Read for the 2009 YA Reading Challenge.
In Inkheart, Mo and his daughter Meggie had the ability to read characters out of books, most notably the book Inkheart. So in the first part of this trilogy, we dealt with characters from a story being brought into the real world. In Inkspell, the roles are reversed, and Meggie and Mo find themselves in the world of Inkheart. Turns out Meggie can read herself into books, and what she thought would be a quick sight-seeing tour of this land she’s heard so much about turns very serious when Mortola and Basta are read back into the story as well.
The world of this book, split between the realms of the Laughing Prince and the Adderhead, and populated with fairies and wandering minstrels and a whole host of other people is beautifully done. I also enjoyed Fenoglio’s part in the story. As the author of the book that created the world they’re in, his journey as the story falls further away from what he originally envisioned is an interesting one.
My slight quibble with the book is the characterization. I occasionally found myself not necessarily caring that much about what was going on with the main protagonists, and hoping that something would come up shortly to move the story along. I was usually rewarded shortly with a bit of action, but I definitely found this happening more than once. This is not to say that I hated the book, but I definitely liked the first one better. This one lags at times, where the first book drove quite satisfyingly through to the ending. Here’s hoping that the sequel brings back the action.