Reckless by Cornelia Funke: well that was unexpected

Reckless 

by 

Cornelia Funke

Jacob’s father disappeared when he was twelve years old. To escape his depressed mother and his confused little brother Will, Jacob hides in his father’s old study. Until he finds that by putting one’s hand on the old mirror on the wall they’re transported to the Mirror World. The world where fairy tales have come to life. Cut to many years later where Jacob all but lives in this other world (he’s made quite a career out of treasure hunting) and Will has followed him into the Mirror World. While there he’s scratched by a Goyle, a man made from stone. With the infected scratch Will’s skin has begun turning to stone. Soon his skin won’t be the only thing that’s changing. Unless Jacob can find a cure which of course includes a good bit of questing, strange creatures and near death experiences.

I love it

Characters

Jacob: He was kind of a despicable human being but I liked him. Sure he’s a bit of jerk but geez it seems like life has thrown enough stuff at him to break most people. There is a distinct feeling in the story that Jacob is taking on all this dangerous stuff simply to forget and be distracted by all the near-death experiences. Course when things blow up Jacob has to come to terms with all his stupid decisions and lack of responsibility. 

Will: I liked Will well enough but he was a bit of a bland character. I told you that Jacob was a bit of jerk and it felt like Will was there simply to juxtapose his brother. He was kind where Jacob was mean, weak where he was strong etc. there’s nothing inherently wrong with that, in fact juxtaposed characters can be the most interesting to see but . . . it made Will feel like more of a plot device than a character.

Fox: oh my gosh Jacob stop being such a jerk and kiss her already. I love Fox because she’s like a selkie but as a fox instead of a seal. Selkie’s to those who don’t know are like the irish mermaid. They’re women (and men but somehow you never hear about them) who use a skin or a dress turn into a seal. So, Fox can be both a fox and a girl which was super cool. 

So her purpose was to be awesome and very bite-y. and to remind Jacob that he didn’t have to be a total prat all the time (not that he listened to her).  

Clara: there totally isn’t a Nutcracker vibe going down. Nope it’s not like there’s a nice girl who falls in love with a cursed man (hello Will) and goes on a lovely quest to free him. Sure, she wasn’t the most useful of characters but I like Clara. She and Will were cute with each other I was really rooting for the two to make it out of the Mirror World together. Kind of wish she’d had a more active role in the narrative though.

Likes

It was unexpectedly dark: I’m 80% sure that I picked this book up from the children’s section. 

It really shouldn’t be in the children’s section. 

I mean there’s the evil, calypso-like fairies and terrifying stone men who can infect other people to become like them. And the Tailor which is some guy who skins people to make his clothes. Seriously why was this in the kid’s section!? That is some freaky stuff guys and it was completely surprising.

The writing style: I read Inkheart and Dragon Rider a very long time ago. In fact Dragon Rider has a special place in my heart because it was the first book I read that was over two hundred pages(it’s over five hundred pages holy crap how did my ten year old self ever get through that?) but I do have a confession to make on Inkheart. I never actually read past the first one. 

Still Cornelia Funke is clearly a skilled writer and I could not put this book down. Color me impressed.

It successfully started out confusing: I don’t like it when authors try to confuse me right of the bat.  I remember one book, Alcatraz and the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson (yes that Sanderson) that didn’t explain things for half the book. It drove me absolutely up the wall and if it hadn’t been for the fact that my friend was all but making me read it I probably would have put it down.  

Reckless certainly doesn’t reveal everything in the first few chapters but it worked this time around. My pet theory is that, because it was in a fairytale type world (albeit a much more sinister one) I was familiar enough to not feel completely lost.

Dislikes

Also, the writing style: it had that Written-Like-A-Fairytale vibe that I absolutely adore. You know the sort of pragmatic, ‘look it’s a curse’ or ‘look it’s a terrifying Lorelai but don’t worry, as long as we follow these rules they won’t be that much of a problem’. But there was still some description of emotion, something that these types of books don’t really have. But they were very sparse with describing said emotion. Which is fine except there were a few parts where I expected a reaction out of the characters and . . . didn’t get it. 

I feel like it should have gone one way or another honestly, full on fairytale or full on emotion. It didn’t ruin the story by any means there were just a few strange parts.  

Complaints aside i adored this book. Apparently it's a trilogy and i need to get my hands on all of them. immediately.