Dunmore, Helen. Ingo. HarperCollins, 2006. 336 pages. ISBN: 00-60818-522Genre/Subject: Fantasy, Adventure
Ages: 10 to 14
Book-a-like: A Wrinkle in Time
Plot:
An eleven-year-old girl named Sapphire and her brother Conner have a comfortable lifestyle living in England near the ocean. They watch love their home on the sea, using their father's boat, swimming and watching animal creatures in the water. The stories about the Mer people are told by Sapphire's father, including a mermaid carving in their church. One night, Sapphire overhears her parents talking. Her father goes outside to take a walk on the beach, but he never returns. For weeks, Sapphire and Conner search for their missing father. The town assumes he has deceased and holds a memorial service in his memory. However, Sapphire and Conner do not believe their dad is truly dead. Together, Sapphire and Conner strive to find their missing father. In their search, they go down to the ocean where their father was last seen, and at the edge of the water in a real-live Mer, named Faro. This creature lives beneath the ocean, in Ingo,with the Mer people. First Conner was called to the sea, and disappears. Next, Sapphire is invited to join his watery world, and quickly accepts. Obsessed with the ocean Sapphire cannot seem to resist Faro, and hears his calls in the middle of the night. When she is in Ingo she does not think of her own family or friends or any person in her life, all she cares about is being in Ingo. Sapphire begins to believe that she is part Mer and must strive to make the right choices to save her father and reunite her family.
Review:This book is the first in a trilogy of books to come, so mermaid fans will be delighted to await for the sequel. Dunmore creates a new fantastical world is created underwater, a Mer civilization. Previous mermaid stories seem to bring the mermaid into the human world. But taking humans and placing them into a mermaid world underwater is a fresh idea. Both characters are given special breathing powers so they can breathe underwater. The author uses descriptive words making the reader feel as if they are experiencing the ocean waves. There is a sense of mystery within the novel, in the search for a missing father. The cover is attractive, a beautiful silhouette of a mermaid underwater. There is a strong family structure, the brother and sister connection is really good. There is a sense of addiction within the story, though, that Sapphire and Conner are addicted the the sea, that drives them back to the sea. This could be relateable for a tween who might have a problem with addiciton. Sapphire is a realistic character that has many real life qualities, she occasionally lies, and enters dangerous situations, but the author gives her many situations where she can make decisions for herself.
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