Customer Reviews

Ingo

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Ingo is my third favorite book ever (now leaning towards the second)!!! You will fall in love with the main character, Sapphire. In the beginning, Sapphire's father disappears, but Sapphire and her brother, Connor, believe that he is still alive. After Sapphire's father's disappearance, Sapphy and Connor, find a new place to spend their days, in Ingo. Ingo is the underwater world full of people called the Mer. Sapphire and Connor have a special gift of breathing underwater. Their new friends, Faro and Elvira (the Mer), take them on journeys out far into the sea. If you enjoy this book, go ahead and keep on reading the rest of the series!

this series has me hooked. i originaly started on ingo for a book report but soon was craving for more of the wild desciptive way the author writes. every time it starts to talk about the ocean i almost feel like im in it. drifting with tendrils of seaweed brushing my fingers and a warm ocean current streaming over me. i have gills and i am sapphire. it captivates you and is amazng. a must read for sure. im 12 and this is awesome

I loved this book. I picked it up in Barnes and Noble because the cover was so pretty and started reading it. I ended up buying it that day. It's true that it's prbably not the best for a young kid, but I think it would be ok for a little more mature kids, maybe 9 and up. It shows a really goo brother-sister connection, also.

I'm writing this review for other parents who may be making a decision about whether their children are allowed to read this book. This review is written for those coming from a Judeo/Christian/Islamic background and belief system. Those who don't share that belief system can feel free to skip this review.

This book is full of bad behavior and immorality. Where to start?

[Warning, spoilers included below]

First, there is a fair amount of fornication [for those who care about such things in children's literature]. The main character is a young girl named Sapphire and her father "disappears" [apparently he has actually abandoned his wife and children to go be with the Mer people it turns out in the end]. One year later her mother is dating another man. She apparently spends the night with him, calling her children from her place of employment and telling them the "car won't start" so she's spending the night elsewhere [leaving the 13 and 11 year old children alone all night]. A recurring "ancestor" in the book is a man who abandoned his pregnant girlfriend and ran off with a Mermaid - this is talked about in great detail later in the book. The baby of this union is apparently the ancestor of the main character and her brother.

Second, there is an inordinate amount of lying in this book. The main character is a pathological liar as far as I can tell - she lies about *everything*, and most especially she lies to her mother. All of the characters are liars - even Sapphire's older brother who is the "honest one" is lying repeatedly by the end of the book [and isn't this nice that he's lying to protect his sister who has done horrible things?]. The mother is a liar as well.

Third, there is witchcraft in the book. I don't mean "witchcraft" like in Harry Potter - the make believe, fairy tale kind - I mean real witchcraft, as in "Wicca" and "Earth Magic". One of the most powerful characters in the book is an old woman who is a Witch and uses Earth Magic. The book even opens complete with a Summer Solistic bon fire [a Wiccan holy day celebration].

Fourth, the name of Jesus Christ is used over and over as a swear word or explicative. In addition, near the end, Sapphire sings a blasphemous song she learned from her run away father.

Fifth, Sapphire and her brother are constantly doing what they aren't supposed to do - going into dangerous situations and lying about it, not doing what they are told. They are completely disobedient and dishonest in every single chapter of the book. Sapphire is also horribly disrespectful to her mother. Definitely not the role models some might prefer for their kids.

Sixth, Sapphire experiences an addiction to "Ingo" [the underwater land of the Mer people] that is eerily similar to drug addiction. She goes there when she knows she isn't allowed to go, and then experiences a powerful physical and mental addiction to the place and keeps returning even after she knows how bad it is and how much danger she is in. And, while she is in Ingo, she does not care at all about her family or friends or any person in her life - all she cares about is being in Ingo and when she is not in Ingo, all she thinks about is getting back. Does this sound like an addict or what? And there is no moral value placed on this behavior - it doesn't make her "bad" that she's choosing the addiction over her family...

Seventh, Sapphire, the main character, is truly evil in my opinion. Not only is she a liar and a sneak and a disobedient, ungrateful, and very disrespectful daughter - but she also plots an actual murder. She tells the Mer people about her mother's boyfriend's plans to dive somewhere, knowing they will kill him if he does it. She is happy about this because she wants him "gone". She only changes her mind at the very end of the book because HE wants her mother to buy her the dog she desperately wants - because of this she decides to try to save his life at the last minute. This is the "choice" other reviewers are calling "heroic" - um, yeah. I wasn't really impressed by that - she plots murder and only changes her mind for a self serving reason, and a stupid one at that?

Eighth, aside from being evil, the main character is just plain annoying. She is a whiny brat. She is SO completely self absorbed and melancholic that I just wanted to shake her till her eyes rattled and tell her to "get over herself"!!!

In addition to the reprehensible characters, I found the book poorly written and the story line trite, draggy and extremely *obvious*.

My good friend told me about the book she was reading. She was it was called Ingo. I decided to buy it and read it out of interest, because we read many of the same books. At first, the idea of a mer seemed ridiculas. When I began to read I was enchanted by Ingo. I myself adore the sea, and cherish every moment there. Sapphire is also in love with the sea. This book is great from the start and captues an audience of all ages.

Although some say that Sapphire lies un neededly the book explains she does it for her mothers own good. Sapphire doesn't want her mother to worry so she does what she thinks is right.

This book is honestly one of the best books I have ever read. Sapphire and her brother Conor's father has disapeared without a trace. They attempt to find their father and will not even bring the idea into their heads that he's dead, no matter how much people push it. Sapphire and Conor explore the world of Ingo as they find out they have Mer blood. Could there father be in the UnderWater world of Ingo? Well they are going to find out.

Good Points
It was a great book that showed Sapphy's pain at losing her father, and the seductive world of Ingo in wonderful, well-chosen words.

Bad Points
Sapphy doesn't even wonder about what 'Ingo' is, and I don't believe a father would ever abandon his family like Matthew did. I also think, after a year, Sapphy would realize that her father would have contacted her if he wanted to, and felt angry that she wasn't important enough for him to contact.

Also, Sapphy was very untruthful, jealous, disobediant, and annoying a lot. And Conor, who was the 'truthful one' repeatedly lied to his mother about the things they were willfully and wrongfully doing.

General Comments
It was a great book, but it has a few flaws, like the unreal knowledge Matthew Trewhella has of Ingo (Ingo is so secretive about its truths), the reason that Matthew left at all, Sapphy and Conor's unwavering believe that their father is alive even though he has never contacted them, and Sapphy not blurting out questions to Faro and insisting he answer them.

A real girl that hadn't seen of heard from her father in a year would be more impatient with him.

But it was a good book, and I'm looking forward to reading its sequals.

I couldn't put the series down when i got it!! I was so obsessed with the books my fanily thought i was depressed because i would stay in my room all day reading them!! ( Don't worry im not depressed!!) I absolutely loved these books, and am now a huge fan of Helen Dunmore. I got The Deep first, and loved it but was a little confused until i learned it was the third book and not the first! Dunmore's skill of writing put me in a trance like state when i read her books, and i found myself dreaming of Ingo, hoping to wake up floating among the Mer. I became so in love with the books, that i found myself in WALMART singing, "I wish i was away in Ingo, far across the briney sea, sailing over deepest waters where care nor love troubles thee!" Passerbys may have thought me a few nuggets short of a happy meal, but i was happily in my daydream. I recomend this series to anyone who likes deep, meaningful books, and stories that excite and captivate you.

My daughter loves mermaid books and movies. I lean more on the realistic side of life and struggle with the fantasy genre. I decided to read the book first to make sure it was okay for my daughter to read and to find a way to relate to something she enjoys. I was surprised by how much I actually enjoyed the book. It is not your everyday mermaid story, there is a lot more to the characters. I also love the way the author describes the underwater world of Ingo. My daughter is reading it now and we both agree there are days we would love to be "away in Ingo". We are also a Christian family and there are a few red flags in this book for me earth magic, mom's boyfriend, Sapphire's behavior).

Ingo was a pretty good book, overall. I liked the characters and the level of mystery. I felt that a lot could be done to improve the writing. One thing that really threw me off was her swear replacement. I remember that one character got mad at the main character, and he said something like, "I don't care at all about #%$*&@* Ingo!" In the book, Dunmore actually used an ansterisk, a pounce sign, etc. I read this book a few years ago and it didn't seem so out of place, but several weeks ago when I reread it it threw me off.
Another thing; this may just be me being an idiot, but I couldn't figure out how old the main character, Sapphire was. She was somewhere between ten and twelve, but I can't tell exactly how old. That kept me always wondering throughout the whole book.
I love the plot of this book. If the writing were better, and if it were YA, it would be wonderful. When I say that it should be YA, I mean that the characters should be older and also with a bit of romance. If it were YA, I think this book would attract a larger audience-even though it's already won several prizes. It's a good fantasy read if you're looking for something with an entertaining and ingenious plot, but not such strong character development and the like.