Cornelia Funke is the author of many different books including Dragon Rider, Ghosthunters series, Pirate Girl, The Princess Knight and many others. Most of her works are written for younger children, but recently she finished a trilogy that was written for a more mature audience.
In April, 2008 the release of Inkdeath marked the conclusion of the Inkworld series. The entire series follows a little girl named Meggie and her father Mo who are blessed with a special gift, the ability to read out loud and make books come alive. When they speak the words written inside a book of any kind anything from within its pages can be brought out to the real world, including but not limited to characters, items, and even animals.
In the first book, Inkheart, Meggie finds the ability that she and her father have. A mysterious man named Dustfinger shows up at their doorstep demanding a talk with Meggie’s father. His appearance sets everything in motion. With the discovery of her own powers Meggie also discovers that books not only hold good things, but evil things as well. Capricorn, an evil man, who Mo read out of a special book called Inkheart at an earlier time is chasing Mo down, so that he can be read back into his own book. When Capricorn finds out that Meggie can read as well, he takes her captive.
The second book in the series, Inkspell, starts off exactly as the first one left off. Only Mo and Meggie are brought into the Inkworld by another reader. Inkspell then explores the entire Inkworld, which was described in Inkheart by a character named Dustfinger.
Inkdeath finally concludes the story but unfortunately not much can be delved into without giving away spoilers.
The Inkworld trilogy is an extremely well written fantasy series that is sure to take any reader to a distant and imaginary world. Both children and adults alike can appreciate Funke’s imaginative and descriptive storytelling. The books are meant to be read in a series, in direct order as there are many characters and Funke does not backtrack. If you start at a later book in the series, you may find yourself a little confused.
