I liked it better than Inkheart. The imagery was much more rich and the characters more well developed. I don't think it was her best book. I liked The Thief Lord and Reckless (my favorite of her books) much better, but I did enjoy this. I must comment though, this book is really not what I would consider appropriate for children below about 3rd or 4th grade. I wish I had read it before allowing my daughter to read it when she was in 1st grade. It is graphically violent and there is a pretty good amount of cursing throughout.