Reviews

The invisible sprite featured in The Boggart has all but forgotten his Canadian friends, Emily Volnik and her younger brother Jessup, until the two children revisit their Scottish ancestral estate, Castle Keep, and its present occupant, "Mr. Mac." When Mr. Mac takes them on a camping trip, Boggart, accidentally packed in their gear, finds himself on the shore of Loch Ness, where his cousin, the infamous Loch Ness Monster, broods at the bottom of murky waters, unable to return to his proper boggart shape. While the campers and other spectators (including a news reporter and a scientist) try to track the beast, Boggart is busy trying to raise Nessie's spirits and convince him to leave the loch for his own safety. Wrought with a slightly more somber tone than its predecessor, this sequel brings such human characteristics as compassion, empathy, determination and even speech to trickster Boggart. His and his cousin's conflicts take center stage once the children and Mr. Mac discover the monster's true identity, and readers will have fun with the book's outlandish and suspenseful plot. Again, Cooper adroitly incorporates ancient lore into a contemporary setting while producing an imaginative and compelling tale. Ages 8-12. (Apr.)

Gr 5-7‘The mystery of the Loch Ness monster has finally been solved‘at least according to Susan Cooper‘he's a boggart. In this engaging sequel to the tremendously popular The Boggart (McElderry, 1993), Emily and Jessup Volnik are visiting Mr. Maconochie, a retired Edinburgh lawyer who has purchased the Volniks' anecestral home, Castle Keep. At the same time, a group of scientists are about to mount an exhaustive search for the illusive Nessie, utilizing the latest in robot submersibles. When Mr. Mac and his young charges plan a camping trip to Loch Ness, the Boggart, inadvertently trapped in the camping gear, comes too. Nessie, "mattressed on mud and blanketed with slime," has long since forgotten his boggart origins, but the Boggart, feeling a strong connection with his long-lost cousin, is determined to rescue him from the scientists. The explanations of how this all plays out are not as seamless as in the earlier book, and the delightful mischievousness of the Boggart is not maintained when he sentimentally steps out of character to lead his cousin to safety. Nevertheless, these plotting contrivances are balanced by Cooper's exquisite use of language and complex character development. A climactic tour de force, in which the Boggart creates havoc by inhabiting the computer of the remotely operated vehicle, will have young readers cheering. Maintaining suspense until the final pages, Cooper successfully blends technology and ancient beliefs to give readers a fresh spin on Nessie's origins. This entertaining romp can be appreciated as a gratifying fantasy and a thought-provoking story on the nature of freedom and the transforming power of love.‘Caroline Ward, Nassau Library System, Uniondale, NY