Reckless (Funke novel) facts for kids
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| Author | Cornelia Funke Lionel Wigram |
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| Translator | Oliver Latsch |
| Cover artist | Steve Wells and Plant43 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | German |
| Series | Reckless Series |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Publisher | Chicken House |
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Publication date
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14 September 2010 |
| Media type | Print paperback |
| ISBN | 978-1-905294-85-5 |
| Followed by | Fearless |
Reckless is an exciting fantasy novel from 2010. It was written by Cornelia Funke and Lionel Wigram. This book is the first in the MirrorWorld series. It was inspired by the classic stories of the Brothers Grimm. When it was first released, Reckless was very popular. It quickly became a #1 best-seller in Germany. A sequel, Fearless, came out in 2012.
Contents
Story of Reckless
Entering the Mirrorworld
The story begins with twelve-year-old Jacob Reckless. He finds a strange mirror in his missing father's study. Following some mysterious instructions, Jacob steps through the mirror. He finds himself in a new place called the Mirrorworld. This world is like ours but has more magic and less technology. Jacob often visits this secret world.
Will's Transformation
Twelve years later, Jacob's younger brother, Will, follows him into the Mirrorworld. Soon after arriving, a creature called a Goyl attacks Will. Goyl are human-like beings with stone skin. The Goyl's scratch curses Will, making his skin slowly turn to stone. This curse was made by the Dark Fairy. Jacob has already lost his parents. He is determined not to lose his brother too. He sets off to find a cure.
Search for a Cure
Jacob's old friend, Chanute, tells him about special berries. These berries might cure Will. They grow in a witch's garden. Meanwhile, Will secretly goes back to his world to say goodbye to his girlfriend, Clara. Clara then finds out about the mirror and the Mirrorworld.
Jacob, Will, Clara, and Jacob's friend Fox, who is a shapeshifter, travel to the witch's deserted house. They are chased by a scary creature called The Tailor. The Tailor makes clothes from the skin of its victims. Jacob and Fox fight The Tailor. Jacob gets hurt. The berries do not work on Will.
Journey to the Fairies
Jacob then decides to ask the Red Fairy for help. He believes she can break the curse because she is the Dark Fairy's sister. At the same time, Goyl soldiers, led by Hentzau, are looking for Will. Will's skin is turning to jade, which is special to the Goyl. They believe a jade Goyl will protect their King, Kami'en.
The group travels to the Dwarf city of Terpevas. They need help from a dwarf named Valiant. Valiant knows where the Valley of the Fairies is hidden. Jacob forces Valiant to join them.
Meeting the Red Fairy
The Goyl ambush the group before they reach the Valley of the Fairies. With Valiant's help, they get past dangerous unicorns. Jacob rows to the Fairies' Island alone. He convinces Miranda, the Red Fairy, to tell him how to cure Will.
Miranda explains that the curse will only break if the Dark Fairy is destroyed. She also tells Jacob how to put Will into a deep sleep. This sleep will pause the stone's spread. Jacob returns and makes Will smell special roses. Will falls asleep, like Sleeping Beauty.
Capture and Rescue
The Goyl soldiers, guided by Valiant, find them. They shoot Jacob and capture the sleeping Will. They leave Clara and Fox to bury Jacob. Valiant stays behind to help. The Red Fairy's moths bring Jacob back to life.
Now, their mission is to rescue Will. They travel to the Goyl capital city, hidden under mountains. Valiant agrees to help Jacob in exchange for a special tree. Valiant helps Jacob sneak into the Goyl city. Jacob pretends to be a slave.
Inside the Goyl City
Jacob and Clara accidentally drink from a stream called Lark's Water. This water makes them feel strong emotions for each other. Fox sees them and becomes very jealous. Jacob and Valiant decide to leave Clara and Fox behind.
Inside the city, Valiant learns that Will is held in the floating Palace. Jacob uses magic to become invisible and climb the Palace walls. He is captured by snakes and tortured. He accidentally reveals Clara's location.
Will's Awakening
Jacob wakes up in a cell next to Will. Will is still asleep, waiting for a kiss from his true love. The Dark Fairy arrives with Clara and Fox, who have been captured. Clara is sent to Will's cell. She kisses him, and he wakes up. But Will is now completely Goyl.
Will leaves to protect the Goyl King. Clara is put in Jacob's cell, and Fox is locked up above them. Valiant appears and rescues them all. They escape the city in a biplane. Jacob realizes his father built the plane. He now knows his father disappeared into the Mirrorworld.
Final Battle and Sacrifice
On their way back, Jacob decides he won't give up on Will. He goes to Vena, the Empire's capital city. He believes this is his last chance to defeat the Dark Fairy. The Goyl King, Kami'en, is marrying the Empress's daughter in Vena to make peace.
Jacob sneaks into the Palace. He finds the Dark Fairy, Will, and Kami'en. Will and Jacob fight. The Empress, Therese of Austry, then meets with Jacob. She refuses to help him publicly. But she later tells him the Dark Fairy walks in the Palace Gardens every evening.
Jacob ambushes the Dark Fairy. He touches her and says her true name. This turns her into a tree. She promises to turn Will back if Jacob lets Will protect the King during the wedding.
Jacob steals a golden ball from the Palace. This ball can trap anyone who catches it. He plans to use it on Will. Jacob, Clara, Valiant, and Fox attend the wedding. The Empress, knowing the Dark Fairy is weakened, orders an attack on the Goyl. The wedding turns into a bloody battle. Will successfully defends Kami'en.
Jacob realizes he has been tricked. He shouts the Dark Fairy's name to free her from the tree. Black moths fill the Cathedral, poisoning many humans. Jacob protects Clara. The Goyl win the battle. The Dark Fairy turns all the blood into roses. The wedding finishes, and the survivors are secretly taken hostage.
The Price of the Cure
After the wedding, Jacob meets the Dark Fairy. She agrees to turn Will human again. But Jacob must take Will far away. If she sees him again, she will kill him. Jacob traps Will in the golden ball. The Dark Fairy turns Will human while he is still trapped.
Jacob asks the Dark Fairy the cost of the cure. She says he has already paid. He learns that anyone who says the Dark Fairy's true name will only live for one more year.
Jacob returns to the tower with Clara, Fox, and Valiant. He tells Clara to polish the golden ball until she sees her reflection. Will is released, human again, and embraces Clara. Jacob tells them they must leave the Mirrorworld. Will and Clara go back through the mirror.
Fox asks Jacob about the price he paid, but Jacob does not tell her. He knows there is always a cure in the Mirrorworld. He sets off to find it for himself.
Main Characters
- Jacob Reckless: The main hero of the book. Jacob is 24 years old. He finds a secret world behind a mirror in his father's study. He often escapes to the Mirrorworld for long periods. Jacob feels that family and friends can be a burden. He prefers a life where his actions don't hurt those he cares about. He is named after Jacob Grimm.
- Will Reckless: Jacob's younger brother. He relies a lot on Jacob. He is named after Wilhelm Grimm. The first time Will follows Jacob into the Mirrorworld, a Goyl attacks him. Will's skin starts turning to stone, and he becomes the legendary jade Goyl.
- Clara: Will's girlfriend. They met in a hospital. Clara follows Will into the Mirrorworld. She finds him partly turned to stone.
- Fox (born Celeste): One of Jacob's few close friends. She is a shapeshifter. She usually chooses to be a vixen (female fox). Fox travels with Jacob after he saves her life. She understands him very well. Fox got her shapeshifting power from a special dress. She is about 15 years old and is in love with Jacob.
- Evenaugh Valiant: A dwarf who joins Jacob on his quest to save Will. Dwarves are well-known from Grimm's Snow White.
- Niomee The Dark Fairy: Kami'en's lover. She created the curse that turns humans into Goyl if they are scratched. Other Fairies dislike her for leaving their home.
- Miranda the Red Fairy: The Dark Fairy's sister. She saves Jacob after he is attacked by Unicorns.
- Kami'en: The King of the Goyl. He is the first carnelian (a type of Goyl) to be king. He is a great leader and has led the Goyl to victory over humans.
- Hentzau: The King's main helper. He is a Jasper Goyl. The King and the Dark Fairy send him to find the Jade Goyl.
- Albert Chanute: A fellow treasure hunter. He is like a father figure to Jacob.
- Victoria the Empress: The ruler of the Empire. She wants to capture Jacob because of his father's actions.
Grimm Stories in Reckless
Many classic Brothers Grimm fairy tales are mentioned or inspire parts of Reckless:
- The Frog Prince
- Cinderella
- Rapunzel
- The Table, the Ass, and the Stick
- Snow White
- Hansel and Gretel
- Rumplestiltskin
- Sleeping Beauty
