When a shadowy man and his horned martin show up, a book binder and his daughter are forced into a terrifying - and wondrous - adventure. 
 I absolutely loved this book. It's long, and it's slow, and it takes a long time for the reader to really be told what's going on, and I see that a lot of reviewers didn't like it for those reasons. But I found it's slower pace to be quite delightful. It was calm, and there was a certain rhythm to the movements of the characters (to Capricorn's, away, back, away, back). But, mostly, I just loved having the opportunity to really explore all the different characters. 
 Other reviewers complained that the characters in the book almost seem to be patting themselves on the back for liking books - and I do agree that it's taken to a fairly absurd extreme in the first few chapters, as Meggie tells us over and over again about her and her father's love for books. That they love books and stories is important to the character development, of course, but it could definitely have used some toning down in the early chapters. 
 The premise of the book - that reading with enough passion can make the stories literally come alive - is great fun, and well executed. Funke managed to explore both the joy and the weight of that kind of power, and then brings it all home again by tying it to the art of writing. 
 I think that the book would be best for children around 12-14 years old if read alone, because it is a bit of a doorstopper. Though it would work well for younger children as a family read.