Sanvoisin, Eric. The Ink Drinker. Illustrated by Martin Matje. Yearling, 1996 (translation copyright 1998). ISBN: 0-440-41485-7
For a book so slim in size, I was surprised by the twists in the fast-paced story and the ending that left me smiling unexpectedly. Matje's illustrations give the Ink Drinker a very dark, morbid quality, hinting at his true identity, while the simple text leads the reader to believe nothing dark and transformational could happen to our young protagonist!
The protagonist is a boy who hates to read. Unfortunately for him, his father owns a bookstore. What could be worse? In the summer his father makes him help around the store, but gets angry when he "accidentally" rips the pages of the books.
It's not until he spies a strange patron sucking the words right off of the pages of a book (through a straw, no less!) that his life begins to get interesting. Little does he know the twist of fate that awaits him as he darts out the door after the mysterious customer...
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