It’s a battle between corporate avarice and Wild Magic in The Boggart Fights Back, the third installment of Susan Cooper’s Boggart series.
It’s been five years since Allie and Jay Cameron visited their Granda in Scotland. The twin siblings are in for an adventure of mythic proportions soon after their arrival. William Trout and his monstrous corporation intend to convert the Loch Linnhe area—including Castle Keep, Granda’s store and his family home—into a luxury resort. Wasting no time, Trout’s crew sets to work by clearcutting ancient trees. Even though the whole Cameron family and the magical Boggart of Castle Keep, along with his cousin, the Loch Ness monster, get involved to put a stop to the disastrous demolition, all of their efforts are in vain—until Allie and Jay discover the truth about Trout’s plans. That’s when the real magic begins.
We then meet the Old Things: the Caointeach, Each Uisge, the Blue Men of the Minch, and the dreaded Nuckelavee. Newbery Medal winner Cooper has created another shape-shifting adventure with these mythical creatures, right in the heart of Loch Linnhe’s breathtaking landscape. Punctuated with all things Scottish, Cooper draws her middle grade audience into a fast-paced plot replete with lilting dialogue, Gaelic phrases, traditional songs, and “the defiant regular beat of a drum.” The Boggart Fights Back is an appealing read that provides readers with an appreciation for the environment and a chance to learn a bit about Scotland’s mythology in the process.
