Inkspell -- Take 2

I finished Inkspell on the plane on the way home from London, and, just like Inkheart, I loved it! It does seem rather unfinished, but it was known when it was published that it would be the second of three books, so the action had to break somewhere, I suppose. They even tempt you by putting a preview of Inkdeath at the end of the book.

Most of the second book takes place inside the story that the characters in the first book came out of. Meggie, who is now 13, reads herself into the story, and her parents and some other characters follow after her. What follows are their adventures, and misadventures, in the Inkworld.

There were two things about it I really liked about this book (other than the continuing story, obviously). First, you get some real insight into the craft of creating a story. Fenoglio is the man who wrote the story about the Inkworld where they are all now living. He keeps trying to tinker with it, by writing more and having Meggie read what he's written, but the story keeps getting away from him in ways he didn't anticipate.

Second, and related to the first, are issues of fate. As Fenoglio tinkers with the story, you start to wonder whether he really can change it, or whether the story will find its way back to its original ending, just by a different route. And then you add in the characters who are now in the Inkworld but don't belong, like Meggie and her parents. Can they change anything? Big stuff for a kids' book.