Book Review: Inkheart
Rated by 3 members
What Parents Should Know
Parents should know that the villains are really quite
wicked, and Meggie is often in mortal danger. There's an edge
to the villainy here that some children find enthralling,
others disturbing. Book-loving children and their parents will
enjoy the literary references and celebration of books in the
lives of the heroes.
Common Sense Media Review
J. K. Rowling may have shown that children will read long
books, but that doesn't mean they have to be long. This book
could easily have been half the length and still told the same
story. As with her previous book,
The Thief Lord, some children will be put off by the
leisurely pace while others will be enthralled by the unusual
story (though not that unusual -- Gov. Schwarzenegger did the
same kind of thing in his movie
The Last Action Hero.)
Despite the slow pacing and repetitiveness this is quite a rousing adventure. Meggie is a stalwart heroine and the villains are truly creepy and brutal (perhaps too much so for some children). Each chapter begins with a quote from another children's book, both foreshadowing the chapter and giving pleasure to bibliophiles. And the whole thing is a paean to books, authors, reading, and especially reading aloud. An enjoyable, if flabbily edited, adventure.
From the Book:
Meggie stroked their curved spines. Which books should
she take this time? Which stories would help to drive away the
fear that had crept into the house last night? I know, thought
Meggie, why not a story about telling lies. Mo told her lies.
He told terrible lies, even though he knew that every time he
told one she looked hard at his nose.
Pinocchio, thought Meggie. No, too sinister. And too
sad. But she wanted something exciting, a story to drive all
other thoughts out of her head, even the darkest.
The Witches, yes. She'd take the bald-headed witches
who turn children into mice -- and
The Odyssey, with the Cyclops and the enchantress who
transforms his warriors into pigs. Her journey could hardly be
more dangerous than his, could it?
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