Trolled

July 1, 2017
A biography-writing assignment takes a sixth-grader from the eerie depths of New York's Grand Central Terminal all the way to Troll Mountain.Being a troll isn't the only secret hulking Ned Thump, a night security guard at Grand Central, nurses...nor are young Cody's paternal grandparents both of Finnish--or even human--descent, as he's always been led to believe. So, hardly do the two come face to face before revelations and general weirdness start to flow: Cody is suddenly talking to cats; meeting an irascible brownie at his cousin Alexandra's (see Cursed, originally published as Diary of a Mad Brownie, 2015); and learning that there is an Enchanted Realm. There, both his long-absent grandpa and a certain troll's intended (sleeping, for the past century and a half, in a glass coffin) are in urgent need of rescue from the choleric king of the trolls. The airy tale jets along on frequent mention of farting, which not only is a sine qua non of troll poetry and, apparently, prophecy, but plays a crucial role in the climax. The narrative is delivered in Cody's and Ned's alternating diary entries, interspersed with email, handwritten letters, chat transcripts, folk tales, and trollish lore. Cody seems to present as white; Ned is depicted as green on the cover. Holy heckenlooper, as Cody is wont to put it--families can have strange secrets. (Fantasy. 9-11)

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January 1, 2018
For a sixth-grade biography assignment, Cody interviews his father's employee, Ned, night watchman at Grand Central. But when he learns that Ned is a troll from the Enchanted Realm, Cody also uncovers his own family's magical roots. This light standalone installment, a collection of documents, diary entries, letters, etc., focuses on Cody's and Ned's growing confidence, while gags like rose-scented troll farts keep the laughs coming.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)