Ingo The Best Yet, 04 Nov 2008
My mum bought me the first book, i saw the front cover and read the blurb 'mermaids' i thought, i wasn't so sure. I gave it a go anyway and i couldn't put it down, It was brilliant! The writer Helen Dunmore is an amazing author, She makes it feel so real and adds lots of brilliant adjectives. It wasn't anything like I'd have thought, not mermaidy at all, just so exciting and at times heartbreaking. It sent you on a roller coaster of emotions! The charatcers are very well explained and described in a subtle way, It's like you gain the characters' trust and affection. Once I ahd read 'Ingo' I found out there were two more, one called 'The Tide Know' which was so exciting and then 'The Deep'. I was on the edge of my chair the WHOLE way through. The whole trilogy is based on a sea loving family whose father/husband is enticed into Ingo a place were the Mer live, were he build a new famiy. Slowly Sapphy and Conor find out about their Mer blood. Unfortunately in this trilogy we don't find out what happens to the father/husband. But fortuantley there is a 4th book (no longer a trilogy). 'The Crossing Of Ingo' is the last stretch for Sapphy and Conor on thier journey to becoming full Mer. What will happen to dad?!?

Total ***** Reading

Carla Dobson-Perez 13yo

IngoThe Crossing of Ingo (Ingo Adventures) <<< Book No. 1

Outstanding, 03 Oct 2008
I read the series this summer and it was the best book I have ever read Saphy and conner decide to make the crossing and it isn't easy they first get attacked by sharks which Ervys has recruted that where previousley gaurding the tide knot and from there it sets of showing the marvolous parts in INGO and the dark ominous moments Faro and Elvira are there too and a relationship is floating for Faro and Saphy as he expresses rather vageuly by saying how he will stop calling her little sister because she is not so little any more by the end you will have your own theory of what happens next the conclusion I made was that saphire would stay on land with her mother till she is finished school and then will join Faro in INGO but not fully and conner will stay on land with rainbow.

Enchanting, 18 May 2008
The crossing of Ingo usually goes south, but due to sharks, Faro, Conor, Sapphy and Elvira are forced to go north. Despite the challenge of polar bear attacks and ice, they reach the south and Sapphy meets somebody she was not expecting to see ... A beautiful book, the last and best in the enchanging Ingo series.
By Amelia Jemima Eyles, aged 9.

Ingo The Best Yet, 04 Nov 2008
My mum bought me the first book, i saw the front cover and read the blurb 'mermaids' i thought, i wasn't so sure. I gave it a go anyway and i couldn't put it down, It was brilliant! The writer Helen Dunmore is an amazing author, She makes it feel so real and adds lots of brilliant adjectives. It wasn't anything like I'd have thought, not mermaidy at all, just so exciting and at times heartbreaking. It sent you on a roller coaster of emotions! The charatcers are very well explained and described in a subtle way, It's like you gain the characters' trust and affection. Once I ahd read 'Ingo' I found out there were two more, one called 'The Tide Know' which was so exciting and then 'The Deep'. I was on the edge of my chair the WHOLE way through. The whole trilogy is based on a sea loving family whose father/husband is enticed into Ingo a place were the Mer live, were he build a new famiy. Slowly Sapphy and Conor find out about their Mer blood. Unfortunately in this trilogy we don't find out what happens to the father/husband. But fortuantley there is a 4th book (no longer a trilogy). 'The Crossing Of Ingo' is the last stretch for Sapphy and Conor on thier journey to becoming full Mer. What will happen to dad?!?

Total ***** Reading

Carla Dobson-Perez 13yo

IngoThe Crossing of Ingo (Ingo Adventures) <<< Book No. 1

Outstanding, 03 Oct 2008
I read the series this summer and it was the best book I have ever read Saphy and conner decide to make the crossing and it isn't easy they first get attacked by sharks which Ervys has recruted that where previousley gaurding the tide knot and from there it sets of showing the marvolous parts in INGO and the dark ominous moments Faro and Elvira are there too and a relationship is floating for Faro and Saphy as he expresses rather vageuly by saying how he will stop calling her little sister because she is not so little any more by the end you will have your own theory of what happens next the conclusion I made was that saphire would stay on land with her mother till she is finished school and then will join Faro in INGO but not fully and conner will stay on land with rainbow.

Enchanting, 18 May 2008
The crossing of Ingo usually goes south, but due to sharks, Faro, Conor, Sapphy and Elvira are forced to go north. Despite the challenge of polar bear attacks and ice, they reach the south and Sapphy meets somebody she was not expecting to see ... A beautiful book, the last and best in the enchanging Ingo series.
By Amelia Jemima Eyles, aged 9.

The Shallows, 02 Apr 2008
After the wonderfully written Ingo and Tide Knot I was surprised to find that The Deep ended up being so clunky and slow. Not really much happens in the 320 pages and there's no sense of urgency, mystery or need to keep turning the page.

Sapphire and her brother Conor are summoned back to the ocean when the Kraken (not the giant squid of common lore) threatens to wreak havoc upon the world when he wakes from his thousand year slumber. The kids sort him out rather easily towards the end of the second act, leaving the last third of the book to just ramble on about nothing in particular and sort of fizzle out instead of ending on a high note.

Helen Dunmore could have DONE MORE to make this is as unputdownable as the first two. It should have been structured better and had a stronger storyline. I often guessed that she was just winging it with the slightest of plots and didn't really know how it was going to end up.

With the final book in the series, The Crossing of Ingo, due out in a couple of months I will still be checking it out. I can already tell exactly what gimmicks Dunmore is going to use. But that is because I am a know-it-all.

excellent, 18 Nov 2007
this book is fantastic
deffinately a must read on book.
i recomend it all age groups with imagination!

Helen Dunmore, author of Zillah and Me and The Silver Bead, begins a trilogy for children with a novel that describes both an idyllic life, growing up beside the sea, and an undersea world of wonder and amazement with equal aplomb. It's not easy to imagine life under the waves, living and breathing amongst an ancient people without resorting to stereotypes. But Dunmore's original description throughout this book is one of its best qualities.

Set in Cornwall, Ingo is the story of Sapphire and her brother Conor, and what happens to them after their father mysteriously disappears at sea. Sapphire still thinks her father is alive. Somewhere. She remembers stories he used to tell her about a Mer creature who fell in love with a human, but could not come to live with him in the dry air.

The following summer, both Conor and Sapphire are inexorably drawn to the water, despite the worries of their mother. They love the water so much, and spend hours in the nearby cove. When Sapphire follows Conor one day, after he has been gone a long time, she meets Faro--a Merman who introduces her to Ingo, an underwater world she could only have dreamed existed. And Ingo blood runs deep through her veins and it is not long before the call of that other world becomes too strong to resist.

Dunmore is an accomplished writer for adults, she was the first winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction, but her books for younger readers, despite having all the same qualities and powerful storytelling talent, have not been as critically or commercially successful. Ingo, however, is sure to change that perception. It is a beautiful novel, both enchanting and exciting, that appeals to readers on many levels. It is seductively easy to read and stays in the memory for a long time.

(Age 10 and over) --John McLay

Ingo The Best Yet, 04 Nov 2008
My mum bought me the first book, i saw the front cover and read the blurb 'mermaids' i thought, i wasn't so sure. I gave it a go anyway and i couldn't put it down, It was brilliant! The writer Helen Dunmore is an amazing author, She makes it feel so real and adds lots of brilliant adjectives. It wasn't anything like I'd have thought, not mermaidy at all, just so exciting and at times heartbreaking. It sent you on a roller coaster of emotions! The charatcers are very well explained and described in a subtle way, It's like you gain the characters' trust and affection. Once I ahd read 'Ingo' I found out there were two more, one called 'The Tide Know' which was so exciting and then 'The Deep'. I was on the edge of my chair the WHOLE way through. The whole trilogy is based on a sea loving family whose father/husband is enticed into Ingo a place were the Mer live, were he build a new famiy. Slowly Sapphy and Conor find out about their Mer blood. Unfortunately in this trilogy we don't find out what happens to the father/husband. But fortuantley there is a 4th book (no longer a trilogy). 'The Crossing Of Ingo' is the last stretch for Sapphy and Conor on thier journey to becoming full Mer. What will happen to dad?!?

Total ***** Reading

Carla Dobson-Perez 13yo

IngoThe Crossing of Ingo (Ingo Adventures) <<< Book No. 1

Outstanding, 03 Oct 2008
I read the series this summer and it was the best book I have ever read Saphy and conner decide to make the crossing and it isn't easy they first get attacked by sharks which Ervys has recruted that where previousley gaurding the tide knot and from there it sets of showing the marvolous parts in INGO and the dark ominous moments Faro and Elvira are there too and a relationship is floating for Faro and Saphy as he expresses rather vageuly by saying how he will stop calling her little sister because she is not so little any more by the end you will have your own theory of what happens next the conclusion I made was that saphire would stay on land with her mother till she is finished school and then will join Faro in INGO but not fully and conner will stay on land with rainbow.

Enchanting, 18 May 2008
The crossing of Ingo usually goes south, but due to sharks, Faro, Conor, Sapphy and Elvira are forced to go north. Despite the challenge of polar bear attacks and ice, they reach the south and Sapphy meets somebody she was not expecting to see ... A beautiful book, the last and best in the enchanging Ingo series.
By Amelia Jemima Eyles, aged 9.

The Shallows, 02 Apr 2008
After the wonderfully written Ingo and Tide Knot I was surprised to find that The Deep ended up being so clunky and slow. Not really much happens in the 320 pages and there's no sense of urgency, mystery or need to keep turning the page.

Sapphire and her brother Conor are summoned back to the ocean when the Kraken (not the giant squid of common lore) threatens to wreak havoc upon the world when he wakes from his thousand year slumber. The kids sort him out rather easily towards the end of the second act, leaving the last third of the book to just ramble on about nothing in particular and sort of fizzle out instead of ending on a high note.

Helen Dunmore could have DONE MORE to make this is as unputdownable as the first two. It should have been structured better and had a stronger storyline. I often guessed that she was just winging it with the slightest of plots and didn't really know how it was going to end up.

With the final book in the series, The Crossing of Ingo, due out in a couple of months I will still be checking it out. I can already tell exactly what gimmicks Dunmore is going to use. But that is because I am a know-it-all.

excellent, 18 Nov 2007
this book is fantastic
deffinately a must read on book.
i recomend it all age groups with imagination!

Really good, but not realy my type, 26 Oct 2008
this is a good book, but, not really breathtaking, she has good ideas and can make it interesting. imean everyday when i went to bed it was like, oh no do i have to read it, but its ok

It's amazing!!!, 08 Oct 2008
One of the best books I've ever read. I'm 10 and I got lost in the world of Ingo. It's not childish, it's fascinating. I'm now reading the third book and it's just as good. I highly recommend this book.

An Amazing Story!!, 16 Aug 2008
This book is soooo good! I could not put it down. it makes you feel as if you are in the story, swimming through the coves and flying through the currents. I would reccomend all the books (Ingo, the tide knot, the deep and the crossing of ingo) to anyone. Even if you dont like reading that much this book will hook you!

A must read book for all ages!, 14 Jul 2008
This is a really great read and as its one in a series it definately makes you want to read the others. A brillinat adventure for all ages. Would highly recommend!

Beautiful read, 17 Jun 2008
Wow! What a lovely read. I've always wanted to be a mermaid (yes, I know, what a weirdo) and reading this book was spellbinding! I couldn't put it down and finished it within a day. It is such a beautiful book, and I recommend it for all ages :) What are you waiting for?

Ingo The Best Yet, 04 Nov 2008
My mum bought me the first book, i saw the front cover and read the blurb 'mermaids' i thought, i wasn't so sure. I gave it a go anyway and i couldn't put it down, It was brilliant! The writer Helen Dunmore is an amazing author, She makes it feel so real and adds lots of brilliant adjectives. It wasn't anything like I'd have thought, not mermaidy at all, just so exciting and at times heartbreaking. It sent you on a roller coaster of emotions! The charatcers are very well explained and described in a subtle way, It's like you gain the characters' trust and affection. Once I ahd read 'Ingo' I found out there were two more, one called 'The Tide Know' which was so exciting and then 'The Deep'. I was on the edge of my chair the WHOLE way through. The whole trilogy is based on a sea loving family whose father/husband is enticed into Ingo a place were the Mer live, were he build a new famiy. Slowly Sapphy and Conor find out about their Mer blood. Unfortunately in this trilogy we don't find out what happens to the father/husband. But fortuantley there is a 4th book (no longer a trilogy). 'The Crossing Of Ingo' is the last stretch for Sapphy and Conor on thier journey to becoming full Mer. What will happen to dad?!?

Total ***** Reading

Carla Dobson-Perez 13yo

IngoThe Crossing of Ingo (Ingo Adventures) <<< Book No. 1

Outstanding, 03 Oct 2008
I read the series this summer and it was the best book I have ever read Saphy and conner decide to make the crossing and it isn't easy they first get attacked by sharks which Ervys has recruted that where previousley gaurding the tide knot and from there it sets of showing the marvolous parts in INGO and the dark ominous moments Faro and Elvira are there too and a relationship is floating for Faro and Saphy as he expresses rather vageuly by saying how he will stop calling her little sister because she is not so little any more by the end you will have your own theory of what happens next the conclusion I made was that saphire would stay on land with her mother till she is finished school and then will join Faro in INGO but not fully and conner will stay on land with rainbow.

Enchanting, 18 May 2008
The crossing of Ingo usually goes south, but due to sharks, Faro, Conor, Sapphy and Elvira are forced to go north. Despite the challenge of polar bear attacks and ice, they reach the south and Sapphy meets somebody she was not expecting to see ... A beautiful book, the last and best in the enchanging Ingo series.
By Amelia Jemima Eyles, aged 9.

The Shallows, 02 Apr 2008
After the wonderfully written Ingo and Tide Knot I was surprised to find that The Deep ended up being so clunky and slow. Not really much happens in the 320 pages and there's no sense of urgency, mystery or need to keep turning the page.

Sapphire and her brother Conor are summoned back to the ocean when the Kraken (not the giant squid of common lore) threatens to wreak havoc upon the world when he wakes from his thousand year slumber. The kids sort him out rather easily towards the end of the second act, leaving the last third of the book to just ramble on about nothing in particular and sort of fizzle out instead of ending on a high note.

Helen Dunmore could have DONE MORE to make this is as unputdownable as the first two. It should have been structured better and had a stronger storyline. I often guessed that she was just winging it with the slightest of plots and didn't really know how it was going to end up.

With the final book in the series, The Crossing of Ingo, due out in a couple of months I will still be checking it out. I can already tell exactly what gimmicks Dunmore is going to use. But that is because I am a know-it-all.

excellent, 18 Nov 2007
this book is fantastic
deffinately a must read on book.
i recomend it all age groups with imagination!

Really good, but not realy my type, 26 Oct 2008
this is a good book, but, not really breathtaking, she has good ideas and can make it interesting. imean everyday when i went to bed it was like, oh no do i have to read it, but its ok

It's amazing!!!, 08 Oct 2008
One of the best books I've ever read. I'm 10 and I got lost in the world of Ingo. It's not childish, it's fascinating. I'm now reading the third book and it's just as good. I highly recommend this book.

An Amazing Story!!, 16 Aug 2008
This book is soooo good! I could not put it down. it makes you feel as if you are in the story, swimming through the coves and flying through the currents. I would reccomend all the books (Ingo, the tide knot, the deep and the crossing of ingo) to anyone. Even if you dont like reading that much this book will hook you!

A must read book for all ages!, 14 Jul 2008
This is a really great read and as its one in a series it definately makes you want to read the others. A brillinat adventure for all ages. Would highly recommend!

Beautiful read, 17 Jun 2008
Wow! What a lovely read. I've always wanted to be a mermaid (yes, I know, what a weirdo) and reading this book was spellbinding! I couldn't put it down and finished it within a day. It is such a beautiful book, and I recommend it for all ages :) What are you waiting for?

So real you can smell the sea..., 14 Jul 2008
A beautifully written and worthy sequel to Ingo. Both my children (ages 14 and 10) enjoyed this and I read 'Ingo' and 'The Tide Knot' on their recommendation. I now see what the seduction is. It's heartening to see such good, stimulating writing for children out there. I can't remember reading anywhere such sensual descriptions of the sea, or the sea shore in a children's book. You can almost smell the Cornish coast in this writing. Wonderful!

Amazing!!!, 08 Jul 2008
Right, I'm 16 years old now and i adore this book, and i loved the last one too - but i could imagine loving this book at any age. The writing is descriptive but quite simple, and utterly captivating. The story's awesome as well, you couldn't really ask for more in a book like this! And the cover's really prettyyyy @.@
Guys, if you're wondering whether or not to get this book (or the first!) then just go for it!

fantastic sequel, 03 Jul 2007
This is a brilliant sequel to 'Ingo'. Again there is the amazing mixture of fantasy with a real-life modern story. It can be enjoyed by children and adults alike. The descriptions of the flood and the gradual unfolding of the fate of the children's father is fascinating and the book is a real page-turner.

Even better than the first, 24 May 2007
I was a bit annoyed at Ingo for ending so abruptly with a teaser that pretty much said 'find out what happens in the sequel next year'. I mean I felt like complaining to some authority about it. The Tide Knot makes up for it by being even better than Ingo.

The story picks up in a cold and bleak November where Saphire and Conor have moved to the town next to Senara and left their cottage to renters. Conor is more interested in surfing but Saphire cannot let go of the pull of Ingo. Her mother still has no clue but potential stepdad Roger is becoming more and more suspicious. Saphire still believes her dad didn't really drown and is still looking for answers. Again she involves herself in the affairs of the Mer to solve the mystery.

As before, The Tide Knot is written in that same dreamy, euphoric style that makes every trip into the ocean seem like and enigmatic heroin rush. Whenever Saphire is not in Ingo we cannot wait until she just dashes for the shore and whenever she is far out in some current we don't want her to head back to land. It's weird and yet pleasing how she exists in two different worlds and is somehow wise beyond her years (I like children's books that don't insult their intelligence) without seeming cocky.

With the third novel in the series (The Deep) already out, this is looking like a series I am seriously enjoying that sort of popped out of nowhere. I recommend any teenager (or adult, such as myself) to pick up these books.

As entrancing as the sea itself..., 29 Aug 2006
Helen Dunmore has crafted a beautiful world in which the more familiar world of the land people and the unknown and dangerous realm of the sea live side by side in uneasy balance. The magic is thrilling, the tension is vivid and the main character's struggle with her temptation by the seductive underwater world is all too believable.

I loved this title and it's predecessor Ingo. Suitable for children AND adults who love a good read!

The final words of Helen Dunmore's The Siege--"No, I shall not wholly die..."(Alexander Pushkin)--respond to the stark threat with which the novel begins: "Re: The future of Leningrad ... The Führer has decided to have Leningrad wiped from the face of the earth". In this powerful work of fiction, Dunmore writes through her fascination with one of the most remarkable, and painful, episodes in Russian history: the siege of Leningrad through the winter of 1941 during which untold thousands perished of cold and starvation.

The Siege is a type of memorial, a literary document to an experience in which, as Dunmore writes, "being dead is normal". People die in the streets, in their beds; whole families are frozen, "bodies piled up by the Karpovka canal, or outside the cemeteries". What does it take to survive? Dunmore explores that question through the powerful characters--Anna Levin, Kolya (her child-brother) and Andrei (her lover)--who people this novel, conjuring the contest with death that becomes the daily existence of the Leningraders, their belief in a world beyond the siege. The Siege is itself part of that world, stricken by memory and the question of what it means for a novel (and a novelist) to take on the "flesh of all those other Leningraders who died of hunger in silent, frigid rooms". This is part of the wager, and accomplishment, of Dunmore's extraordinary book and confirmation of the extraordinary skill and sensitivity, of her writing. --Vicky Lebeau

Ingo The Best Yet, 04 Nov 2008
My mum bought me the first book, i saw the front cover and read the blurb 'mermaids' i thought, i wasn't so sure. I gave it a go anyway and i couldn't put it down, It was brilliant! The writer Helen Dunmore is an amazing author, She makes it feel so real and adds lots of brilliant adjectives. It wasn't anything like I'd have thought, not mermaidy at all, just so exciting and at times heartbreaking. It sent you on a roller coaster of emotions! The charatcers are very well explained and described in a subtle way, It's like you gain the characters' trust and affection. Once I ahd read 'Ingo' I found out there were two more, one called 'The Tide Know' which was so exciting and then 'The Deep'. I was on the edge of my chair the WHOLE way through. The whole trilogy is based on a sea loving family whose father/husband is enticed into Ingo a place were the Mer live, were he build a new famiy. Slowly Sapphy and Conor find out about their Mer blood. Unfortunately in this trilogy we don't find out what happens to the father/husband. But fortuantley there is a 4th book (no longer a trilogy). 'The Crossing Of Ingo' is the last stretch for Sapphy and Conor on thier journey to becoming full Mer. What will happen to dad?!?

Total ***** Reading

Carla Dobson-Perez 13yo

IngoThe Crossing of Ingo (Ingo Adventures) <<< Book No. 1

Outstanding, 03 Oct 2008
I read the series this summer and it was the best book I have ever read Saphy and conner decide to make the crossing and it isn't easy they first get attacked by sharks which Ervys has recruted that where previousley gaurding the tide knot and from there it sets of showing the marvolous parts in INGO and the dark ominous moments Faro and Elvira are there too and a relationship is floating for Faro and Saphy as he expresses rather vageuly by saying how he will stop calling her little sister because she is not so little any more by the end you will have your own theory of what happens next the conclusion I made was that saphire would stay on land with her mother till she is finished school and then will join Faro in INGO but not fully and conner will stay on land with rainbow.

Enchanting, 18 May 2008
The crossing of Ingo usually goes south, but due to sharks, Faro, Conor, Sapphy and Elvira are forced to go north. Despite the challenge of polar bear attacks and ice, they reach the south and Sapphy meets somebody she was not expecting to see ... A beautiful book, the last and best in the enchanging Ingo series.
By Amelia Jemima Eyles, aged 9.

The Shallows, 02 Apr 2008
After the wonderfully written Ingo and Tide Knot I was surprised to find that The Deep ended up being so clunky and slow. Not really much happens in the 320 pages and there's no sense of urgency, mystery or need to keep turning the page.

Sapphire and her brother Conor are summoned back to the ocean when the Kraken (not the giant squid of common lore) threatens to wreak havoc upon the world when he wakes from his thousand year slumber. The kids sort him out rather easily towards the end of the second act, leaving the last third of the book to just ramble on about nothing in particular and sort of fizzle out instead of ending on a high note.

Helen Dunmore could have DONE MORE to make this is as unputdownable as the first two. It should have been structured better and had a stronger storyline. I often guessed that she was just winging it with the slightest of plots and didn't really know how it was going to end up.

With the final book in the series, The Crossing of Ingo, due out in a couple of months I will still be checking it out. I can already tell exactly what gimmicks Dunmore is going to use. But that is because I am a know-it-all.

excellent, 18 Nov 2007
this book is fantastic
deffinately a must read on book.
i recomend it all age groups with imagination!

Really good, but not realy my type, 26 Oct 2008
this is a good book, but, not really breathtaking, she has good ideas and can make it interesting. imean everyday when i went to bed it was like, oh no do i have to read it, but its ok

It's amazing!!!, 08 Oct 2008
One of the best books I've ever read. I'm 10 and I got lost in the world of Ingo. It's not childish, it's fascinating. I'm now reading the third book and it's just as good. I highly recommend this book.

An Amazing Story!!, 16 Aug 2008
This book is soooo good! I could not put it down. it makes you feel as if you are in the story, swimming through the coves and flying through the currents. I would reccomend all the books (Ingo, the tide knot, the deep and the crossing of ingo) to anyone. Even if you dont like reading that much this book will hook you!

A must read book for all ages!, 14 Jul 2008
This is a really great read and as its one in a series it definately makes you want to read the others. A brillinat adventure for all ages. Would highly recommend!

Beautiful read, 17 Jun 2008
Wow! What a lovely read. I've always wanted to be a mermaid (yes, I know, what a weirdo) and reading this book was spellbinding! I couldn't put it down and finished it within a day. It is such a beautiful book, and I recommend it for all ages :) What are you waiting for?

So real you can smell the sea..., 14 Jul 2008
A beautifully written and worthy sequel to Ingo. Both my children (ages 14 and 10) enjoyed this and I read 'Ingo' and 'The Tide Knot' on their recommendation. I now see what the seduction is. It's heartening to see such good, stimulating writing for children out there. I can't remember reading anywhere such sensual descriptions of the sea, or the sea shore in a children's book. You can almost smell the Cornish coast in this writing. Wonderful!

Amazing!!!, 08 Jul 2008
Right, I'm 16 years old now and i adore this book, and i loved the last one too - but i could imagine loving this book at any age. The writing is descriptive but quite simple, and utterly captivating. The story's awesome as well, you couldn't really ask for more in a book like this! And the cover's really prettyyyy @.@
Guys, if you're wondering whether or not to get this book (or the first!) then just go for it!

fantastic sequel, 03 Jul 2007
This is a brilliant sequel to 'Ingo'. Again there is the amazing mixture of fantasy with a real-life modern story. It can be enjoyed by children and adults alike. The descriptions of the flood and the gradual unfolding of the fate of the children's father is fascinating and the book is a real page-turner.

Even better than the first, 24 May 2007
I was a bit annoyed at Ingo for ending so abruptly with a teaser that pretty much said 'find out what happens in the sequel next year'. I mean I felt like complaining to some authority about it. The Tide Knot makes up for it by being even better than Ingo.

The story picks up in a cold and bleak November where Saphire and Conor have moved to the town next to Senara and left their cottage to renters. Conor is more interested in surfing but Saphire cannot let go of the pull of Ingo. Her mother still has no clue but potential stepdad Roger is becoming more and more suspicious. Saphire still believes her dad didn't really drown and is still looking for answers. Again she involves herself in the affairs of the Mer to solve the mystery.

As before, The Tide Knot is written in that same dreamy, euphoric style that makes every trip into the ocean seem like and enigmatic heroin rush. Whenever Saphire is not in Ingo we cannot wait until she just dashes for the shore and whenever she is far out in some current we don't want her to head back to land. It's weird and yet pleasing how she exists in two different worlds and is somehow wise beyond her years (I like children's books that don't insult their intelligence) without seeming cocky.

With the third novel in the series (The Deep) already out, this is looking like a series I am seriously enjoying that sort of popped out of nowhere. I recommend any teenager (or adult, such as myself) to pick up these books.

As entrancing as the sea itself..., 29 Aug 2006
Helen Dunmore has crafted a beautiful world in which the more familiar world of the land people and the unknown and dangerous realm of the sea live side by side in uneasy balance. The magic is thrilling, the tension is vivid and the main character's struggle with her temptation by the seductive underwater world is all too believable.

I loved this title and it's predecessor Ingo. Suitable for children AND adults who love a good read!

A wholly absorbing read, 12 Feb 2008
The Siege is a beautifully absorbing book, taking the reader on a journey to a time and place when existence was so hard, it is almost impossible to imagine. In fact most people would not want to imagine the kind of hardship the characters endure, but there is such beauty and emotion in the story that you are transported to Leningrad; to the queues for bread, to the park when the first snow falls.
One for my list of favourite books - it gave me a thirst for Helen Dunmore's writing that made me immediately want to search out more of her work.

The Siege, 06 Oct 2006
Having just returned from a trip to St Petersburg, I felt that Helen Dunmore captured everything perfectly. The cossetting of the National treasures, the terror of being overheard, the starvation etc. A city where human life seems unimportant in relation to the enormous wealth of its art collections and palaces, with a few - from the tsars, to the communist leaders and now to the corrupt mafia type leaders of today enjoying great wealth.

A beautifully written book about human love and cruelty, 17 May 2006
This book has probably the most evocative descriptions of extreme cold and starvation that I've ever read. It was almost uncomfortable at times to imagine the extreme privations, as well as phenomenal courage, of the central characters, so clearly was it described. The contrasts between the early autumn days full of hope and warmth are pitted against the desperate conditions in only two months time. She describes so beautifully the obsessive thoughts Anna had about food, simple food like soup with dumplings, and how appetising and so out of reach they were to her and to the little brother she sacrificed so much to save. I can only imagine that is how people would feel when they are struggling just to exist. It is also an essay on man's cruelty to man, beginning with the stark German orders to annihilate the city and everyone in it and continuing with the descent to utterly selfish and brutish behaviour by many when faced with imminent death. I was moved to find a guidebook on St. Petersburg to see where the cemetery with the mass graves is located. The city is such a tourist destination nowadays, and of course one can only be thankful for the human spirit that continues in the face of such desperate cruelty, but the contrast with the modern glitter of the restored palaces and museums is stark. This is a fine and brave book and very well written. I recommend it.

Heart wrenching!, 14 Apr 2005
What a beautifully written book this is. It was a treat from start to finish. Although the subject matter is necessarily bleak, the triumph over adversity scenario has never been so terrifyingly real.

Anna, a young woman, her 5 year old brother and her father are trying to survive the Seige of Leningrad in temperatures most of us cannot even imagine, and are unlikely to experience. The Germans are trying to starve the city to death and are succeeding. There is no food. Every step and every expenditure of energy has to be carefully thought out. Every nerve and every fibre of Anna's being are programmed to survive against all odds. Her will to live and keep her brother alive is so strong. The writing makes you feel as if you are there in the apartment with them, so much so that I wept when they found a jar of jam that had been hidden!

This book makes you think about human nature to survive against all odds. A very emotional read, which gave me an insight to a part of WW2 that I hadn't read much about.

Brilliant.

Great Book - Read it!, 14 Oct 2003
This is a wonderful, unput-downable book - a love story in many senses but, ultimately it's the story of the city of Leningrad in the grip of winter and of starvation - it's a story of survival. Some of the other reviewers have complained that Dunmore doesn't go deep enough into the characters, that they are not fully developed, but I think that is intentional. When every day is a struggle just to live, there is no energy left for emotions and I think the author's sometimes 'matter of fact' prose reflects that very well. (And it still made me cry!!)
I was so absorbed by this book that I felt guilty for eating while I was reading it and when I left the house one night I fully expected there to be snow on the streets...

Ingo The Best Yet, 04 Nov 2008
My mum bought me the first book, i saw the front cover and read the blurb 'mermaids' i thought, i wasn't so sure. I gave it a go anyway and i couldn't put it down, It was brilliant! The writer Helen Dunmore is an amazing author, She makes it feel so real and adds lots of brilliant adjectives. It wasn't anything like I'd have thought, not mermaidy at all, just so exciting and at times heartbreaking. It sent you on a roller coaster of emotions! The charatcers are very well explained and described in a subtle way, It's like you gain the characters' trust and affection. Once I ahd read 'Ingo' I found out there were two more, one called 'The Tide Know' which was so exciting and then 'The Deep'. I was on the edge of my chair the WHOLE way through. The whole trilogy is based on a sea loving family whose father/husband is enticed into Ingo a place were the Mer live, were he build a new famiy. Slowly Sapphy and Conor find out about their Mer blood. Unfortunately in this trilogy we don't find out what happens to the father/husband. But fortuantley there is a 4th book (no longer a trilogy). 'The Crossing Of Ingo' is the last stretch for Sapphy and Conor on thier journey to becoming full Mer. What will happen to dad?!?

Total ***** Reading

Carla Dobson-Perez 13yo

IngoThe Crossing of Ingo (Ingo Adventures) <<< Book No. 1

Outstanding, 03 Oct 2008
I read the series this summer and it was the best book I have ever read Saphy and conner decide to make the crossing and it isn't easy they first get attacked by sharks which Ervys has recruted that where previousley gaurding the tide knot and from there it sets of showing the marvolous parts in INGO and the dark ominous moments Faro and Elvira are there too and a relationship is floating for Faro and Saphy as he expresses rather vageuly by saying how he will stop calling her little sister because she is not so little any more by the end you will have your own theory of what happens next the conclusion I made was that saphire would stay on land with her mother till she is finished school and then will join Faro in INGO but not fully and conner will stay on land with rainbow.

Enchanting, 18 May 2008
The crossing of Ingo usually goes south, but due to sharks, Faro, Conor, Sapphy and Elvira are forced to go north. Despite the challenge of polar bear attacks and ice, they reach the south and Sapphy meets somebody she was not expecting to see ... A beautiful book, the last and best in the enchanging Ingo series.
By Amelia Jemima Eyles, aged 9.

The Shallows, 02 Apr 2008
After the wonderfully written Ingo and Tide Knot I was surprised to find that The Deep ended up being so clunky and slow. Not really much happens in the 320 pages and there's no sense of urgency, mystery or need to keep turning the page.

Sapphire and her brother Conor are summoned back to the ocean when the Kraken (not the giant squid of common lore) threatens to wreak havoc upon the world when he wakes from his thousand year slumber. The kids sort him out rather easily towards the end of the second act, leaving the last third of the book to just ramble on about nothing in particular and sort of fizzle out instead of ending on a high note.

Helen Dunmore could have DONE MORE to make this is as unputdownable as the first two. It should have been structured better and had a stronger storyline. I often guessed that she was just winging it with the slightest of plots and didn't really know how it was going to end up.

With the final book in the series, The Crossing of Ingo, due out in a couple of months I will still be checking it out. I can already tell exactly what gimmicks Dunmore is going to use. But that is because I am a know-it-all.

excellent, 18 Nov 2007
this book is fantastic
deffinately a must read on book.
i recomend it all age groups with imagination!

Really good, but not realy my type, 26 Oct 2008
this is a good book, but, not really breathtaking, she has good ideas and can make it interesting. imean everyday when i went to bed it was like, oh no do i have to read it, but its ok

It's amazing!!!, 08 Oct 2008
One of the best books I've ever read. I'm 10 and I got lost in the world of Ingo. It's not childish, it's fascinating. I'm now reading the third book and it's just as good. I highly recommend this book.

An Amazing Story!!, 16 Aug 2008
This book is soooo good! I could not put it down. it makes you feel as if you are in the story, swimming through the coves and flying through the currents. I would reccomend all the books (Ingo, the tide knot, the deep and the crossing of ingo) to anyone. Even if you dont like reading that much this book will hook you!

A must read book for all ages!, 14 Jul 2008
This is a really great read and as its one in a series it definately makes you want to read the others. A brillinat adventure for all ages. Would highly recommend!

Beautiful read, 17 Jun 2008
Wow! What a lovely read. I've always wanted to be a mermaid (yes, I know, what a weirdo) and reading this book was spellbinding! I couldn't put it down and finished it within a day. It is such a beautiful book, and I recommend it for all ages :) What are you waiting for?

So real you can smell the sea..., 14 Jul 2008
A beautifully written and worthy sequel to Ingo. Both my children (ages 14 and 10) enjoyed this and I read 'Ingo' and 'The Tide Knot' on their recommendation. I now see what the seduction is. It's heartening to see such good, stimulating writing for children out there. I can't remember reading anywhere such sensual descriptions of the sea, or the sea shore in a children's book. You can almost smell the Cornish coast in this writing. Wonderful!

Amazing!!!, 08 Jul 2008
Right, I'm 16 years old now and i adore this book, and i loved the last one too - but i could imagine loving this book at any age. The writing is descriptive but quite simple, and utterly captivating. The story's awesome as well, you couldn't really ask for more in a book like this! And the cover's really prettyyyy @.@
Guys, if you're wondering whether or not to get this book (or the first!) then just go for it!

fantastic sequel, 03 Jul 2007
This is a brilliant sequel to 'Ingo'. Again there is the amazing mixture of fantasy with a real-life modern story. It can be enjoyed by children and adults alike. The descriptions of the flood and the gradual unfolding of the fate of the children's father is fascinating and the book is a real page-turner.

Even better than the first, 24 May 2007
I was a bit annoyed at Ingo for ending so abruptly with a teaser that pretty much said 'find out what happens in the sequel next year'. I mean I felt like complaining to some authority about it. The Tide Knot makes up for it by being even better than Ingo.

The story picks up in a cold and bleak November where Saphire and Conor have moved to the town next to Senara and left their cottage to renters. Conor is more interested in surfing but Saphire cannot let go of the pull of Ingo. Her mother still has no clue but potential stepdad Roger is becoming more and more suspicious. Saphire still believes her dad didn't really drown and is still looking for answers. Again she involves herself in the affairs of the Mer to solve the mystery.

As before, The Tide Knot is written in that same dreamy, euphoric style that makes every trip into the ocean seem like and enigmatic heroin rush. Whenever Saphire is not in Ingo we cannot wait until she just dashes for the shore and whenever she is far out in some current we don't want her to head back to land. It's weird and yet pleasing how she exists in two different worlds and is somehow wise beyond her years (I like children's books that don't insult their intelligence) without seeming cocky.

With the third novel in the series (The Deep) already out, this is looking like a series I am seriously enjoying that sort of popped out of nowhere. I recommend any teenager (or adult, such as myself) to pick up these books.

As entrancing as the sea itself..., 29 Aug 2006
Helen Dunmore has crafted a beautiful world in which the more familiar world of the land people and the unknown and dangerous realm of the sea live side by side in uneasy balance. The magic is thrilling, the tension is vivid and the main character's struggle with her temptation by the seductive underwater world is all too believable.

I loved this title and it's predecessor Ingo. Suitable for children AND adults who love a good read!

A wholly absorbing read, 12 Feb 2008
The Siege is a beautifully absorbing book, taking the reader on a journey to a time and place when existence was so hard, it is almost impossible to imagine. In fact most people would not want to imagine the kind of hardship the characters endure, but there is such beauty and emotion in the story that you are transported to Leningrad; to the queues for bread, to the park when the first snow falls.
One for my list of favourite books - it gave me a thirst for Helen Dunmore's writing that made me immediately want to search out more of her work.

The Siege, 06 Oct 2006
Having just returned from a trip to St Petersburg, I felt that Helen Dunmore captured everything perfectly. The cossetting of the National treasures, the terror of being overheard, the starvation etc. A city where human life seems unimportant in relation to the enormous wealth of its art collections and palaces, with a few - from the tsars, to the communist leaders and now to the corrupt mafia type leaders of today enjoying great wealth.

A beautifully written book about human love and cruelty, 17 May 2006
This book has probably the most evocative descriptions of extreme cold and starvation that I've ever read. It was almost uncomfortable at times to imagine the extreme privations, as well as phenomenal courage, of the central characters, so clearly was it described. The contrasts between the early autumn days full of hope and warmth are pitted against the desperate conditions in only two months time. She describes so beautifully the obsessive thoughts Anna had about food, simple food like soup with dumplings, and how appetising and so out of reach they were to her and to the little brother she sacrificed so much to save. I can only imagine that is how people would feel when they are struggling just to exist. It is also an essay on man's cruelty to man, beginning with the stark German orders to annihilate the city and everyone in it and continuing with the descent to utterly selfish and brutish behaviour by many when faced with imminent death. I was moved to find a guidebook on St. Petersburg to see where the cemetery with the mass graves is located. The city is such a tourist destination nowadays, and of course one can only be thankful for the human spirit that continues in the face of such desperate cruelty, but the contrast with the modern glitter of the restored palaces and museums is stark. This is a fine and brave book and very well written. I recommend it.

Heart wrenching!, 14 Apr 2005
What a beautifully written book this is. It was a treat from start to finish. Although the subject matter is necessarily bleak, the triumph over adversity scenario has never been so terrifyingly real.

Anna, a young woman, her 5 year old brother and her father are trying to survive the Seige of Leningrad in temperatures most of us cannot even imagine, and are unlikely to experience. The Germans are trying to starve the city to death and are succeeding. There is no food. Every step and every expenditure of energy has to be carefully thought out. Every nerve and every fibre of Anna's being are programmed to survive against all odds. Her will to live and keep her brother alive is so strong. The writing makes you feel as if you are there in the apartment with them, so much so that I wept when they found a jar of jam that had been hidden!

This book makes you think about human nature to survive against all odds. A very emotional read, which gave me an insight to a part of WW2 that I hadn't read much about.

Brilliant.

Great Book - Read it!, 14 Oct 2003
This is a wonderful, unput-downable book - a love story in many senses but, ultimately it's the story of the city of Leningrad in the grip of winter and of starvation - it's a story of survival. Some of the other reviewers have complained that Dunmore doesn't go deep enough into the characters, that they are not fully developed, but I think that is intentional. When every day is a struggle just to live, there is no energy left for emotions and I think the author's sometimes 'matter of fact' prose reflects that very well. (And it still made me cry!!)
I was so absorbed by this book that I felt guilty for eating while I was reading it and when I left the house one night I fully expected there to be snow on the streets...

A compassionate story of love and loneliness set against an interesting background., 22 Nov 2008
Although this book is titled 'House of Orphans', we actually meet very few orphans, in fact only Eeva, female protagonist of the story, and Anna Lusa, who runs the orphanage. The orphanage is just used to set the scene for the story of Eeva because it is to the orphanage that she is sent when her father, a revolutionary and her only family dies.
When she is older the orphanage places her in service with a widowed doctor who finds himself falling in love with her. So he is somewhat relieved when she decides to return to live in her home town of Helsinki, to be near her childhood sweetheart Lauri. Now a grown man himself he has also become involved in the fight for freedom against the Russians.

An opportunity for me to learn about somewhere I knew nothing about historically it is an absorbing account of life in Finland in the early 1900s. I preferred the earlier part of the book which is centred on Eeva's childhood growing up in the Finnish countryside and must admit to finding myself less interested in the account of the political turmoil once the story transferred to Helsinki.

A compassionate story of love and loneliness set against an interesting background.



Highly recommended, 10 May 2007
Dunmore once returns to a historical novel, as she did in The Siege, which remains one of my favourites by her, along with A Spell in Winter. All her books, whether contemporary or historical, take their plot from the characters.

This book is set in Finland in turbulent (and fascinating) political times, but wears its research lightly.

It is the story of Eeva, daughter of a political activist, who is sent to an orphanage and from there into service, working for a country doctor.

This is a wonderful book, deft and elegant, without being difficult or condescending.

Rural Finland at the turn of the 20th C., 28 Apr 2007
I enjoyed Dunmore's description of life in rural Finland at the turn of the century. There was an attention to detail which was fascinating and her portrayal of the characters at the orphanage and the doctor and his family was sympathetic and well-researched. The poverty of the farming communitites is a stark contrast to the comforts of the Swedish speaking bourgeoisie in the early 1900s. With the doctor's help Eeva moves back to Helsinki, and her life amidst the political turmoil of the new city is again an interesting contrast to her childhood years in the security and the purity of the countryside.
Although I enjoyed the beginning of the book I felt we lost Eeva after she moved back to Helsinki. The narrative switched without transition from one character to another without developing to any climax. I was surprised when I reached the end of the book, and was frustrated that some of the characters had slid out of the novel without me noticing.

Another world, 03 Mar 2007
This is one of those incredibly satisying novels that takes you into an unfamiliar world and then propels you along through terrific characters and a satisfying plot. I never knew I'd be interested in Finland in the 1900s, but I was gripped, and taken into two contrasting worlds of Helsinki the new modern city and the backwoods of the Finnish countryside. It's a love story -- a triangular one -- and it's also about revolution and terrorism and full of suspense.

The characters are by turns noble, touching and sinister -- and sometimes all three.

Thoroughly recommended.

Misleading title, 11 Feb 2007
Although this book is called 'House of Orphans', we actually meet very few orphans, in fact only Eeva, our heroine, and Anna Marie, the lady who runs the orphanage. I would like to have become more involved in their day to day existence.

Eeva is the wonderfully described, somewhat mysterious, central character who starts the book as the only daughter of a Finnish revolutionary. He is sick, and when he dies she finds herself under the restrictive regimen of an orphanage. She is an admirably strong character and retains her integrity in spite of the harsh regime.
When she leaves the orphanage she becomes the maid for a widowed doctor who finds himself aroused by her against his better judgment. It is almost a relief when she decides to leave and return to her home town of Helsinki. Here she meets up with her childhood friend, Laurie, who is embroiled in the fight for freedom against the increasing power of Russia.

The book is a fascinating account of the struggle that was life in Finland at the turn of the last century. I certainly learnt of an historical period that was unknown to me.

Ingo The Best Yet, 04 Nov 2008
My mum bought me the first book, i saw the front cover and read the blurb 'mermaids' i thought, i wasn't so sure. I gave it a go anyway and i couldn't put it down, It was brilliant! The writer Helen Dunmore is an amazing author, She makes it feel so real and adds lots of brilliant adjectives. It wasn't anything like I'd have thought, not mermaidy at all, just so exciting and at times heartbreaking. It sent you on a roller coaster of emotions! The charatcers are very well explained and described in a subtle way, It's like you gain the characters' trust and affection. Once I ahd read 'Ingo' I found out there were two more, one called 'The Tide Know' which was so exciting and then 'The Deep'. I was on the edge of my chair the WHOLE way through. The whole trilogy is based on a sea loving family whose father/husband is enticed into Ingo a place were the Mer live, were he build a new famiy. Slowly Sapphy and Conor find out about their Mer blood. Unfortunately in this trilogy we don't find out what happens to the father/husband. But fortuantley there is a 4th book (no longer a trilogy). 'The Crossing Of Ingo' is the last stretch for Sapphy and Conor on thier journey to becoming full Mer. What will happen to dad?!?

Total ***** Reading

Carla Dobson-Perez 13yo

IngoThe Crossing of Ingo (Ingo Adventures) <<< Book No. 1

Outstanding, 03 Oct 2008
I read the series this summer and it was the best book I have ever read Saphy and conner decide to make the crossing and it isn't easy they first get attacked by sharks which Ervys has recruted that where previousley gaurding the tide knot and from there it sets of showing the marvolous parts in INGO and the dark ominous moments Faro and Elvira are there too and a relationship is floating for Faro and Saphy as he expresses rather vageuly by saying how he will stop calling her little sister because she is not so little any more by the end you will have your own theory of what happens next the conclusion I made was that saphire would stay on land with her mother till she is finished school and then will join Faro in INGO but not fully and conner will stay on land with rainbow.

Enchanting, 18 May 2008
The crossing of Ingo usually goes south, but due to sharks, Faro, Conor, Sapphy and Elvira are forced to go north. Despite the challenge of polar bear attacks and ice, they reach the south and Sapphy meets somebody she was not expecting to see ... A beautiful book, the last and best in the enchanging Ingo series.
By Amelia Jemima Eyles, aged 9.

The Shallows, 02 Apr 2008
After the wonderfully written Ingo and Tide Knot I was surprised to find that The Deep ended up being so clunky and slow. Not really much happens in the 320 pages and there's no sense of urgency, mystery or need to keep turning the page.

Sapphire and her brother Conor are summoned back to the ocean when the Kraken (not the giant squid of common lore) threatens to wreak havoc upon the world when he wakes from his thousand year slumber. The kids sort him out rather easily towards the end of the second act, leaving the last third of the book to just ramble on about nothing in particular and sort of fizzle out instead of ending on a high note.

Helen Dunmore could have DONE MORE to make this is as unputdownable as the first two. It should have been structured better and had a stronger storyline. I often guessed that she was just winging it with the slightest of plots and didn't really know how it was going to end up.

With the final book in the series, The Crossing of Ingo, due out in a couple of months I will still be checking it out. I can already tell exactly what gimmicks Dunmore is going to use. But that is because I am a know-it-all.

excellent, 18 Nov 2007
this book is fantastic
deffinately a must read on book.
i recomend it all age groups with imagination!

Really good, but not realy my type, 26 Oct 2008
this is a good book, but, not really breathtaking, she has good ideas and can make it interesting. imean everyday when i went to bed it was like, oh no do i have to read it, but its ok

It's amazing!!!, 08 Oct 2008
One of the best books I've ever read. I'm 10 and I got lost in the world of Ingo. It's not childish, it's fascinating. I'm now reading the third book and it's just as good. I highly recommend this book.

An Amazing Story!!, 16 Aug 2008
This book is soooo good! I could not put it down. it makes you feel as if you are in the story, swimming through the coves and flying through the currents. I would reccomend all the books (Ingo, the tide knot, the deep and the crossing of ingo) to anyone. Even if you dont like reading that much this book will hook you!

A must read book for all ages!, 14 Jul 2008
This is a really great read and as its one in a series it definately makes you want to read the others. A brillinat adventure for all ages. Would highly recommend!

Beautiful read, 17 Jun 2008
Wow! What a lovely read. I've always wanted to be a mermaid (yes, I know, what a weirdo) and reading this book was spellbinding! I couldn't put it down and finished it within a day. It is such a beautiful book, and I recommend it for all ages :) What are you waiting for?

So real you can smell the sea..., 14 Jul 2008
A beautifully written and worthy sequel to Ingo. Both my children (ages 14 and 10) enjoyed this and I read 'Ingo' and 'The Tide Knot' on their recommendation. I now see what the seduction is. It's heartening to see such good, stimulating writing for children out there. I can't remember reading anywhere such sensual descriptions of the sea, or the sea shore in a children's book. You can almost smell the Cornish coast in this writing. Wonderful!

Amazing!!!, 08 Jul 2008
Right, I'm 16 years old now and i adore this book, and i loved the last one too - but i could imagine loving this book at any age. The writing is descriptive but quite simple, and utterly captivating. The story's awesome as well, you couldn't really ask for more in a book like this! And the cover's really prettyyyy @.@
Guys, if you're wondering whether or not to get this book (or the first!) then just go for it!

fantastic sequel, 03 Jul 2007
This is a brilliant sequel to 'Ingo'. Again there is the amazing mixture of fantasy with a real-life modern story. It can be enjoyed by children and adults alike. The descriptions of the flood and the gradual unfolding of the fate of the children's father is fascinating and the book is a real page-turner.

Even better than the first, 24 May 2007
I was a bit annoyed at Ingo for ending so abruptly with a teaser that pretty much said 'find out what happens in the sequel next year'. I mean I felt like complaining to some authority about it. The Tide Knot makes up for it by being even better than Ingo.

The story picks up in a cold and bleak November where Saphire and Conor have moved to the town next to Senara and left their cottage to renters. Conor is more interested in surfing but Saphire cannot let go of the pull of Ingo. Her mother still has no clue but potential stepdad Roger is becoming more and more suspicious. Saphire still believes her dad didn't really drown and is still looking for answers. Again she involves herself in the affairs of the Mer to solve the mystery.

As before, The Tide Knot is written in that same dreamy, euphoric style that makes every trip into the ocean seem like and enigmatic heroin rush. Whenever Saphire is not in Ingo we cannot wait until she just dashes for the shore and whenever she is far out in some current we don't want her to head back to land. It's weird and yet pleasing how she exists in two different worlds and is somehow wise beyond her years (I like children's books that don't insult their intelligence) without seeming cocky.

With the third novel in the series (The Deep) already out, this is looking like a series I am seriously enjoying that sort of popped out of nowhere. I recommend any teenager (or adult, such as myself) to pick up these books.

As entrancing as the sea itself..., 29 Aug 2006
Helen Dunmore has crafted a beautiful world in which the more familiar world of the land people and the unknown and dangerous realm of the sea live side by side in uneasy balance. The magic is thrilling, the tension is vivid and the main character's struggle with her temptation by the seductive underwater world is all too believable.

I loved this title and it's predecessor Ingo. Suitable for children AND adults who love a good read!

A wholly absorbing read, 12 Feb 2008
The Siege is a beautifully absorbing book, taking the reader on a journey to a time and place when existence was so hard, it is almost impossible to imagine. In fact most people would not want to imagine the kind of hardship the characters endure, but there is such beauty and emotion in the story that you are transported to Leningrad; to the queues for bread, to the park when the first snow falls.
One for my list of favourite books - it gave me a thirst for Helen Dunmore's writing that made me immediately want to search out more of her work.

The Siege, 06 Oct 2006
Having just returned from a trip to St Petersburg, I felt that Helen Dunmore captured everything perfectly. The cossetting of the National treasures, the terror of being overheard, the starvation etc. A city where human life seems unimportant in relation to the enormous wealth of its art collections and palaces, with a few - from the tsars, to the communist leaders and now to the corrupt mafia type leaders of today enjoying great wealth.

A beautifully written book about human love and cruelty, 17 May 2006
This book has probably the most evocative descriptions of extreme cold and starvation that I've ever read. It was almost uncomfortable at times to imagine the extreme privations, as well as phenomenal courage, of the central characters, so clearly was it described. The contrasts between the early autumn days full of hope and warmth are pitted against the desperate conditions in only two months time. She describes so beautifully the obsessive thoughts Anna had about food, simple food like soup with dumplings, and how appetising and so out of reach they were to her and to the little brother she sacrificed so much to save. I can only imagine that is how people would feel when they are struggling just to exist. It is also an essay on man's cruelty to man, beginning with the stark German orders to annihilate the city and everyone in it and continuing with the descent to utterly selfish and brutish behaviour by many when faced with imminent death. I was moved to find a guidebook on St. Petersburg to see where the cemetery with the mass graves is located. The city is such a tourist destination nowadays, and of course one can only be thankful for the human spirit that continues in the face of such desperate cruelty, but the contrast with the modern glitter of the restored palaces and museums is stark. This is a fine and brave book and very well written. I recommend it.

Heart wrenching!, 14 Apr 2005
What a beautifully written book this is. It was a treat from start to finish. Although the subject matter is necessarily bleak, the triumph over adversity scenario has never been so terrifyingly real.

Anna, a young woman, her 5 year old brother and her father are trying to survive the Seige of Leningrad in temperatures most of us cannot even imagine, and are unlikely to experience. The Germans are trying to starve the city to death and are succeeding. There is no food. Every step and every expenditure of energy has to be carefully thought out. Every nerve and every fibre of Anna's being are programmed to survive against all odds. Her will to live and keep her brother alive is so strong. The writing makes you feel as if you are there in the apartment with them, so much so that I wept when they found a jar of jam that had been hidden!

This book makes you think about human nature to survive against all odds. A very emotional read, which gave me an insight to a part of WW2 that I hadn't read much about.

Brilliant.

Great Book - Read it!, 14 Oct 2003
This is a wonderful, unput-downable book - a love story in many senses but, ultimately it's the story of the city of Leningrad in the grip of winter and of starvation - it's a story of survival. Some of the other reviewers have complained that Dunmore doesn't go deep enough into the characters, that they are not fully developed, but I think that is intentional. When every day is a struggle just to live, there is no energy left for emotions and I think the author's sometimes 'matter of fact' prose reflects that very well. (And it still made me cry!!)
I was so absorbed by this book that I felt guilty for eating while I was reading it and when I left the house one night I fully expected there to be snow on the streets...

A compassionate story of love and loneliness set against an interesting background., 22 Nov 2008
Although this book is titled 'House of Orphans', we actually meet very few orphans, in fact only Eeva, female protagonist of the story, and Anna Lusa, who runs the orphanage. The orphanage is just used to set the scene for the story of Eeva because it is to the orphanage that she is sent when her father, a revolutionary and her only family dies.
When she is older the orphanage places her in service with a widowed doctor who finds himself falling in love with her. So he is somewhat relieved when she decides to return to live in her home town of Helsinki, to be near her childhood sweetheart Lauri. Now a grown man himself he has also become involved in the fight for freedom against the Russians.

An opportunity for me to learn about somewhere I knew nothing about historically it is an absorbing account of life in Finland in the early 1900s. I preferred the earlier part of the book which is centred on Eeva's childhood growing up in the Finnish countryside and must admit to finding myself less interested in the account of the political turmoil once the story transferred to Helsinki.

A compassionate story of love and loneliness set against an interesting background.



Highly recommended, 10 May 2007
Dunmore once returns to a historical novel, as she did in The Siege, which remains one of my favourites by her, along with A Spell in Winter. All her books, whether contemporary or historical, take their plot from the characters.

This book is set in Finland in turbulent (and fascinating) political times, but wears its research lightly.

It is the story of Eeva, daughter of a political activist, who is sent to an orphanage and from there into service, working for a country doctor.

This is a wonderful book, deft and elegant, without being difficult or condescending.

Rural Finland at the turn of the 20th C., 28 Apr 2007
I enjoyed Dunmore's description of life in rural Finland at the turn of the century. There was an attention to detail which was fascinating and her portrayal of the characters at the orphanage and the doctor and his family was sympathetic and well-researched. The poverty of the farming communitites is a stark contrast to the comforts of the Swedish speaking bourgeoisie in the early 1900s. With the doctor's help Eeva moves back to Helsinki, and her life amidst the political turmoil of the new city is again an interesting contrast to her childhood years in the security and the purity of the countryside.
Although I enjoyed the beginning of the book I felt we lost Eeva after she moved back to Helsinki. The narrative switched without transition from one character to another without developing to any climax. I was surprised when I reached the end of the book, and was frustrated that some of the characters had slid out of the novel without me noticing.

Another world, 03 Mar 2007
This is one of those incredibly satisying novels that takes you into an unfamiliar world and then propels you along through terrific characters and a satisfying plot. I never knew I'd be interested in Finland in the 1900s, but I was gripped, and taken into two contrasting worlds of Helsinki the new modern city and the backwoods of the Finnish countryside. It's a love story -- a triangular one -- and it's also about revolution and terrorism and full of suspense.

The characters are by turns noble, touching and sinister -- and sometimes all three.

Thoroughly recommended.

Misleading title, 11 Feb 2007
Although this book is called 'House of Orphans', we actually meet very few orphans, in fact only Eeva, our heroine, and Anna Marie, the lady who runs the orphanage. I would like to have become more involved in their day to day existence.

Eeva is the wonderfully described, somewhat mysterious, central character who starts the book as the only daughter of a Finnish revolutionary. He is sick, and when he dies she finds herself under the restrictive regimen of an orphanage. She is an admirably strong character and retains her integrity in spite of the harsh regime.
When she leaves the orphanage she becomes the maid for a widowed doctor who finds himself aroused by her against his better judgment. It is almost a relief when she decides to leave and return to her home town of Helsinki. Here she meets up with her childhood friend, Laurie, who is embroiled in the fight for freedom against the increasing power of Russia.

The book is a fascinating account of the struggle that was life in Finland at the turn of the last century. I certainly learnt of an historical period that was unknown to me.

Deeply riveting..., 11 Oct 2008
The first of HD's novels I've read, I found it utterly absorbing and extremely well written. The prose is hypnotic and there's a definate air of sinister tension throughout the first half of the book as you slowly uncurl two different threads of a tale. The story of Nadine and her elder lover, Kai, his business associate Tony and what they have planned for Nadine is one thread. Enid, a sitting tenant in their home, is the key to the second thread - who are Sukey and Caro and what happened to them? And what is the connection between Enid and an eminent politician?
The book is melodious in it's narrative and it's characterisation is clever. I do, however, have one criticism; Nadine is 16, yet has the emotoional dexterity of a woman much older. I didn't feel that her thought processes were akin to that of a teenager, albeit an intelligent one, and this spoiled the flow for me somewhat. Though it is clear that Nadine has had an interesting upbringing, I did feel that this still did not allow for such astute and creative observations.
This aside, I am sure you will appreciate this novel for what it is. I know I'll be searching out more of HD's work...

couldnt' put down, 30 Mar 2008
i've read and re read this book, thats how good it is !!
spell binding. read it and you'll know what i mean!

Briiliant, 04 Jan 2001
This is simply a brilliant and unique book by an extremely talented writer. On one level, it's a thriller, but on another, more important level, it's simply wonderful literature. Once begun, it is difficult to put down.

A darkly beautiful modern fairytale, 27 Jan 2000
'Burning Bright' is one of the most riveting, imaginative novels I have ever read. The characters are skilfully crafted and highly believable, and the plot unwraps itself in a natural, subtle way. The language used is hypnotic, the words locking together on the page and creating new ideas from ordinary events. I have yet to come across another writer whose prose is so captivating and fluid, who can touch the reader without gushing sentimentally. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Ingo The Best Yet, 04 Nov 2008
My mum bought me the first book, i saw the front cover and read the blurb 'mermaids' i thought, i wasn't so sure. I gave it a go anyway and i couldn't put it down, It was brilliant! The writer Helen Dunmore is an amazing author, She makes it feel so real and adds lots of brilliant adjectives. It wasn't anything like I'd have thought, not mermaidy at all, just so exciting and at times heartbreaking. It sent you on a roller coaster of emotions! The charatcers are very well explained and described in a subtle way, It's like you gain the characters' trust and affection. Once I ahd read 'Ingo' I found out there were two more, one called 'The Tide Know' which was so exciting and then 'The Deep'. I was on the edge of my chair the WHOLE way through. The whole trilogy is based on a sea loving family whose father/husband is enticed into Ingo a place were the Mer live, were he build a new famiy. Slowly Sapphy and Conor find out about their Mer blood. Unfortunately in this trilogy we don't find out what happens to the father/husband. But fortuantley there is a 4th book (no longer a trilogy). 'The Crossing Of Ingo' is the last stretch for Sapphy and Conor on thier journey to becoming full Mer. What will happen to dad?!?

Total ***** Reading

Carla Dobson-Perez 13yo

IngoThe Crossing of Ingo (Ingo Adventures) <<< Book No. 1

Outstanding, 03 Oct 2008
I read the series this summer and it was the best book I have ever read Saphy and conner decide to make the crossing and it isn't easy they first get attacked by sharks which Ervys has recruted that where previousley gaurding the tide knot and from there it sets of showing the marvolous parts in INGO and the dark ominous moments Faro and Elvira are there too and a relationship is floating for Faro and Saphy as he expresses rather vageuly by saying how he will stop calling her little sister because she is not so little any more by the end you will have your own theory of what happens next the conclusion I made was that saphire would stay on land with her mother till she is finished school and then will join Faro in INGO but not fully and conner will stay on land with rainbow.

Enchanting, 18 May 2008
The crossing of Ingo usually goes south, but due to sharks, Faro, Conor, Sapphy and Elvira are forced to go north. Despite the challenge of polar bear attacks and ice, they reach the south and Sapphy meets somebody she was not expecting to see ... A beautiful book, the last and best in the enchanging Ingo series.
By Amelia Jemima Eyles, aged 9.

The Shallows, 02 Apr 2008
After the wonderfully written Ingo and Tide Knot I was surprised to find that The Deep ended up being so clunky and slow. Not really much happens in the 320 pages and there's no sense of urgency, mystery or need to keep turning the page.

Sapphire and her brother Conor are summoned back to the ocean when the Kraken (not the giant squid of common lore) threatens to wreak havoc upon the world when he wakes from his thousand year slumber. The kids sort him out rather easily towards the end of the second act, leaving the last third of the book to just ramble on about nothing in particular and sort of fizzle out instead of ending on a high note.

Helen Dunmore could have DONE MORE to make this is as unputdownable as the first two. It should have been structured better and had a stronger storyline. I often guessed that she was just winging it with the slightest of plots and didn't really know how it was going to end up.

With the final book in the series, The Crossing of Ingo, due out in a couple of months I will still be checking it out. I can already tell exactly what gimmicks Dunmore is going to use. But that is because I am a know-it-all.

excellent, 18 Nov 2007
this book is fantastic
deffinately a must read on book.
i recomend it all age groups with imagination!

Really good, but not realy my type, 26 Oct 2008
this is a good book, but, not really breathtaking, she has good ideas and can make it interesting. imean everyday when i went to bed it was like, oh no do i have to read it, but its ok

It's amazing!!!, 08 Oct 2008
One of the best books I've ever read. I'm 10 and I got lost in the world of Ingo. It's not childish, it's fascinating. I'm now reading the third book and it's just as good. I highly recommend this book.

An Amazing Story!!, 16 Aug 2008
This book is soooo good! I could not put it down. it makes you feel as if you are in the story, swimming through the coves and flying through the currents. I would reccomend all the books (Ingo, the tide knot, the deep and the crossing of ingo) to anyone. Even if you dont like reading that much this book will hook you!

A must read book for all ages!, 14 Jul 2008
This is a really great read and as its one in a series it definately makes you want to read the others. A brillinat adventure for all ages. Would highly recommend!

Beautiful read, 17 Jun 2008
Wow! What a lovely read. I've always wanted to be a mermaid (yes, I know, what a weirdo) and reading this book was spellbinding! I couldn't put it down and finished it within a day. It is such a beautiful book, and I recommend it for all ages :) What are you waiting for?

So real you can smell the sea..., 14 Jul 2008
A beautifully written and worthy sequel to Ingo. Both my children (ages 14 and 10) enjoyed this and I read 'Ingo' and 'The Tide Knot' on their recommendation. I now see what the seduction is. It's heartening to see such good, stimulating writing for children out there. I can't remember reading anywhere such sensual descriptions of the sea, or the sea shore in a children's book. You can almost smell the Cornish coast in this writing. Wonderful!

Amazing!!!, 08 Jul 2008
Right, I'm 16 years old now and i adore this book, and i loved the last one too - but i could imagine loving this book at any age. The writing is descriptive but quite simple, and utterly captivating. The story's awesome as well, you couldn't really ask for more in a book like this! And the cover's really prettyyyy @.@
Guys, if you're wondering whether or not to get this book (or the first!) then just go for it!

fantastic sequel, 03 Jul 2007
This is a brilliant sequel to 'Ingo'. Again there is the amazing mixture of fantasy with a real-life modern story. It can be enjoyed by children and adults alike. The descriptions of the flood and the gradual unfolding of the fate of the children's father is fascinating and the book is a real page-turner.

Even better than the first, 24 May 2007
I was a bit annoyed at Ingo for ending so abruptly with a teaser that pretty much said 'find out what happens in the sequel next year'. I mean I felt like complaining to some authority about it. The Tide Knot makes up for it by being even better than Ingo.

The story picks up in a cold and bleak November where Saphire and Conor have moved to the town next to Senara and left their cottage to renters. Conor is more interested in surfing but Saphire cannot let go of the pull of Ingo. Her mother still has no clue but potential stepdad Roger is becoming more and more suspicious. Saphire still believes her dad didn't really drown and is still looking for answers. Again she involves herself in the affairs of the Mer to solve the mystery.

As before, The Tide Knot is written in that same dreamy, euphoric style that makes every trip into the ocean seem like and enigmatic heroin rush. Whenever Saphire is not in Ingo we cannot wait until she just dashes for the shore and whenever she is far out in some current we don't want her to head back to land. It's weird and yet pleasing how she exists in two different worlds and is somehow wise beyond her years (I like children's books that don't insult their intelligence) without seeming cocky.

With the third novel in the series (The Deep) already out, this is looking like a series I am seriously enjoying that sort of popped out of nowhere. I recommend any teenager (or adult, such as myself) to pick up these books.

As entrancing as the sea itself..., 29 Aug 2006
Helen Dunmore has crafted a beautiful world in which the more familiar world of the land people and the unknown and dangerous realm of the sea live side by side in uneasy balance. The magic is thrilling, the tension is vivid and the main character's struggle with her temptation by the seductive underwater world is all too believable.

I loved this title and it's predecessor Ingo. Suitable for children AND adults who love a good read!

A wholly absorbing read, 12 Feb 2008
The Siege is a beautifully absorbing book, taking the reader on a journey to a time and place when existence was so hard, it is almost impossible to imagine. In fact most people would not want to imagine the kind of hardship the characters endure, but there is such beauty and emotion in the story that you are transported to Leningrad; to the queues for bread, to the park when the first snow falls.
One for my list of favourite books - it gave me a thirst for Helen Dunmore's writing that made me immediately want to search out more of her work.

The Siege, 06 Oct 2006
Having just returned from a trip to St Petersburg, I felt that Helen Dunmore captured everything perfectly. The cossetting of the National treasures, the terror of being overheard, the starvation etc. A city where human life seems unimportant in relation to the enormous wealth of its art collections and palaces, with a few - from the tsars, to the communist leaders and now to the corrupt mafia type leaders of today enjoying great wealth.

A beautifully written book about human love and cruelty, 17 May 2006
This book has probably the most evocative descriptions of extreme cold and starvation that I've ever read. It was almost uncomfortable at times to imagine the extreme privations, as well as phenomenal courage, of the central characters, so clearly was it described. The contrasts between the early autumn days full of hope and warmth are pitted against the desperate conditions in only two months time. She describes so beautifully the obsessive thoughts Anna had about food, simple food like soup with dumplings, and how appetising and so out of reach they were to her and to the little brother she sacrificed so much to save. I can only imagine that is how people would feel when they are struggling just to exist. It is also an essay on man's cruelty to man, beginning with the stark German orders to annihilate the city and everyone in it and continuing with the descent to utterly selfish and brutish behaviour by many when faced with imminent death. I was moved to find a guidebook on St. Petersburg to see where the cemetery with the mass graves is located. The city is such a tourist destination nowadays, and of course one can only be thankful for the human spirit that continues in the face of such desperate cruelty, but the contrast with the modern glitter of the restored palaces and museums is stark. This is a fine and brave book and very well written. I recommend it.

Heart wrenching!, 14 Apr 2005
What a beautifully written book this is. It was a treat from start to finish. Although the subject matter is necessarily bleak, the triumph over adversity scenario has never been so terrifyingly real.

Anna, a young woman, her 5 year old brother and her father are trying to survive the Seige of Leningrad in temperatures most of us cannot even imagine, and are unlikely to experience. The Germans are trying to starve the city to death and are succeeding. There is no food. Every step and every expenditure of energy has to be carefully thought out. Every nerve and every fibre of Anna's being are programmed to survive against all odds. Her will to live and keep her brother alive is so strong. The writing makes you feel as if you are there in the apartment with them, so much so that I wept when they found a jar of jam that had been hidden!

This book makes you think about human nature to survive against all odds. A very emotional read, which gave me an insight to a part of WW2 that I hadn't read much about.

Brilliant.

Great Book - Read it!, 14 Oct 2003
This is a wonderful, unput-downable book - a love story in many senses but, ultimately it's the story of the city of Leningrad in the grip of winter and of starvation - it's a story of survival. Some of the other reviewers have complained that Dunmore doesn't go deep enough into the characters, that they are not fully developed, but I think that is intentional. When every day is a struggle just to live, there is no energy left for emotions and I think the author's sometimes 'matter of fact' prose reflects that very well. (And it still made me cry!!)
I was so absorbed by this book that I felt guilty for eating while I was reading it and when I left the house one night I fully expected there to be snow on the streets...

A compassionate story of love and loneliness set against an interesting background., 22 Nov 2008
Although this book is titled 'House of Orphans', we actually meet very few orphans, in fact only Eeva, female protagonist of the story, and Anna Lusa, who runs the orphanage. The orphanage is just used to set the scene for the story of Eeva because it is to the orphanage that she is sent when her father, a revolutionary and her only family dies.
When she is older the orphanage places her in service with a widowed doctor who finds himself falling in love with her. So he is somewhat relieved when she decides to return to live in her home town of Helsinki, to be near her childhood sweetheart Lauri. Now a grown man himself he has also become involved in the fight for freedom against the Russians.

An opportunity for me to learn about somewhere I knew nothing about historically it is an absorbing account of life in Finland in the early 1900s. I preferred the earlier part of the book which is centred on Eeva's childhood growing up in the Finnish countryside and must admit to finding myself less interested in the account of the political turmoil once the story transferred to Helsinki.

A compassionate story of love and loneliness set against an interesting background.



Highly recommended, 10 May 2007
Dunmore once returns to a historical novel, as she did in The Siege, which remains one of my favourites by her, along with A Spell in Winter. All her books, whether contemporary or historical, take their plot from the characters.

This book is set in Finland in turbulent (and fascinating) political times, but wears its research lightly.

It is the story of Eeva, daughter of a political activist, who is sent to an orphanage and from there into service, working for a country doctor.

This is a wonderful book, deft and elegant, without being difficult or condescending.

Rural Finland at the turn of the 20th C., 28 Apr 2007
I enjoyed Dunmore's description of life in rural Finland at the turn of the century. There was an attention to detail which was fascinating and her portrayal of the characters at the orphanage and the doctor and his family was sympathetic and well-researched. The poverty of the farming communitites is a stark contrast to the comforts of the Swedish speaking bourgeoisie in the early 1900s. With the doctor's help Eeva moves back to Helsinki, and her life amidst the political turmoil of the new city is again an interesting contrast to her childhood years in the security and the purity of the countryside.
Although I enjoyed the beginning of the book I felt we lost Eeva after she moved back to Helsinki. The narrative switched without transition from one character to another without developing to any climax. I was surprised when I reached the end of the book, and was frustrated that some of the characters had slid out of the novel without me noticing.

Another world, 03 Mar 2007
This is one of those incredibly satisying novels that takes you into an unfamiliar world and then propels you along through terrific characters and a satisfying plot. I never knew I'd be interested in Finland in the 1900s, but I was gripped, and taken into two contrasting worlds of Helsinki the new modern city and the backwoods of the Finnish countryside. It's a love story -- a triangular one -- and it's also about revolution and terrorism and full of suspense.

The characters are by turns noble, touching and sinister -- and sometimes all three.

Thoroughly recommended.

Misleading title, 11 Feb 2007
Although this book is called 'House of Orphans', we actually meet very few orphans, in fact only Eeva, our heroine, and Anna Marie, the lady who runs the orphanage. I would like to have become more involved in their day to day existence.

Eeva is the wonderfully described, somewhat mysterious, central character who starts the book as the only daughter of a Finnish revolutionary. He is sick, and when he dies she finds herself under the restrictive regimen of an orphanage. She is an admirably strong character and retains her integrity in spite of the harsh regime.
When she leaves the orphanage she becomes the maid for a widowed doctor who finds himself aroused by her against his better judgment. It is almost a relief when she decides to leave and return to her home town of Helsinki. Here she meets up with her childhood friend, Laurie, who is embroiled in the fight for freedom against the increasing power of Russia.

The book is a fascinating account of the struggle that was life in Finland at the turn of the last century. I certainly learnt of an historical period that was unknown to me.

Deeply riveting..., 11 Oct 2008
The first of HD's novels I've read, I found it utterly absorbing and extremely well written. The prose is hypnotic and there's a definate air of sinister tension throughout the first half of the book as you slowly uncurl two dif