Monstrous Tale

The Boggart Fights Back by Susan Cooper

"Most of the time we choose what we believe in, but sometimes it just comes to you and it says, 'Here I am.'"

Susan Cooper has worked her magic again. Yes, the Boggart is back and this time he's bringing reinforcements, including Cousin Nessie of the Loch Ness. Boggarts are "Very ancient creatures, of the Wild Magic...They are shape-shifters, they can become anything they chose." The two, along with siblings Allie and Jay, find themselves at odds with William Trout, a real estate developer who plans to turn Castle Keep, the family's ancestral home, into a resort complex. He has already purchased much of the property. Bulldozers have commenced tearing down existing forests surrounding the castle.
To thwart his plan, the kids and monsters begin scheming. When ordinary pranks such as dumping a bulldozer into the Loch fail to stop Trout, it is time to call upon Scotland's mythological creatures to save Castle Keep. Note: The premise of a real estate magnate, declaring that the project will "be a huge success, huge...bringing hundreds of jobs...I'm a very smart businessman..." may sound familiar to today's readers.

With help from Scottish creatures and support from the local citizenry, the children manage to thwart Trout's enterprise.  His dignity is temporarily destroyed and he slinks off, taking the secret of his humiliation with him. Cooper's tale, while poking gentle fun at the developer, never stoops into the realm of nasty or vicious. Brimming with snippets of Gaelic phrases, ballads, and mythological monsters, The Boggart Fights Back is a magical tale that will charm young readers.​

Mythological Creatures

Cooper weaves some of the most terrifying monsters from Scottish mythology into her story.  Meet them here. Warning: best to cover the eyes of those who are prone to nightmares.  This is the stuff that after-dark fears are made of.

Caointeach

A highland banshee. In this tale she is a small old woman in a green gown, found at the base of a waterfall.

Each Uisge

A shape-shifting water horse who kills and then devours humans.

Blue Men of the Minch

Denizens of the Western Isles, possessing blue hair and long blue beards. They prey on passing ships and are responsible for fierce storms.

Hold on.  I have saved the most horrifying, most terrifying monster for last: The Nuckelavee. With the body of horse and a head with one glowing red eye, a man's torso arises from the back with a head that lolls "to and fro."  Most frightening is that this monster has no skin. Flesh covers the monstrous body and black blood runs through its veins.  If you're reading this at bedtime, be sure to leave the light on.

​Review and quotations from an uncorrected text.

Pub date: February 27, 2018       Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books     ISBN: 978-1534406292