Inkheart

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, 2003
This was a reread. I read it first several years ago, but since the movie is coming out soon, I wanted to read it aloud to my kids. My husband was immediately captivated by the story and read it through in just a couple of days. I grew impatient with reading on only when we were all together, so I, too, finished it on my own.

Meggie lives with her dad, a book repairer, when a mysterious and ominous person shows up outside their home one night. Dustfinger talks about Capricorn wanting “it” and by the next morning, Meggie and her dad, “Silvertongue,” are off to hide at her great-aunt Elinor’s house. But this house full of books wasn’t clever enough to hide the desired book from Capricorn’s goons. Thus begins a lengthy adventure with Meggie being kidnapped, then escaping, then captured again, then learning she can read things out of books as well, then finding her mom, then reading a new ending to the book and destroying Capricorn and most of his men at the same time. The ending leaves an opening for the next book, Inkspell.

I liked it throughout, especially the premise of reading things out of books, but really liked it by the end.

Some memory-jogging tags: Magic. First published in Germany. Gangs. Fictional characters brought to life. Book repair. Authorship.