Reckless (Reckless #1)

Reckless (Reckless #1)
Co-Authors / Illustrators
Genre(s)
Age Range
14+
Release Date
September 14, 2010
ISBN
9780316056090
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When Jacob Reckless enters his father’s study, he intends to find answers to the man’s mysterious disappearance a year before. He doesn’t anticipate finding those answers in a strange world on the other side of the mirror hanging on the wall. Jacob hides this discovery from his mother and brother for years, but one day his brother follows him. Will learns that the stories Jacob brought back from “travelling” – the child-eating witches, talking foxes, and fairies – are all true. Then Will is attacked by a Goyl, a type of stone creature intent on enslaving the human race. As Will’s skin slowly turns to stone, Jacob is in a race against time to prevent his brother from turning in to one of the monsters. Though the reader will find familiar creatures from fairy tales in this book, as the front cover says, “if you’re looking for happily ever after, you’ve come to the wrong place…”

When Jacob Reckless enters his father’s study, he intends to find answers to the man’s mysterious disappearance a year before. He doesn’t anticipate finding those answers in a strange world on the other side of the mirror hanging on the wall. Jacob hides this discovery from his mother and brother for years, but one day his brother follows him. Will learns that the stories Jacob brought back from “travelling” – the child-eating witches, talking foxes, and fairies – are all true. Then Will is attacked by a Goyl, a type of stone creature intent on enslaving the human race. As Will’s skin slowly turns to stone, Jacob is in a race against time to prevent his brother from turning in to one of the monsters. Though the reader will find familiar creatures from fairy tales in this book, as the front cover says, “if you’re looking for happily ever after, you’ve come to the wrong place…”

User reviews

2 reviews
Overall rating
 
3.8
Plot
 
3.0(2)
Characters
 
4.0(2)
Writing Style
 
4.5(2)
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A(0)
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Reckless (A Room with Books review)
Overall rating
 
3.7
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Funke is a fantastic world creator. I enjoyed Inkheart (but sadly never made it to the rest) and the description of the fantastical world. This book did not disappoint in the department of fantastical worlds. I loved the little sprinklings of fairy tales throughout the story.

The beginning started out quickly pulling me into the story anxiously awaiting the next twist. Sadly, it got a little slow after that though. While there was action, it fell a little short of the beginning for me. It picked up again at the end and I was flipping pages to find out what outcome awaited Jacob and his companions.

Now, page-turning aside, I found myself rather confused at times. It became a bit jumpy at times just throwing things at me out of the blue. I would find myself flipping back to previous pages to see if I missed something. These random happenings felt like they were simply thrown into the story to invent conflict instead of letting it invent itself.

In short, I found this to be a fairly quick read, but it won’t be making it into my favorites list anytime soon. I’ll definitely look into the next one when it comes out though. (Also, I was rather surprised by the ending, but in a good way.)
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A fresh look at fairy tales
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4.0
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Cornelia Funke is always an author worth reading. With a richly described setting, she writes magic into every sentence. Her characters are all different and interesting. I was particularly in love with Fox, who I could never figure out.

This is a much older book than Inkheart ever was, which probably hit home when the characters peered at the mummified body of Sleeping Beauty lying in her castle. Travelling through some of my favorite classic fairytales was great fun, and I liked each mention of them, however brief. And these weren’t the kiddified, Disney versions of fairytales, either. I mentioned the mummification, right? Yeah, her prince never found her.

With new creatures called the Goyl, Funke creates a frightening addition to fairy tales. A fast-paced plot, vibrant setting, and intriguing characters make this a must-read.
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