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Ingo (Ingo #1)

3.89 of 5 stars 3.89 · rating details · 3,903 ratings · 416 reviews

"I wish I was away in Ingo Far across the briny sea, Sailing over deepest waters Where love nor care never trouble me. . . ."

By the Cornwall coast where Sapphire lives with her family, it's easy to hear the call of the sea. Too easy.

When the sea called to Sapphy's father, he vanished from her life. When the sea called to her brother, he started disappearing for hours on en...more

Hardcover, 328 pages

Published August 1st 2006 by HarperCollins Publishers (first published August 1st 2005)

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Dec 14, 2008 EMi rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: i-own

Ingo is a delightful story full of beautifully serene imagery and magic. It’s a children’s book, yes, but it captured my attention and I’m very glad to have come across it.

It’s about an eleven-year-old girl and her older brother who lose their father one day when he takes out his boat and disappears. The children are the only two people in town (with the exception of Granny Carne) who believe that he is still alive. They discover an underwater world called Ingo, where they meet Faro and Elvira,...more

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Sep 29, 2008 Aerin rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: the Little Mermaid (the faery tale, not the Disney movie), the Tale of Emily WIndsnap

Shelves: middle-grade, 2008

SUMMARY
When Sapphire's father disappears, most people say he's been drowned, although the more vicious of the townspeople say he ran off with another woman. But neither Sapphy or her brother Conor believe either story. Raised on the coast of Cornwall, they have an intimate connection to the sea and her mysteries. Neither of them realizes quite how intimate. When Sapphire feels an irresistible call to the ocean, she must choose where her loyalties lie - to her Air family and the brother whom she...more

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May 17, 2008 Laura rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: childrensliterature, adventure, fantasy, books-in-a-series, alternative-worlds

“Ingo’s a place that has many names, ” says Granny Carne. “You can call it Mer, Mare, or Meor…Earth and Ingo don’t mix, even though we live side by side. Earth and Ingo aren’t always friends…”

Despite Granny Carne’s words, in Helen Dunmore’s fantastic fantasy Earth and Ingo do mix–with consequences. Ingo is set partially above ground in modern day Cornwall and partially below the surface of the water in Ingo.

Ingo features Sapphire Trewhella (also known as Saph or Sapphy). Sapphy takes after her f...more “Ingo’s a place that has many names, ” says Granny Carne. “You can call it Mer, Mare, or Meor…Earth and Ingo don’t mix, even though we live side by side. Earth and Ingo aren’t always friends…”

Despite Granny Carne’s words, in Helen Dunmore’s fantastic fantasy Earth and Ingo do mix–with consequences. Ingo is set partially above ground in modern day Cornwall and partially below the surface of the water in Ingo.

Ingo features Sapphire Trewhella (also known as Saph or Sapphy). Sapphy takes after her father, Matthew Trewhella, in that she has always been drawn to the sea. She recalls, “Dad used to say that the sea doesn’t hate you and it doesn’t love you. It’s up to you to learn its ways and keep yourself safe.”

It’s “Dad used to say” because her father has disappeared. His boat, the Peggy Gordon, was found without him in it, and he is presumed drowned. Sapphy, however, suspects her father’s disappearance has something to do with Ingo. She recalls her father singing, “I wish I was away in Ingo; Far across the briny sea, Sailing over deepest waters; Where love nor care never trouble me…”

Her father’s disappearance certainly troubles her and causes trouble for her family. Her mother is forced to work all the time at her waitressing job and, consequently, her older brother Conor and Sapphy spend much time by themselves.

When one day Sapphy cannot find Conor, she fears that he has disappeared just like her father. She heads out to the cove to look for him, and she finds him talking to Elvira the mermaid. This leads to her encounter with Faro the merman who takes her on a journey under the sea. On this journey, she lets go of Earth completely and becomes a part of Ingo.

Sapphy and Conor are welcomed into Ingo because they each have a little Mer in them (long story that goes into family lore about the disappearance of a previous Matthew Trewhella), but Sapphy seems to have even a little more than her brother. Her draw to the sea becomes increasingly strong after she’s been a part of it. Not-too-subtle warning signals such as a new found taste for salting her water and consuming anchovies begin to alarm Conor while her mother appears largely ignorant of all goings on. With Conor’s help, Sapphy struggles to resist the pull of Ingo.

Yet, despite her resistance, Sapphy continues to find Ingo and Faro seductive. When she’s in Ingo, nothing else seems to matter–not time, not Conor, not Earth, not humanity in general. When she’s not in Ingo but back on Earth, she finds so many troubles weighing her down–she feels in her bones that her father is still alive but he’s made no attempt to contact her, her mother has given up on her father coming back and is becoming romantically involved with a diver named Roger (a diver who’s getting increasingly close to encroaching upon Ingo), and her mother is dead set against her getting a dog (when Sapphy already has the perfect one picked out!).

Ingo takes on the struggle between two worlds, between two types of people, between two ways of life. The struggle between Ingo and Earth has its parallel struggle within Sapphy’s family where the impetuousness of Sapphy and her father frequently clashes with the practical nature of Conor and her mother. This struggle comes to the fore in the latter part of Ingo when Roger decides he wants to dive in areas where, unbeknownst to him, he is not welcomed.

Dunmore’s characters are flawed yet still developing and changing just as the world is flawed yet still developing and changing (the latter we have the privilege to participate in changing). Ingo is top-notch fantasy while also speaking to family dynamics, individual choices, willpower, self-discovery, and imagination.

Ingo–with its tagline “In a world without air all you breathe is adventure”–will likely be popular with middle grade fantasy fans of both genders. Ingo is Book One in a planned tetralogy–Ingo, The Tide Knot, The Deep, and The Crossing of Ingo (the final two are more difficult to attain from within the US since HarperCollins just published the US edition of The Tide Knot in January 2008). For more on the series immediately, visit Helen Dunmore’s site or Harper Collin’s Ingo site (including a video book trailer). The pull of Ingo is strong, who can resist?(less)

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Apr 16, 2008 Jen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: pre-teens who don't usually like fantasy

Shelves: ya-fiction

This book didn't feel like fantasy: it felt more like your typical girl-dealing-with-loss-of-a-parent story, only with a mermaid or two thrown in. I realized that the loss-of-parent thing is very relevant today, what with divorce rates being what they are, but the formula gets irritatingly predictable. Here it is in a nutshell: 1)parent dies or leaves 2) remaining parent starts dating someone new 3) child hates the "replacement" parent 4) over time, child starts to accept both the loss of the fi...more

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Jun 20, 2008 Sian rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Helen Dunmore fans

Recommended to Sian by: no one

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

1 like · like · see review

Mar 09, 2011 Reading Vacation's Mom rated it 4 of 5 stars

REVIEW

I love reading mermaid books. There are not very many of them, so I cherish the few that I can get my hands (and eyes) on. Ingo is no exception.

Ingo is the name of the magical underwater world where the mermaids (and mermen) live. You don’t see much of it in the book, but the descriptions that are in there, are amazing. I am betting there is more detail about this amazing world in the next book.

This book is told from Sapphire’s point of view. She is spunky and loyal to her brother, Conor....more

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May 17, 2013 Felita rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult

Sebelum ayahnya menghilang, Sapphire hidup bahagia dg sang ayah, ibunya dan abangnya, Connor. semua berubah sejak ayahnya menghilang di laut.

Laut, rumah di pantai, sekolah hanyalah tempat yang biasa. tapi laut lah yg menjadi daya tarik Sapphire sejak sang ayah memperkenalkannya. ngga hanya itu, sang ayah juga memperkenalkan legenda putri duyung yg membawa leluhur keluarga mereka ke Ingo.

Ingo, adalah sebutan bagi kehidupan bawah laut yg penuh warna. ga semua orang tahu apa itu Ingo. termasuk Sapp...more

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Feb 10, 2013 Valérie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I used to read a lot of YA fantasy books when I was twelve--hey, don't judge. This was one of the better ones I read, to be honest. Merfolk are seriously underrated as a fantasy race. Compared to vampires, weres, zombies, et cetera, they're pretty much the Aquaman, which makes a LOT of sense. I think it's the same effect. "Well, you're just a water person, and everything humans care about happens on land, where you're useless and suck." Think about it, though: if you've got dominion over three-q...more I used to read a lot of YA fantasy books when I was twelve--hey, don't judge. This was one of the better ones I read, to be honest. Merfolk are seriously underrated as a fantasy race. Compared to vampires, weres, zombies, et cetera, they're pretty much the Aquaman, which makes a LOT of sense. I think it's the same effect. "Well, you're just a water person, and everything humans care about happens on land, where you're useless and suck." Think about it, though: if you've got dominion over three-quarters of the Earth's surface, you're in pretty good shape. Factor in rising sea levels and the fact that the majority of human settlements are in close proximity to water, and merfolk are pretty bitchin'.

Anyway, "Ingo" brings up a lot of interesting new takes on this merfolk business. For instance, Dunmore's Mer aren't so much "fish from the waist down" as they are like seals or dolphins. Which is pretty biologically logical. People who are part human and part Mer are able to go into the ocean without accounting for oxygen or pressure concerns because they are genuinely "entering Ingo," as it were, and emotionally accepting the different world of the sea, as opposed to divers, who are "bringing the surface world with them," and remaining "of the surface."

That aside, what I must fault it for is the fact that, like way too many books these days, it kind of...doesn't end. I'm not talking about how "Fahrenheit 451" or "The Castle" don't end, I'm talking about how "The Quantum Thief" doesn't end. God, does everything have to be a friggin' trilogy these days? Maybe I want to read a story without hunting down/waiting for two more books! It's just pandering at this point. It doesn't make me want to read more, it makes me want to slap some publishers silly.

All in all, it's...just okay. I never read the other two, as you can probably surmise. Again, I really don't care for YA fantasy and I only really read it because it was kind of a societal expectation. If you're like most teenage YA reader I know, you probably think every single book you read, other than, maybe "Crime and Punishment" or something else "hard" you read in English class, is "five stars" on Goodreads. So, whatever, read "Ingo" then, kid.(less)

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Jan 25, 2013 April Izzard rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I highly recommend this book, for younger children. I have written a review which doesn't give away any details about the book that would ruin it. Instead I celebrate it; for being such a special book to me.

Read on for more.

I remember reading this when I was much younger, about 11 or 12 years old. It has been a memorable book that I won't ever forget. The fantasy that surrounds being a mermaid, something I (and i am sure many other young children) have always wished I could, was described impec...more

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Nov 30, 2012 Deniz Bozdağ rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have always loved reading books which are about some utopic ideas, fantasy and magical events. As I searched through the shelves of the library for a fun book to read, this book came up with its elegant mermaid image on its cover. I read the first couple of pages and literally fell in love with it. Ingo, by Helen Dunmore is a book which is full of mystery and magic. Its target audience is actually young adults. If you read the first couple of pages, you will not be able to stop; because in eve...more

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Aug 19, 2012 Sariah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This revolutionizes the entire idea of mermaids. Not fishy, scaked creatures, but sleek, half-seal hybrids. No, they do not comb thair hair while sitting on the rocks in the sun all day. Judging from Faro alone, they are a majestic people.And this has more depth than any mermaid story I have ever read. The idea that going into Ingo can hurt, that it can call you and suck you up in it forever, that it can make you part of itself...that is so much more mature than any other mermaid book I have rea...more This revolutionizes the entire idea of mermaids. Not fishy, scaked creatures, but sleek, half-seal hybrids. No, they do not comb thair hair while sitting on the rocks in the sun all day. Judging from Faro alone, they are a majestic people.And this has more depth than any mermaid story I have ever read. The idea that going into Ingo can hurt, that it can call you and suck you up in it forever, that it can make you part of itself...that is so much more mature than any other mermaid book I have read. The imagery is beautiful, told like a poet. Some people complain how it "drags," but even the "slow" parts (i.e. conversation with Granny Carne) are filled with mystery and keep you reading. The action at the end is amazing: emotional decisions, blah blah blah, but not told like an overdose of philosophy because it's from Sapphy's point of view; these emotions don't interfere with the real action, just give the whole thing more depth; you're tearing through the pages, hardly reading the words you see, because Roger is such a likable guy and you're wondering IF HE'LL SURVIVE, and the odds aren't lookin' too good; it's always nice to see how our heroine reacts under pressure (heroically, as is expected) because that's the moment of truth, learning WHO our main character IS--and Helen Dunmore did that part really well. Now. This next element is a big issue for a lot of people, and it is...
characters.
Some people say Sapphy is shallow, self-absorbed, and annoying. I say she's realistcally flawed and spunky. Are you looking for a perfect character? Most good books don't have a single one. Others say Saph is dreamy to the point of no tolerance. But what do you expect? She has, after all, been swimming with mermaids every afternoon for a while. Others say Conor is annoying (along with Sapphy, in many cases). He's a typically laid-back, sweet and kind brother who loves his sister so much, he's angry beyond belief his sister keeps on hanging out with people of Ingo rather than those of Air. No one says anything about Roger because he's too nice and all. No one says anything about Granny Carne because, well, she's awesome. Everyone likes the wise, tough, erratic old woman, and that's what Granny Carne is--enough said. People say Faro is even more than just plain annoying, and that's because he is. But you need him to argue with in your mind. Characters you secretly argue with? The author has done a masterful job if s/he has created characters you argue with. (Interactive book!) Oh, yeah: you also need him to help save Roger. That too. And the dad? You can't touch him. He's just an amazing character, almost more so than Sapphy herself.(less)

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Jul 14, 2012 Stina Torry rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

I discovered this series by pure luck. I found the second book on one of the tables in the YA section of chapters. It was all colourful and shiny so I picked it up (wow...I'm such a bird). I Bought the book that day not realizing it was the second book. So I went back and got the first one, which was rather difficult because as it turns out-the series is suppose to be in the 9-12 section. ANyways...This book is by a british woman (Just another piece of proof that they are the best writers) and i...more

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Jun 03, 2012 Rosie Monson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: book-influence

I read it when I was little. It was amazing. I don't think it was because of the writing though it was different and good. It was probably the first book I read that was written in the present tense instead of the past tense. Ex: instead of 'I climbed the wall' it's 'I climb the wall'. Anyway, I think it was because of the story itself and the imagination that seemed to ooze out of it and into my mind. it was so creative. and so real. How I know a book is a good one, is when it makes me believe...more

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May 10, 2012 Barbara Gordon rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 02, 2012 Caitriona rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dear-oh-dear

I'd love to say I loved this book. I'd love to say it was every bit as magical and wonderful as I'd hoped. But, alas, I can't.
I'd love to find a decent mermaid book, and hoped I'd find it in 'Ingo' - but it was too flawed. I'll soften the blow with good news first - I did like the whole Jacqueline Wilson-esque 'missing Dad, horrible stepdad' plotline. You really got the idea just how much Sapphy knew in her heart that her Dad was alive, and her annoyance that nobody else seemed to think so.
But....more

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Nov 28, 2011 Sesana rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: cover-love, folklore, fantasy, magic, middle-grade, mermaids

I love mermaids, but I'm having some trouble finding a really good mermaid book. This one was especially disappointing since a friend and fellow mermaid fan recommended it to me. Sadly, it just didn't work, although it's really not a bad book.

I'll do the good first. The basic plotline itself was interesting, and could have been really engaging. The short version: Sapphire and Conor's father disappears. (The book is written in Saph's POV) They are convinced that he's still alive, just vanished. E...more I love mermaids, but I'm having some trouble finding a really good mermaid book. This one was especially disappointing since a friend and fellow mermaid fan recommended it to me. Sadly, it just didn't work, although it's really not a bad book.

I'll do the good first. The basic plotline itself was interesting, and could have been really engaging. The short version: Sapphire and Conor's father disappears. (The book is written in Saph's POV) They are convinced that he's still alive, just vanished. Eventually, they both meet Mer people (Elvira and Faro) who introduce them to life under the sea. There's quite a bit to work with there, and it's really a very good idea. The writing itself is, for the most part, quite good. It's very natural, and there's a floating, dreamlike quality to much of the narration that really suits the subject.

But there were a few roadblocks for me. First of all, Faro is very preachy when showing Sapphire around underwater. He's actually kind of unbearable. I think I'd hesitate to read any of the other books in the series just because of him. Sapphire herself is a very difficult character to get behind. She's so spacey that, in a single, brief conversation with her mother, she daydreams to the point that her mother has to yell to get her attention two or three times. There's dreamy, and then there's on another planet. I can deal with the former, and not so much with the latter.

But maybe the biggest thing that bothered me was how Saph and Conor dealt with their father's disappearance. To me, there was no emotional truth to their reactions, or at least to Saph's. She has, for reasons that are never fully made clear, totally bought into the idea that her father isn't dead, he just left them without a trace. I never felt like she genuinely struggled with doubt that he was still alive, or felt true grief for his absence, or even anger at him for leaving them. There's just not enough depth to her.

In the end, it simply didn't resonate with me. I doubt I'll be reading the rest of the series, because I don't think I care enough about the characters to bother.(less)

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Jul 11, 2011 Colleen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An interesting concept but unfortunately let down by the writing style, in my opinion.
I found Saph very annoying and I didn't think certain parts were explained as well as they could have been. Not enough questions were asked about the important issues raised and the characters didn't care about things (such as the attitude of the Mer with regard to human life - including the lives of Saph and Connor) as much as they probably should have done.
Things just seemed to pop up out of no where for no r...more

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Jul 09, 2011 Lindsay rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've never read a book that painted a picture as well as Ingo did. I read it several years ago, but Cornwall, England has stuck in my mind ever since. The story centers on the life of twelve-year old Sapphire and her older brother, Conor, and how they find an underwater world in their town's cove. The book was part of a four-story series, but it was definitely the strongest novel of the bunch. I'd reccomend it to anyone who knows how to read.

Sapphire and Conor live in a small beachside house, a...more

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May 15, 2011 Janice rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, 2011

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I kept thinking that some warming conclusion would happen, like her dad would come back or Roger would go away. It didn't happen but I enjoyed this story greatly for its fantasy elements, and the nice characters. There is also a sequel so perhaps a more satisfying conclusion would be present there. I like the idea of the family sticking together and so I liked how Conner and Sapphire are the main characters and their relationship is close.
Even though I am concious of being sensitive regarding m...more I kept thinking that some warming conclusion would happen, like her dad would come back or Roger would go away. It didn't happen but I enjoyed this story greatly for its fantasy elements, and the nice characters. There is also a sequel so perhaps a more satisfying conclusion would be present there. I like the idea of the family sticking together and so I liked how Conner and Sapphire are the main characters and their relationship is close.
Even though I am concious of being sensitive regarding my thoughts towards remarriage, and how spouses should be free to have their happiness.. it is sad to see it from Sapphire's angle when she has such vivid memories of their family sweetly together from the past, and knows that it doesn't have to be put in the past because her dad is alive. The story pulls you into the struggle, and shows how different loyalties pull at the family - there is a sense of being lost in it and confusion, but despite it all, there is a peaceful undertone despite everything because Sapphire's mind likes to drift and see things without the harsh edges - a detached and dreamy/floating sensation to it. Both Conor and Sapphire are sweet and understandable characters and the story never delves into infuriating misunderstandings and lack of communication. Conor and Sapphire talk to each other and open up as close friends would, and the problems are solved with a unity you rarely get to see in most stories. The closeness is even more rarer to be seen between siblings in stories, so it is really a gem to come across.
Another thing I enjoyed was the twist. At first you think it would be Sapphire chasing after Conor and you feel that you would have to be the one looking from afar and not knowing the details of being absorbed into another world, but this turns around nicely and gradually that you don't even realise that Sapphire is the middle of the issue - which is exactly how she misses seeing it too. That is a reason why I feel the story is very successful in portraying Sapphire's perceptive. Also, when she is younger at the beginning of the story, you can really tell her lack of knowledge and innocence.
I would like to see the sequel and see if the story would continue capturing my attention with the style of narration, reachable characters, and interesting plot. More importantly, I want to know if the story would finish with a warm family, like the one portrayed at the beginning, without the sense of loss and agitation. (less)

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Apr 24, 2011 Meera K. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Sapphire Trewhella is torn between two worlds: Air and Ingo. Air represents Earth, the human or mortal world; Ingo is the world below the crust, the world of fish, dolphins, and Mer people. Sapphire's (and her brother Connor's) decision is all the more hard because they don't completely belong in both worlds. Their blood is mixed of Air and Ingo; both world's cosmic pull affects them. Air is the world Sapphire knows best, and the world her sea-phobic mother and her soon-to be dog belong in. Air...more

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Mar 15, 2010 mina rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Tadinya baca sinopsis di cover belakangnya aku sama sekali tidak tertarik. Tapi beberapa teman bilang, walau buku 1-nya mungkin kurang seru, tapi lanjutannya seru. Yap, buku ini bagian dari tetralogi Ingo. Buku ini adalah buku pertamanya. Bercerita tentang dunia Tanah/Udara (dunia kita ini) dan dunia Ingo (bawah laut, tempat para Mer -makhluk seperti putri duyung- hidup), serta persinggungan yang terjadi antar kedua dunia, karena ada makhluk berdarah Mer yang tinggal di dunia Tanah, dan mampu be...more

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Mar 06, 2010 Shapby Sakina rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Summary from back cover:

Ketika Mathew Trewhella pergi dari rumahnya dan tidak pernah pulang lagi, orang-orang percaya dia sudah mati di tengah laut, tetapi putrinya, Sapphire, yakin sekali ayahnya masih hidup. Dia teringat kisah-kisah yang sering diceritakan ayahnya, tentang putri duyung Zennor yang jatuh cinta pada manusia namun tak bisa hidup bersama kekasihnya di daratan kering penuh udara.

Musim panas berikutnya, Conor, kakak lelaki Sapphira, mulai sering menghabiskan waktu berjam-jam di laut...more Summary from back cover:

Ketika Mathew Trewhella pergi dari rumahnya dan tidak pernah pulang lagi, orang-orang percaya dia sudah mati di tengah laut, tetapi putrinya, Sapphire, yakin sekali ayahnya masih hidup. Dia teringat kisah-kisah yang sering diceritakan ayahnya, tentang putri duyung Zennor yang jatuh cinta pada manusia namun tak bisa hidup bersama kekasihnya di daratan kering penuh udara.

Musim panas berikutnya, Conor, kakak lelaki Sapphira, mulai sering menghabiskan waktu berjam-jam di laut, bersama seorang gadis misterius. Pada waktu mengikuti Conor itulah Sapphire menemukan Ingo—dunia bawah laut yang sangat memikat namun berbahaya. Dan makin lama makin sulit baginya untuk menolak panggilan dunia lain itu.

Review:

Layaknya cerita-cerita fiksi fantasi lainnya, Ingo diawali suatu kejadian yang membuat tokoh utamanya memasuki dunia lain, dan masih layaknya cerita fiksi fantasi lainnya, ternyata tokoh utamanya punya suatu kekuatan khusus yang berkaitan dengan dunia lain itu. Poin plusnya adalah cerita ini memanfaatkan mitos putri duyung, sehingga kita bisa membandingkan hasil kreasi pengarangnya dengan mitos yang yang umum beredar.

Dari segi penulisan, gaya bertutur Ingo sangat lugas; pasti disesuaikan dengan usia tokoh utama yang masih duduk di sekolah dasar. Kadang-kadang penggunaan metafor dalam penuturannya juga kurang tepat, tetapi itu entah karena memang dari Dunmore-nya, atau karena penerjemahnya kurang lihainya menemukan idiom yang pas. Sisi bagusnya, penulisan yang lugas memudahkan pembaca meneruskan cerita, karena seandainya bahasanya berbelit-belit pasti membingungkan—tanpa gaya bahasa yang ribet saja, ceritanya sudah cukup berputar-putar.

Di akhir cerita, jelas kalau buku ini bakal ada sekuelnya. Benar saja, ketika saya melihat ke rak di mana buku ini dipajang, tepat di bawahnya, ternyata ada sekuelnya yang berjudul The Tide Knot. (Kalau diterjemahkan mungkin jadi Simpulan Ombak/Kecepatan Ombak? Ini jelas plesetan dari “tied knot”, yang artinya terikat/tersimpul, tapi karena ceritanya settingnya di laut jadi diplesetkan menjadi “tide”, ombak pesisir.)
(less)

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Dec 06, 2011 Crystal rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy

What an enchanting book! Not since the Harry Potter series have I read a young adult urban fantasy book that blends the line between the fantasy and "real" world so smoothly. Perhaps it's because Ingo is real too?
I felt like each of the characters was skillfully drawn, with a sharp understanding of who they were, but with room to grow. I could relate to both Sapphy and Conor. Their dad, for as long as he was around, was a nice guy, and their mom is a nice enough person with a lot of responsibili...more

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Feb 18, 2012 Zoe Smith rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Mermaid Lovers, YA, Children,

Recommended to Zoe by: Nobody

"Everything is wet and shining with mist. The rocks hidden, the sea bidden. Everything slippery and dangerous... the sea pulling me like a magnet."
Swimming, surfing, exploring - Sapphire and her brother Conor enjoy life by the sea in Cornwall. But why does Conor start disappearing for hours on end? And who is the mysterious girl talking to him on the rocks?
Following Conor down to the cove one day, Sapphire discovers Ingo - an exciting and dangerous world beneath the waves, where all you breathe...more

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Dec 04, 2011 Naomi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

i absolutely, positively LOVE this series!!!! the book takes place in Cornwall, where Sapphire and her brother Conor have grown up happily with their mum and dad next to their private cove for years. but one night, their dad takes his boat out late,and when he doesn't return,it starts sapphy and conor on a quest to discover secrets that should have been left buried beneath the oceans sand. sappy refuses to believe her dad is dead and one day after she discovers her brother talking on the rocks t...more

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Aug 15, 2009 Dawn rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. When I read the first few chapters, I had my doubts about this books-- it was too montotoned. It didn't really seem like it had much life in it.

This being a book I wanted to read (for summer's sake), I read it all the way through, and of course, ALL in a day. Yup, at 328 pages, no? So at 11pm at night, I was like, "Wow, that was a great book."

The next morning my mom woke me up to, "Why did you finish that book last night? What are you going to read now?" I, of course, was unblievably sleepy due...more

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Sep 13, 2011 Kirsty rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy, kids-books

Ok, this is a children's book, but I've always been a bit of a mermaid fan and I read some good reviews, so I thought I'd give it a go.

The plot revolves around Sapphire Trewhella who lives on the coast in Cornwall with her parents and older brother Connor. One day, Sapphire and Connor's father mysteriously disappears after taking his boat out at night. Rumours fly that that he's either been involved in an accident out at sea or he's run off with another woman. However, Sapphire and Connor refuse...more

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Nov 01, 2010 Liddy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

First of all just look at this cover! Is this not the most beautiful thing you have ever seen!?
Ingo was a brilliant novel, being the first mermaid fictional novel I have actually ever read! (I know I know.) It was a really refreshing read after much darker novels that seem to sworm the YA department these days. The charecters that Helen Dunmore has created are totally believable, and are bursting with personality.

Written in first person was also a nice touch, as we really got to delve deeper int...more

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Apr 15, 2012 Emily Smith rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ingo

“Never go down to the cove alone. Are you listening to me Sapphire? If Conor isn’t with you, you don’t go.
But mum-
I want you to promise me that you won’t go on your own. Ever. It’s for your own safety.
I can swim just as well as Conor.
I know. But you’re such a day dreamer Sapphy. If the tide comes in while you’re dreaming. I won’t be there to help you. So promise.
Make Conor promise too.
He already has.
Alright mum, I promise.”

Sapphires mothers words were pumping around her head as she made...more Ingo

“Never go down to the cove alone. Are you listening to me Sapphire? If Conor isn’t with you, you don’t go.
But mum-
I want you to promise me that you won’t go on your own. Ever. It’s for your own safety.
I can swim just as well as Conor.
I know. But you’re such a day dreamer Sapphy. If the tide comes in while you’re dreaming. I won’t be there to help you. So promise.
Make Conor promise too.
He already has.
Alright mum, I promise.”

Sapphires mothers words were pumping around her head as she made her way through the thick mist that was rising from the sea around her family cottage. Stumbling towards the small cove by the seas that she was forbidden to go to alone.

Ingo is a fictional book by Helen Dunmore. It’s a story about the young and outgoing Sapphire Trewhella and her coping with her life after her family is ripped apart when her father mysteriously goes missing at sea on a calm Summer’s night. Sapphire can’t help seeing the similarity between her fathers disappearance, and that of another man with the same name in a story she once heard. Is it just coincidence? Or is it a connection?

I enjoyed the scene in which Sapphire can’t find her brother Conor, it’s the first scene that readers get to begin to imagine the world of the sea, or Ingo as it’s otherwise known. She is absolutely terrified to begin with, her mother had just gone to work, and she couldn’t find her brother, Conor, who had been missing for hours. She was left alone in the cottage with a thick mist circulating outside. Knowing that Conor must be down at the small beach by their house, she begins making her way down there, despite being forbidden by her mother to go down there alone. When she finally gets down to the cove, after stumbling and falling many times, the mist begins to slowly lift. She’s able to make out the outline of two people, one of which she knows to be Conor. But the other, is a girls outline. Sapphire doesn’t recognize her at all, but then again, all she can see is her long hair, and that she appears to be wearing a wetsuit. Sapphire just stands there, shocked and relieved that her brother is ok, until the girl disappears a few minutes later, seemingly into thin air. When she finally approaches Conor to ask him where he’s been and why he was so long, he didn’t tell Sapphire, and seemed confused that he had been gone for hours.

I also liked the scene in which Conor and Sapphire run into Granny Carne nearby their cottage. Sapphire was longing to go back into Ingo with Faro, to escape from everything, her mother bringing a man, Roger, to the house for lunch, her brother Conor and the people at her school bullying her about her father leaving for another woman. Conor had been trying his best to keep her away, as the pull to the sea was very strong on her. She was about to give into her urges to go to Ingo, but Granny Carne mystically appears and blocks Sapphire from the sea. It’s very magical to see the stable and ancient Earth magic in contrast to the wild and loose power of the sea.

I would recommend this book for the ages of 10-15. It’s an easy to read book and doesn’t involve too much concentration. It was well written and you are drawn in by the first few chapters.

Emily Smith 7DSz(less)

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Jan 05, 2010 Uci rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Dongeng tentang kehidupan bawah laut, berpadu dengan pesan untuk melestarikan alam, dihantarkan dengan manis oleh kakak beradik Sapphire dan Conor yang tengah berupaya mencari keberadaan ayah mereka.

Nuansa khayali sangat terasa mengiringi halaman demi halaman kisah persentuhan dua anak manusia itu dengan Moryov (samudera dunia) yang menyimpan rahasia jutaan tahunnya. Membuat pengalaman membaca buku ini terasa bagai ikut terombang-ambing ombak dan gelombang serta keheningan dan keindahan bawah ai...more

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About Helen Dunmore

I was born in December 1952, in Yorkshire, the second of four children. My father was the eldest of twelve, and this extended family has no doubt had a strong influence on my life, as have my own children. In a large family you hear a great many stories. You also come to understand very early that stories hold quite different meanings for different listeners, and can be recast from many viewpoints...more I was born in December 1952, in Yorkshire, the second of four children. My father was the eldest of twelve, and this extended family has no doubt had a strong influence on my life, as have my own children. In a large family you hear a great many stories. You also come to understand very early that stories hold quite different meanings for different listeners, and can be recast from many viewpoints.

Poetry was very important to me from childhood. I began by listening to and learning by heart all kinds of rhymes and hymns and ballads, and then went on to make up my own poems, using the forms I’d heard. Writing these down came a little later.

I studied English at the University of York, and after graduation taught English as a foreign language in Finland.

At around this time I began to write the poems which formed my first poetry collection, The Apple Fall, and to publish these in magazines. I also completed two novels; fortunately neither survives, and it was more than ten years before I wrote another novel.

During this time I published several collections of poems, and wrote some of the short stories which were later collected in Love of Fat Men. I began to travel a great deal within the UK and around the world, for poetry tours and writing residences. This experience of working in many different countries and cultures has been very important to my work. I reviewed poetry for Stand and Poetry Review and later for The Observer, and subsequently reviewed fiction for The Observer, The Times and The Guardian. My critical work includes introductions to the poems of Emily Brontë, the short stories of D H Lawrence and F Scott Fitzgerald, a study of Virginia Woolf’s relationships with women and Introductions to the Folio Society's edition of Anna Karenina and to the new Penguin Classics edition of Tolstoy's My Confession.

During the 1980s and early 1990s I taught poetry and creative writing, tutored residential writing courses for the Arvon Foundation and took part in the Poetry Society's Writer in Schools scheme, as well as giving readings and workshops in schools, hospitals, prisons and every other kind of place where a poem could conceivably be welcome. I also taught at the University of Glamorgan, the University of Bristol's Continuing Education Department and for the Open College of the Arts.

In the late 1980s I began to publish short stories, and these were the beginning of a breakthrough into fiction. What I had learned of prose technique through the short story gave me the impetus to start writing novels. My first novel for children was Going to Egypt, published in 1992, and my first novel for adults was Zennor in Darkness, published in 1993, which won the McKitterick Prize. This was also my first researched novel, set in the First World War and dealing with the period when D H Lawrence and his wife Frieda lived in Zennor in Cornwall, and came under suspicion as German spies.

My third novel, A Spell of Winter, won the inaugural Orange Prize for Fiction in 1996, and since then I have published a number of novels, short story collections and books for children. Full details of all these books are available on this website. The last of The Ingo Quartet, The Crossing of Ingo, was published in paperback in Spring 2009.

My seventh novel, The Siege (2001) was shortlisted both for the Whitbread Novel Award and the Orange Prize for Fiction. This was another researched novel, which grew from a lifelong love of Russian history, culture and literature. It is is set in Leningrad during the first year of the siege of the city by German forces, which lasted for 880 days from the fall of Mga on 30th August 1941. The Siege has been translated into Russian by Tatyana Averchina, and extracts have been broadcast on radio in St Petersburg. House of Orphans was published in 2006, and in 2008 Counting the Stars. Its central characters are the Roman poet Catullus, who lived during the last years of the Republic, (less)

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Quotes from Ingo

“I wish I was away in Ingo
Far across the briny sea,
Sailing over deepest waters
Where love nor care never trouble me...” — 20 people liked it

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