger knocks at their door. He has come with a warning that forces Mo to reveal an extraordinary secret - a storytelling secret that will change their lives for ever. Also a major film starring Andy Serkis, Paul Bettany and Brendan Fraser!

Eleanor Luhar

This book was orginally written in German, but has been translated into many languages over time. Obviously, I read the English edition. It's also been adapted to a film, which I'm sure I have seen but can't remember

Meggie is 12, so a rather young protagonist. But this book didn't feel overly immature, despite the young age of the main character.

The story is rather complicated, but it involves a lot of books, magic, and villains. It is quite an innocent book, I think, especially with the sweet, happy ending that it has. But again, it's not immature or childish. 

Dustfinger was an interesting character, often walking the line between good and bad. I am interested in seeing more of him throughout the rest of the trilogy. Capricorn was quite a traditional, old-fashioned villain, giving it a sort of old fairytale feel. I loved the idea of the books coming to life when you read them.

I was also a big fan of the romantic perspective this story gives on books in general; I personally adore reading and loved hearing books being described in such wonderful ways. I definitely identify with Elinor in that way - even if my name is spelt slightly different!

It's quite a long book but not hard to read at all. It's sweet and innocent and exciting, with the kind of magic I remember from reading when I was younger. 4.5 stars.

Rose Stanley

A properly scary children's book. I may or may not have strongly identified with Eleanor...

Taylor

This series 100% sparked my love of reading and I'm happy to see that it's still so good. 10/10 comfort read

From internationally acclaimed storyteller Cornelia Funke, this bestselling, magical epic is now out in paperback! One cruel night, Meggie's father reads aloud from a book called INKHEART-- and an evil ruler escapes the boundaries of fiction and lands in their living room. Suddenly, Meggie is smack in the middle of the kind of adventure she has only read about in books. Meggie must learn to harness the magic that has conjured this nightmare. For only she can change the course of the story that has changed her life forever. This is INKHEART--a timeless tale about books, about imagination, about life. Dare to read it aloud.

Inkheart #1

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