Caught in a Spell!

“Stories never really end, Meggie, even if the books like to pretend they do. Stories always go on. They don't end on the last page, any more than they begin on the first page.” 

― Cornelia Funke, Inkspell

A year has passed and Meggie, Mo, Elinor and Resa are adjusting to their lives now that they are out of immediate danger and Capricorn is gone. Everything changes when Farid shows up in the middle of the night telling them that Basta is still after them and has threatened their lives. This causes a lot of stress, but nothing like what results when Farid convinces Meggie to use her magical voice to read from Inkheart, taking them both into a story she has only dreamed of each day since she heard of it. Finally Meggie gets to see the fairies and the Wayless Woods. But along with these fantastical sights she also encounters many of the dangers. Her mother and father end up in the strange world, along with Basta and other enemies who are out to get them. Mo is nearly killed as soon as he arrives in the story, and he must battle to stay alive. Unfortunately, the man who wrote Inkheart and created such a fascinating world also lives within its pages. He has been telling tales of the Blue Jay, a robber who is out to help the regular people against the powerful Adderhead. Now there is a price on the Blue Jay’s head, and people seem to think Mo is the mysterious robber. Will the Adderhead and his men catch the Blue Jay? Will Mo, Meggie, and Resa be able to survive in the ink world? Should they go back to where they came from? You'll have to read this exciting tale to find out.

I read Inkheart by Cornelia Funke a couple of years ago and very much enjoyed the story. I love the idea of someone being able to read aloud words from a story and have characters come out or people go into a book. Although it had been a few years since I had read the first one I was easily able to fall back into the world Funke created. I listened to Inkspell on audio read by Brendan Fraser. He did a great job with the voices, and I was very engaged in the story. I liked seeing how the characters changed throughout the book. The evil characters are done in a way that I really could not stand them, and of course even the characters I liked made me want to shake them from time to time (especially when I could tell their actions were going to put them in danger). If you have read and enjoyed Inkheart or if you like a layered fantasy story then I definitely recommend this book to you. It's a great book for kids in fourth grade and up to read. One thing is for sure- you will fall into the story and lose the world around you for a while.

Has anyone else read Inkspell? Or have you read another book by Cornelia Funke? We'd love to hear your thoughts!

Happy Reading!

~L

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