Helen Dunmore.  Ingo
Harper Collins  $19.99  ISBN 0-00-200618-9  306 pg.
Reviewed by Meghan, Age 14

I close my eyes, and shut my ears to the church hymn. I strain to listen to a different music. Yes, I can almost believe that I hear Dad’s voice:

          I wish I was away in Ingo

          Far across the briny sea

          Sailing over the deepest waters...

Maybe that’s where Dad has gone, sailing over deepest waters. He’s away in Ingo, wherever Ingo is. That’s where we’ll find him. If I can just catch one note of his voice, I’ll be able to follow it. I’ll follow a single thread of his voice, to where Dad is. I turn to Conor and whisper, “We’ll find him, won’t we Conor?”

"Yes,” whispers back Conor. “Don’t worry, Saph. Let them get on with their memorial service if it makes them happy. It doesn’t mean Dad’s dead. I know we’ll find him.”

We’ll find Dad in Ingo, I tell myself. In Ingo, however long it takes. We’ll find Dad, however hard it is.

Sapphire and Conor, Mum and Dad; it’s always been the four of them. When their father disappears without a trace, on a night when the sea was calm and still, Sapphire and Conor refuse to believe what everyone tells them. Their Dad is not dead; they’ll find him someday, away in Ingo. When Ingo comes calling and the secret is revealed, Saph and Conor are thrilled beyond their wildest dreams. But with the wonder of Ingo comes many dangers, greater than they could have imagined. When Ingo is threatened, Saph and Conor will have to choose between the life they know and love and finding their father. What will they choose? And will they both survive?

Helen Dunmore quickly joins the ranks of master fantasy writers with her newest novel, Ingo. The first book in a promised trilogy, Ingo is filled with mystery, adventure, excitement and fast paced events. It’s a wonderful story, one you can’t put down once you’ve started it. I really enjoyed Ingo and I’m sure that girls (and some boys) ages 12 to 15, will really enjoy Ingo and the wonderful story it offers.

I give Ingo four and a half stars out of five.