Reckless

Reckless is a 2010 young adult novel by Cornelia Funke and Lionel Wigram. It is the first book in her MirrorWorld series. Originally published on 14 September 2010, it was rereleased 29 September 2016 as Reckless I: The Petrified Flesh. Reckless was inspired by the tales of the Brothers Grimm.

Reckless opens with twelve-year-old Jacob Reckless using a mirror to enter the magical world of Mirrorworld.

Twelve years later, Jacob’s brother Will follows Jacob into the Mirrorworld. Will is attacked by a Goyl, a humanoid race with stone skin. As a result of this, Will’s skin begins turning to stone. Jacob knows that the stone will soon invade Will’s entire body, and Will will become one of the Goyl and he rides off in search of a cure. He is told that the berries that grow in the garden of child-eating witch may cure Will of the curse. Will sneaks back through the mirror to say goodbye to his girlfriend Clara over the phone, leading to her going to the Reckless brothers’ house and entering the mirror.

German born and US resident Cornelia Caroline Funke (December 10, 1958), award-winning author of children’s fiction, best known for her Inkworld trilogy (Inkheart, Inkspell, Inkdeath) and her Venice based first novel The Thief Lord, basis for the successful movie of the same name.

Cornelia Funke was voted into the Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people of 2005.