Cornelia Funke has become one of those reliable writers for intermediate readers that does a wonderful job of weaving fantasy with interesting characters to create wonderful books. She is well-know for The Thief Lord. In her most recent work, she introduces elements from the tales of the Brothers Grimm to create a dark and dangerous world in the form of the Mirrorworld.

Jacob Reckless and his brother have been morning the loss of their father for the past 12 years after he mysteriously disappeared. Over those 12 years, Jacob was able to figure out that the mirror in his father's office was really a doorway into another world, if only you could figure out how to get its magic to work. Jacob does just that and finds himself in the Mirrorworld, a land torn by war and ruled over by dark fairies and the goyl. The goyl are creatures who skin has been turned into stone.

Since the fairy queen, who is wed to a goyl, is unable to give him children, she magically gifted his people with the ability to turn humans into goyl. These new goyl have proven to be great fighters in the war against the humans. When will is scratched, he proves to be one such victim, but instead of turning to stone, he starts to become jade. This brings a great amount of fear from the fairies, since this was foretold. The two brothers find themselves on a journey to find a cure for Will while also avoiding their enemies. In the process, they and the readers run into familiar people and elements from the Grimm tales.

I found the concept behind the book, and what is likely to be a series based on the way the book concluded, to be quite interesting. I was really drawn to the concept, which seems to blend elements from The Looking Glass Wars series by Frank Beddor with C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

I do have to admit that I struggled a great deal with getting through this one. Like Will and Jacob, the reader is thrown right into the middle of the action, trying to figure out who is who and what the heck is going on. The result is a story that is very difficult to follow in the early pages. Those looking for other tales influenced by the Grim Tales might prefer The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman or the NBC miniseries The 10th Kingdom. They are quite a bit easier to follow.

I will definitely be passing up the future volumes in this series. This is the first time I have been disappointed by one of Funke's books.