We've got your back. With the Tough-O-Meter, you'll know whether to bring extra layers or Swiss army knives as you summit the literary mountain. (10 = Toughest)
(4) Base Camp
While Inkheart is about literature, it's not necessarily the most complex literary novel out there. Maybe it's because Meggie (who's twelve) is one of our main protagonists, and so we see a lot of the events through her eyes; or maybe it's because Inkheart is a young adult novel, so it's meant to be accessible to lots of people of different ages. Sure the story is about loss and treachery and creativity, but it's also easy to relate to the characters and figure out what's happening in the plot.
The trickiest part of this book is probably catching all the literary references. There's a bunch of 'em. But worry not, that's what Shmoop is here for—and be sure to check out the "Allusions" section for a comprehensive round-up of all the references we caught.