Overview
Ever since Jacob Reckless was a child, he has been escaping to a hidden world through a portal in his father's abandoned study. Over the years, he has made a name for himself as a finder of enchanted items and buried secrets. He's also made many enemies and allies—most important, Fox, a beautiful shape-shifting vixen whom Jacob cares for more than he lets on.
But life in this other world is about to change. Tragedy strikes when Jacob's younger brother, Will, follows him through the portal. Brutally attacked, Will is infected with a curse that is quickly transforming him into a Goyl—a ruthless killing machine, with skin made of stone.
Jacob is prepared to fight to save his brother, but in a land built on trickery and lies, Jacob will need all the wit, courage, and reckless spirit he can summon to reverse the dark spell—before it's too late.
Editorials
Booklist
"This adventure-driven fantasy...will have readers turning pages."The Bulletin
"The intricately described, lushly developed other world is stunning."Publishers Weekly
Inspired by the Brothers Grimm, Funke twists fairy lore into a dark incarnation. A prologue introduces Jacob Reckless, 12, heartsick over his father's disappearance. The story then jumps ahead 12 years; Jacob, having figured out how to follow his father through a mirror, has made a name as a finder of magical items--seven-league boots, locks of "Rapunzel-hair"--in war-torn Mirrorworld, ruled by fairies and "Goyl," humans whose skin has turned to stone. Jacob's brother, Will, however, is mauled by a Goyl, and his skin begins to turn to jade; the plot is a race for a cure. The rich re-imagining of familiar fairy tale details is the best part, as there is little character development. There are few child characters, and veiled sexual innuendo and violence make this edgier fare. The writing is beautiful on one page, clunky on another ("But there always comes a time when a man wants to sense the same mortality that dwells in his flesh also in the skin he caresses"). Planned sequels will give Funke a chance to fill in the missing back-story that makes this a frustrating read. Ages 10–up. (Sept.)Booklist
This adventure-driven fantasy...will have readers turning pages.The Bulletin
The intricately described, lushly developed other world is stunning.School Library Journal
Gr 7–10—Ever since his father's disappearance when he was a child, Jacob Reckless has used the mirror in the study to travel to a fairy tale world as an escape and in the vain hope of finding his father. Now an adult, Jacob has been careful to keep his travels to the Mirrorworld a secret for years, but his brother Will follows him on one trip, with potentially fatal consequences. Caught up in a war between the humans in the Mirrorworld and the Goyl, a race of human-like figures with skin of stone, Will falls victim to a fairy's curse and is turning into a Goyl. In a desperate race against time to save his brother from this fate, Jacob leads a group through the dark and dangerous Mirrorworld, searching for a cure. Cornelia Funke's story (Little, Brown, 2010) features another intriguing world ripe for exploration, and Elliot Hill's solid narration breathes life into her colorful cast of characters. He creates unique voices for the many characters: adding a sniveling quality to the opportunistic dwarf Jacob coerces into helping him, giving the human Empress's voice an appropriately regal tone, and making Will's voice more detached and distant as the stone spreads through his body. The story is told primarily from Jacob's point of view, and occasionally it is difficult to distinguish his thoughts from spoken dialogue, but this is a small quibble in an otherwise well-executed performance. Fans will eagerly await a sequel.—Amanda Raklovits, Champaign Public Library, ILKirkus Reviews
Funke deftly escorts readers on another fantasy adventure, this time to dark, enchanting Mirrorworld, a fairy-tale land inhabited by humans, faerie creatures and the Goyls, a warring stone race. Discovering a magical mirror with the evocative message, "The mirror will open only for he [sic] who cannot see himself," 12-year-old Jacob Reckless travels through it in search of his missing father. For 12 years Jacob secretly returns as a treasure seeker, trading in magical objects and creatures, until his younger brother Will follows him, is clawed by a Goyl and turns into stone. Battling time, Jacob confronts dangers in an abandoned gingerbread house, Sleeping Beauty's thorn castle, the Red Fairy's bower and the Goyl king's towers as he seeks the Dark Fairy to remove Will's evil spell. The fluid, fast-paced narrative exposes Jacob's complex character, his complicated sibling relationship and a densely textured world brimming with vile villains and fairy-tale detritus. An unresolved ending hints at future journeys through the mirror, while spot-art pencil sketches evoke the Grimm atmosphere. Masterful storytelling. (Fantasy. 10 & up)