The Boggart is back to delight a new generation.
Originally appearing in The Boggart (1993), Cooper’s mischievous sprite returns to defend his ancestral home against an invading real estate developer poised to deface pristine Scottish countryside.
Twins Jay and Allie, white, Scottish-Canadian preteens, arrive for a holiday with their grandfather Angus, who operates a store on Loch Linnhe overlooking Castle Keep. They quickly become involved in a campaign to prevent obnoxious American William Trout from adding Angus’ store to the acres of adjacent shore property he owns and where he intends to build a luxury hotel and condos, turning Castle Keep into a tacky tourist attraction. Convinced Trout’s venture will “be a major environmental disaster,” Angus refuses to sell. Meanwhile, deep in the loch, the Boggart, “a creature bound by no rules but those of the Wild Magic,” awakens. When Trout’s lumber and bulldozer mysteriously fall into the loch, the twins learn the playful Boggart and his cousin Nessie are to blame. Discovering their family’s affectionate connection to the Boggart, the twins gleefully watch him rouse “Old Things” to thwart Trout. Cooper deftly weaves ancient Scottish lore into an imaginative contemporary tale with an ecological twist, while the Boggart remains as comical, fey, unpredictable, and thoroughly entertaining as ever. The cast appears to be a largely white one.
The Boggart is back to delight a new generation. (author’s note, afterword) (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Feb. 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5344-0629-2
Page Count: 224
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2017
PROFILES
Plays to Rowling’s fan base; equally suited for gifting and reading aloud or alone.
A 7-year-old descends into the Land of the Lost in search of his beloved comfort object.
Jack has loved Dur Pig long enough to wear the beanbag toy into tattered shapelessness—which is why, when his angry older stepsister chucks it out the car window on Christmas Eve, he not only throws a titanic tantrum and viciously rejects the titular replacement pig, but resolves to sneak out to find DP. To his amazement, the Christmas Pig offers to guide him to the place where all lost Things go. Whiffs of childhood classics, assembled with admirable professionalism into a jolly adventure story that plays all the right chords, hang about this tale of loss and love. Along with family drama, Rowling stirs in fantasy, allegory, and generous measures of social and political commentary. Pursued by the Land’s cruel and monstrous Loser, Jack and the Christmas Pig pass through territories from the Wastes of the Unlamented, where booger-throwing Bad Habits roam, to the luxurious City of the Missed for encounters with Hope, Happiness, and Power (a choleric king who rejects a vote that doesn’t go his way). A joyful reunion on the Island of the Beloved turns poignant, but Christmas Eve being “a night for miracles and lost causes,” perhaps there’s still a chance (with a little help from Santa) for everything to come right? In both the narrative and Field’s accomplished, soft-focus illustrations, the cast presents White.
Plays to Rowling’s fan base; equally suited for gifting and reading aloud or alone. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-79023-8
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Oct. 20, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship.
A young tennis champion becomes the target of revenge.
In this sequel to Legacy and the Queen (2019), Legacy Petrin and her friends Javi and Pippa have returned to Legacy’s home province and the orphanage run by her father. With her friends’ help, she is in training to defend her championship when they discover that another player, operating under the protection of High Consul Silla, is presenting herself as Legacy. She is so convincing that the real Legacy is accused of being an imitation. False Legacy has become a hero to the masses, further strengthening Silla’s hold, and it becomes imperative to uncover and defeat her. If Legacy is to win again, she must play her imposter while disguised as someone else. Winning at tennis is not just about money and fame, but resisting Silla’s plans to send more young people into brutal mines with little hope of better lives. Legacy will have to overcome her fears and find the magic that allowed her to claim victory in the past. This story, with its elements of sports, fantasy, and social consciousness that highlight tensions between the powerful and those they prey upon, successfully continues the series conceived by late basketball superstar Bryant. As before, the tennis matches are depicted with pace and spirit. Legacy and Javi have brown skin; most other characters default to White.
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-949520-19-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Granity Studios
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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