Igraine the Brave

By Cornelia Funke

Igraine, who turns twelve tomorrow, dreams of becoming a famous knight. But today, like most days, life at the family castle remains…rather boring. Until the nefarious nephew of the baroness-next-door shows up. Greedy Osmund’s got a dastardly plan to capture Pimpernel Castle and steal the singing magic books that belong to Igraine’s mom and dad. Complicating matter, on the eve of the siege her parents misspeak a spell and turn themselves into pigs! (How inconvenient.)
Igraine’s birthday wish has come true, and the challenge is bigger than she ever bargained for: Will she face her fears and find the courage to save the day-and the books?

Two words: For cute. This book is just darling, full of the fun and simple storytelling of a master storyteller. Igraine is a fun heroine, with an annoying but endearing older brother, and parents who dote and love her. This book may be fluffy, but it's well-written and I can tell it would be an excellent read-aloud book for kids. It reminds me a lot of The Castle Corona, but I like this much better.

Reckless

By Cornelia Funke

Beyond the mirror, the darkest fairy tales come alive….
For years, Jacob Reckless has enjoyed the Mirrorworld’s secrets and treasures.
Not anymore.
His younger brother has followed him.
Now dark magic will turn the boy to beast, break the heart of the girl he loves, and destroy everything Jacob holds most dear…
Unless he can find a way to stop it.
If you’re looking for happily ever after, you’ve come to the wrong place.

Okay, so look at the cover and read the last line of the summary. What does this suggest? Perhaps a less-than-happy story? You're right. I went against my better judgement and read this book because I heartily enjoyed the Inkheart trilogy and The Theif Lord by Funke, but this one had a bit too many dark tones for my tastes. It left me feeling icky. This book is about Jacob Reckless, a boy who has lost his father in the mirror world- a world that is strangely reminiscent of Grimm's fairy tales...extra Grimm. The whole premise of the book is Jacob's journey to try and save his brother Will from a curse that will turn him into a ruthless monster- nothing like the gentle loving soul he truly is. There is language and also blatant suggestion to immorality on Jacob's part which rankled me. There certainly was no happily ever after. In fact, I wondered what the point was at all. I definately don't reccommend it, even though I will say that it was superbly written and page-turner that lots of people will enjoy. Just a little too depressing and well....Grim.

Inkdeath

By Cornelia Funke

Okay, here's another one I can't summarize without giving away the first two books in the series. I don't think I've even reviewed Inkspell, which is the second book. This is the third and last book in the Inheart trilogy. It's so good. It did take me quite a while to get into it though. It's not like some books that just suck you in from the begginning. It probably took me about 5-10 chapters to start getting to the point where I really wanted to read it. It changed perspectives a lot which confused me just a bit. Sometimes I couldn't tell if it was Meggie or Mo who was speaking for a paragraph or two. But it's not enough to detract, and it was probably just me. The characters gain even more depth in this last installment, and I just love Mo! He seriously is my hero. I mean, a bookbinder! I started learning the art after I read Inkheart and I'm getting really into it. I'm saving up my pennies to get the tools of the trade. It just makes my endorphins go wild! Okay, sorry, I'm digressing. The whole series just seems to be written for people who love to read/write. Everyone who loves reading should try it out. I adore them and thank Mo for getting me started into bookbinding! :D

Inkheart

By Cornelia Funke

Meggie Folchart is happy to be with Mo, her father, and to help him travel around fixing books. Mortimer Folchart is an expert bookbinder and avid reader, a trait his daughter inherited. One day, a mysterious man shows up outside of the window at their home. With him, he brings news that obviously displeases Mo, who decides to immediately remove himself and Meggie to her Aunt Elinor’s house in the south. As Meggie tries to weedle the information out of Mo, she slowly begins to un-ravel the tale of her mother’s disappearance and her father’s unusual gift. When Mo is kidnapped for his gift, Meggie will stop at nothing to follow him and get him back. But only when she finds him does she realize the gift her father has, has become his greatest curse. For Mo, who can read aloud so beautifully, so deftly, and magically, the world of literature has become quite real as he literally brings the characters to life out of a fateful book called, Inkheart.

This book was really a slower read for me for its genre. But I was not disappointed in the time I spent reading its four-hundred plus pages. As someone who loves to both read and write, this book delighted and entranced me. My absolute favorite character is Mo, whom is the epitome of everything I love; bookbinder, reader, loving father and husband, gentle, kind, and brave. I adore everything about this book. It brings to life every thought, dream, and idea of the dedicated bookworm between its pages. In all actuality I wasn’t sure that I liked it until the day after I finished it, and when I couldn’t stop thinking about it or the characters or the thoughts and ideas inside it, I got more and more excited and knew that I had loved it. This doesn’t happen often, I usually know long before I finish a book if I will like it well enough to own it or read it again. So as Elinor would say, “By all the letters in the alphabet”, you had better read this book!

Fun Facts: Cornelia Funke is a German writer, whom we are fortunate enough to get translations of her books. Inkheart is the first of her trilogy. Inkspell and Inkdeath are the other two books in the series, the last of which is only very recently out in stores.