Ingo

Title: Ingo

Author: Helen Dunmore

Hardcover, 336 pages

Published August 2006

Summary from Goodreads:

Sapphire's father mysteriously vanishes into the waves off the Cornwall coast where her family has always lived. She misses him terribly, and she longs to hear his spellbinding tales about the Mer, who live in the underwater kingdom of Ingo. Perhaps that is why she imagines herself being pulled like a magnet toward the sea. But when her brother, Conor, starts disappearing for hours on end, Sapphy starts to believe she might not be the only one who hears the call of the ocean.

Ingo follows the life and secrets revolving around a girl named Sapphire and her love for the sea. Her dad is mysteriously named after the man who was believed to have drowned and captured by mermaids. This same fate befell her dad. Her brother Connor also went missing for a certain period of time and eventually, the two of them got pulled by the water and discovered a world beyond the beach. A place called Ingo, powerful and mysterious.

There, they met a couple of mermaids and realized that the time spent underwater differed from their time above the earth. Sapphire and Connor also discovered their own earthly powers that saved them in the end.

Mermaid stories are really interesting. While Arielle remained the best mermaid I've ever met, I think Ingo's mermaids are somewhat okay, if not intimidating. The story may not be the best underwater story ever but it is cute nonetheless; clean enough for kids. Part one of a trilogy. I'm excited to read the rest of the series, because I want to know more about Sapphire's mom's fear of the ocean. Hmmm..

My rating for Ingo: 4 bookmarks!