I received a message from a fellow bookwyrm a few weeks ago telling me she wanted to read Inkheart. She then asked me if I’d read and reviewed to book before. Well, I had read it, but it’s been a while. So, I did what any good reader does, I went to my bookshelf and opened my copy to page one.

Inkheart was published in English in 2003, and it’s been made into a movie. But for those of you who aren’t familiar with the story, read on for a brief summary.

Do you dare to read this book aloud?

Eleven-year-old Meggie has never lived in a home that wasn’t filled with books. Her father, Mo, is what she calls a book doctor. He takes old books and gives them new life by restoring their worn-out covers and mending their loose bindings.

But her father also has a secret. It’s the reason he gives Meggie beautiful stories with personalized covers, but will never read any of them out loud. Then one day, Mo’s secret catches up with him. He and Meggie find themselves tangled up in a story that escaped the pages of a book called Inkheart. A book Meggie’s father has kept hidden from her for over nine years.

If Meggie is going to have any chance of saving her family (and the world) from one of the worst villains ever to be written in black ink, she’ll have to learn how to harness her own gift of reading—and hope she has the strength and courage to see her mission through to the bitter end.

What you should know before you open the cover

Did you know Inkheart was originally written in German and then translated into English? It’s also the first book in a trilogy, followed by Inkspell and Inkdeath.

The books are written with readers 9 to 12 in mind, but mom and dad should be warned that there are threats of violence toward adults and children in this story. If your young reader is sensitive at all, you should definitely read it first before letting them read it on their own.

Inkheart is a long book at nearly 500 pages. I’m a fast reader and it took me almost two weeks to finish it. The story is also told by an omniscient narrator. This means that we’re seeing the story kind of like you would in a movie; like an outsider looking in. We also get to hear about what most of the characters are thinking and feeling, too. 

What I like about this story

One of my favorite things about Inkheart is all the different quotes from other stories at the top of each new chapter. Each quote gives us some sort of clue about what’s going to happen in the next chapter. Some of the books quoted are books I’ve read before, but there are a bunch that I’m not familiar with. They made me curious about some of these other stories.

Even though the story is long, it keeps your attention because the characters jump from one frying pan into another, and then another. You’re always wondering what’s going to happen next.

Another nice thing about Inkheart is that the first book wraps up the story nicely. If you get to the end and don’t want to continue, that’s okay. But if you are curious and you don’t mind the danger, the suspense, and working a little harder on your reading skills, then two more adventures await you.

I’m giving Inkheart three and a half out of five dark chocolate eggs. Because of the the dangerous situations and the length of the book, I think some readers under 11 might have a hard time with this one. But that’s a choice I’ll leave completely up to you.

Happy reading!

Note: No goods or services were exchanged for this review. The opinions belong solely to the reviewer.