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Book Review By David Loftus
The Boggart by Susan Cooper

The Volniks are a modern Toronto family: Mother Maggie owns an antique shop, father Robert is artistic director of a playhouse, and the kids are Jessup, 10, and his slightly older sister Emily. The family learns they have inherited a distant relation's castle on an island in a Scottish loch; they go over to visit the place, realize they could never live there, and sell it. But among the few things they bring back to Canada unknowingly is the castle's long-time resident, a boggart -- a mostly invisible spirit that lives to create mischief and trickery. A lot of strange things start to happen to the Volniks, from their home, shop and playhouse to Jessup's school hockey practice, and a nosy psychiatrist and TV news crew start to upset their lives almost as much as their mysterious guest. The author of the Dark Is Rising quartet published this story for older kids in 1993.


Plot & Themes
Tone of book - humorous or laughable
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - fantasy story on current Earth
Coming of age Yes
Magical Beings/Mental/Magical/Powers Yes
magical powers:
Is this an adult or child's book? - Kid's book (ages 7-14)
Descript. of chases or violence - 10 %
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30 %
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40 %
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 20 %

Main Character
Identity: - An "It".
If magical mental powers: - can change shapes - can fly - Invisibility

Main Adversary
Identity: - society

Setting
Earth setting: - 20th century
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Writing Style
Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death
scientific jargon? (SF only) - some scientific explanation
How much dialogue? - significantly more descript than dialog
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