RACE TO KRAKATOA

Two siblings enter a high-stakes chase to protect the creative world.

Bea and Everett are learning how to use the tools they recently received that can manipulate magical Ink—Everett has his dowsing sticks, and Bea has her pen, which contains remnants of Ink. Their Inkling father was recently rescued from a kidnapping by the blotters, who want to rid the world of Ink. Now Daddy is planning a trip to America to see about turning his comic books into films. But just as he’s about to leave, an invitation comes to attend the Globo Gardens Gala for the unveiling of Inkanto, a mysterious invention that may help with the world’s shrinking supply of Ink. Bea and Everett, with the support of some Fomentori, people with special connections to Ink, set out in their father’s place for Globo Gardens, located near the volcanic island of Krakatoa. With blotters in pursuit, they end up on a high-speed race from England to the Indian Ocean. Readers must be familiar with the first series entry, The Ink of Elspet (2022), to fully understand this episodic and choppy volume, which does little to develop the characterization and worldbuilding. Readers living in diverse communities may wonder about Bea’s utter shock that two Fomentori of different races might be siblings, let alone the explanation that “the land in which we live and work determines our physical characteristics,” as if nations were monoracial. Main characters read white.

This sequel falls short.