Troll Fell by Katherine Langrish has a pacy start. Peer's father is dead and bursting into the funeral is a particularly ghastly version of a wicked uncle. The uncle takes Peer away, in a rather brutal manner, and Peer and Loki his dog begin a new life in the valley of Trollsvik living with his wicked uncles and making friends with his neighbour Hilde who's father has gone off in a longboat.
A lively mix of Viking myths and other recognisable fairy tales, Troll Fell is engaging from start to finish. Hilde and Peer both have troubles in the absence of a father, and their fates coincide when Peer's uncles need a matching boy and girl to sell to the trolls as wedding pages. Like all fairy tales, the end is resolved satisfactorily, but the characters are engaging enough for you to think about book two in the series with some anticipation.
It is probably a bit too fairy tale like for the older end of our age group unless they have very keen on this kind of saga.
Watch points:
Peril: There's quite a lot of danger. Peer is often under threat from his uncles. Hilde and her family are under threat from trolls. One of the worst bits is when Peer's uncles decide to fight their enormous hound against Peer's tiny dog Loki. This is portrayed as down right planned murder, and the thought of a child thinking their dog was going to be torn to death in front of them made me blanch aged 40, so may well upset some children. Loki lives, how could he not.
Death: it begins with a funeral pyre which is an interesting talking point. Lots of people nearly die but there is much last minute avoiding of this.
Summary:much as I loved this book its relatively young protangonists, and fairy tale quality, may make it feeel a bit young for those old enough to handle the levels of peril. For the right child, it will be a hit, but I'd avoid with a book group as this won't suit everyone. It is beautifully written, and I did love it.
Also:
The author's wonderful blog may be of interest.
There are other reviews:
The Guardian has a review by Jan Mark which is less enthusiastic than I am.
There is a postive review on Kirkus.
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