As with the previous book, Funke's greatest accomplishment here is telling such a rich and involving (and fun!) story, while still managing sweet, subtle commentary on the nature of words and meaning. Fenoglio, perhaps not surprisingly, self-referentially wishes in Inkspell that he had written a sequel to Inkheart.) Inkspell should serve as a special treat for fans of the first book, as characters from Inkheart who have found themselves in the 'real world' (if there is such a thing) find themselves read back into their own mythic, word-spun world-along with some of our favorite 'real-world' characters.

Of course, it's that sort of earnest, almost gushing veneration of books and book-loving that made the absorbing suspense-fantasy Inkheart so wonderful in the first place, with that lit-affection getting woven integrally into the plot (Inkheart being both Funke's first book in the series, and the fictitious book within that book, authored by the frustrated Fenoglio, now trapped within the book, er, within the book. They don't end on the last page, any more than they begin on the first page.' A fitting meta-observation for this, the unplanned second installment in Cornelia Funke's beloved now-trilogy. 'Silvertongue') sagely says to his daughter, 'Stories never really end, Meggie, even if the books like to pretend they do. Just a few chapters into Inkspell, Mo (a.k.a. The Chicken House (Scholastic), Paperback, 2005 Listening Library (Audio), Audio CD, 2005 Listening Library (Audio), Audio Cassette, 2005 Inkspell (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) (Inkheart Trilogy).The Chicken House, Mass Market Paperback, 2007

Inkspell by cornelia funke