Inkheart

We’ve all wanted to dive into the world of a book, but what if the world in the book came back out? While classified as a book for “Young Readers”, Inkheart actually contains some pretty dark material. There is fire, violence, and even death, which may make the story too intense for younger readers. That being said, it is also a great adventure story with great characters and real stakes.

The story centers around 12 year old Meggie, and her adventures with her father. Unlike most books for young readers, Meggie is pretty much the only child in this story. All of the other supporting characters are adults. It’s great to see a story centered around a young girl who is intelligence, brave, and well-read. But, we do not really get any insight into how Meggie thinks or feels about being a girl. In fact, her being a girl isn’t really mentioned or talked about at all. There isn’t some grand lesson that she needs to learn, or any personal obstacles she needs to overcome in order to grow, she’s just a young girl on an adventure. On one hand that’s great that her gender doesn’t matter, on the other hand I do feel that there is a missed opportunity to use a young girl’s perspective as she grows up around all of these stories.

One of the book’s supporting characters has a pet marten, which is close enough to a ferret to be an instant classic for me! If you want to read a simple, dark adventure tale then I would recommend this book. If you are looking for something to share with your children, then just make sure that you are prepared to help them understand the violence and death in the story.