Boots and the Seven-leaguers by Jane Yolen
Jun. 6th, 2005 03:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bunnyjadwigaJust finished reading Boots and the Seven-Leaguers by Jane Yolen. (one of the advantages to an addiction to children's & YA fantasy is that the books are cheaper and the overdue fines at the library are less...)
Of course, for a life-long Yolen fan, merely being Jane Yolen is enough to make one want to read it. If you've read everything from her mermaid stories to White Jenna you treasure her writing style. But Boots has its own charm. First of all, it's for a younger readership, probably boys between 9 and 11. It's set in a modern-day version of a traditional phaerie universe with some cross-over with human lands. Many of the fae, including our Troll hero, have a fondness for Human rock and reel music, and for our hero, Gog, the best is actually a group of five Trolls, Boots and the Seven-Leaguers, who tour the human world all year and come back to the Kingdom once a year for a concert. (Electric power doesn't work well in the Kingdom, so wind-up players are used to play music off the CD's...)
Gog wants more than anything else to attend that concert, along with his friend Pook (a puhka, of course). But he doesn't have enough cash. Gog's smart younger brother, Magog, comes up with a plan-- get taken on as roadies for the concert, with a little glamour from Pook to make them seem older and more muscular than they are. The plan succeeds-- but Magog is kidnapped and Gog and Pook set out to find him. Strange people, perils and unlikely heroism help and hinder their quest, of course.
The real draw of the book is the way Yolen creates a country that seems a bit of Terri Windling edge lands and a bit of Pat Wrede's Enchanted Forest, and puts a believable young man into it; she uses the traditional types of plot elements (to steal the Reading program phrase, Dragons, Dreams and Daring Deeds) but gives them a twist that makes them feel fresh and better yet, seems to make them appropriate for the target age group. Gog struggles with his characterization as "Terribly. Thick. Troll" and his knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of troll nature in a believable way. In particular, the teen trolls struggles with The Surge, a beserker rage that adult male trolls are subject to, was very topical. I was pretty sure that as much as I liked the story, I would have loved it even more if I was a 9-12 year old boy or girl. The ending, in particular, seems sure to please.
Anyway, Boots and the Seven Leaguers: A Rock-and-Troll Story is a great deal of fun and a perfect choice for the summer Reading program Dragons, Dreams, and Daring Deeds.
Of course, for a life-long Yolen fan, merely being Jane Yolen is enough to make one want to read it. If you've read everything from her mermaid stories to White Jenna you treasure her writing style. But Boots has its own charm. First of all, it's for a younger readership, probably boys between 9 and 11. It's set in a modern-day version of a traditional phaerie universe with some cross-over with human lands. Many of the fae, including our Troll hero, have a fondness for Human rock and reel music, and for our hero, Gog, the best is actually a group of five Trolls, Boots and the Seven-Leaguers, who tour the human world all year and come back to the Kingdom once a year for a concert. (Electric power doesn't work well in the Kingdom, so wind-up players are used to play music off the CD's...)
Gog wants more than anything else to attend that concert, along with his friend Pook (a puhka, of course). But he doesn't have enough cash. Gog's smart younger brother, Magog, comes up with a plan-- get taken on as roadies for the concert, with a little glamour from Pook to make them seem older and more muscular than they are. The plan succeeds-- but Magog is kidnapped and Gog and Pook set out to find him. Strange people, perils and unlikely heroism help and hinder their quest, of course.
The real draw of the book is the way Yolen creates a country that seems a bit of Terri Windling edge lands and a bit of Pat Wrede's Enchanted Forest, and puts a believable young man into it; she uses the traditional types of plot elements (to steal the Reading program phrase, Dragons, Dreams and Daring Deeds) but gives them a twist that makes them feel fresh and better yet, seems to make them appropriate for the target age group. Gog struggles with his characterization as "Terribly. Thick. Troll" and his knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of troll nature in a believable way. In particular, the teen trolls struggles with The Surge, a beserker rage that adult male trolls are subject to, was very topical. I was pretty sure that as much as I liked the story, I would have loved it even more if I was a 9-12 year old boy or girl. The ending, in particular, seems sure to please.
Anyway, Boots and the Seven Leaguers: A Rock-and-Troll Story is a great deal of fun and a perfect choice for the summer Reading program Dragons, Dreams, and Daring Deeds.
