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Reckless
by Cornelia Funke

"The main character in this story is a man called Jacob Reckless. At the age of 12 he found a mirror in his father's room which took him to another world. He enjoyed its secrets and wonders, often spending more time there than in his own world. Some twelve years later his brother and his brother's girlfriend follow him there. In this other world the Goyl (stone men) are fighting the humans. Goyls now have a king who is in love with a banished Fairy. The Fairy is helping the Goyl win the war by changing the Goyl's claws so that when a human is injured they turn into a Goyl. Jacob's brother Will is hurt by a Goyl and turned into a Jade Goyl. A story exists that a Jade Goyl will make a king invincible, so of course the Goyl king sends out a search for the Jade Goyl and brings him back to the castle. Jacob, Will's girlfriend and their fox friend all try to save him. They try to return him to his human form by killing the Fairy, however this is unsuccessful and the Fairy survives. Part of the attempt to kill the Fairy involved using her name, for which the forfeit would be death within a year. Jacob used the Fairy's name and therefore will die within the next year. Eventually the Fairy offers a deal with regard to Will - she will change him back to human form as long as he went far away. If she ever found him again she would kill him. So Will and his girlfriend go back through the mirror, but Jacob and Fox stay to find a way to avoid Jacob's death.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book because it has great cliff-hangers, a good plot and it all came together at the end. The ending also suggests a sequel which I would love to read if she ever wrote one."

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