Boots and the Seven Leaguers

A Rock 'n' Roll Fairy Tale #3

by Jane Yolen

Juvenile Fiction Rock and Roll Troll Novel Reading level 7,8,9.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Fiction, Childrens, Magic, Science Fiction Fantasy

163 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2000

About the author

Jane Yolen is a novelist, poet, fantasist, journalist, songwriter, storyteller, folklorist, and children’s book author who has written more than three hundred books. Her accolades include the Caldecott Medal, two Nebula Awards, the World Fantasy Award, three Mythopoeic Awards, the Kerlan Award, two Christopher Awards, and six honorary doctorate degrees from colleges and universities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Born and raised in New York City, the mother of three and the grandmother of six, Yolen lives in Massachusetts and St. Andrews, Scotland.

Reviews

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick read, very enjoyable! It tosses you right into the story and the world. I think the first-person perspective worked well for exploring the world and the life of a troll from an insider's view. The poems that start each chapter - song lyrics - are very simple, but maybe that makes for better songs. The missing kids were foreshadowed heavily enough it'd have been surprising if they /didn't/ come up again! And, of course, our heroes get to see their favorite band perform at the end.

[Sylvia McIvers · Rating 4 out of 5]

What absolute fun. A young teen wants tickets to a rock concert, his friend figures that roadies get free tickets, and then things go wrong.
Incidentally, the teen is a a troll, his friend is a pooka, and the band is mixed troll and human.

So much fun.

Found a bunch of Jane Yolen's books, reading a bunch of Jane Yolen's books. As one does.

[Cecilia Rodriguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

A funny fantasy adventure that captures the magic of attending a live concert of a favorite band.

[Sara]

A really fun book with just the right amounts of creepiness and rock-and-roll fandom

[Sharon Buxton · Rating 3 out of 5]

B-. fiction, children's fiction, upper elementary, middle school, fantasy, adventure, trolls, series,
(Rock and Troll Fairy Tale, #3), from stash, keep

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was good in a stupid way

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lovely story and at first you think it’s about seeing a concert, but it’s more about sibling relationships. The world was unique and I really enjoyed it from start to finish.

[Iris Delgado · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was a good book

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Troll Hero

Gog the troll must go into the dangerous wood to rescue his younger brother Magog. He is accompanied by his best friend Pook, who is a pookah. Gog doesn’t feel like a hero, but he won’t give up finding his little brother. He might not be the typical hero, but he certainly is one.

[Caryn Lesuma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boots and the Seven Leaguers is a good-fun middle grade novel about a teenaged troll named Gog whose only wish is to attend the concert of his favorite Rock-and-Troll band. Thanks to his younger brother, Magog (who is smarter than your average troll), Gog and his friend finagle jobs as roadies setting up the concert in order to earn comp tickets. Unfortunately, while they work, Magog is abducted by the mysterious Huntsman and taken to the heart of the forest, origin of nightmarish bedtime stories and home to the feared White Wyrm. As he rushes to rescue his little brother, Gog must face traps and dangers with his less-than-stellar troll intellect. Along the way, he even manages to uncover a large-scale conspiracy. I liked this book, but much of it fell flat for me because even as he claims stupidity, Gog actually does very smart, un-trollish things. Even his Pookah friend--who is supposed to be capricious and unreliable--is doggedly loyal and plays a total of 0 tricks on Gog in the story (supposedly his trademark). That said, Gog is your typical teen (does that make all teens trolls?), and I would absolutely recommend this book to the middle school set as an adventure that plays up the value of family, determination, and self-confidence. Yolen's twist on the world of Faerie and Gog's commentary on the way his society functions also make for an entertaining read.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

ATOS Book Level: 4.2
Interest Level: Middle Grades (MG 4-8)
AR Points: 4.0
Lexile: 640L
Word Count: 30504

This is the story of Gog, a young Troll and the troubles he gets into after he finds out that Boots and the Seven Leaguers, "the greatest rock-and-troll band in the world, were coming to play Rhymer's Bridge in three days". Gog wants to go to the concert, but he's broke so he get's both his younger brother Magog and his best friend, the brownie Pook in on a scheme to go to the concert without paying.
Gog starts the story out by taking a poster off the wall of an alley full of "wild magic", which almost gets him killed, he follows that up by being tricked by a greenman (his mom's been warning him no to fall for greenman tricks for years). His next scheme ends when Magog is taken, and it's up to Pook and Gog to get Magog back.
This is a fun Fantasy story with a number of different creatures coming into the story as Gog and Pook chase across Faery looking for Magog. It's also a story about how important it is for Gog to protect his brother from harm.

[Snapdragon · Rating 4 out of 5]

.More reviews like this one on my blog Snapdragon Alcove

Not a lot of books have a Troll as the main character and it’s unusual to have a rock'n roll band in a fantasy book. Gog is just your average teenager that like rock music and want to see his favorite band preform on stage.

The story has a simple massages, always look out for your siblings and your friends. It run throughout the story naturally. The world building is a build up from what been already told through folklore.
What I don't understand why Gog would take his younger brother to get tickets and leave him all by himself. then again, I might have done that with my little brother.

Another thing is what happen to the Wyrm. Did he escape?

Boots and the Seven Leaguers is a good story that has a good massages about caring for your siblings. Even if you don't have siblings just stick up to the ones you love.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good kids' book, full of adolescent issues, adventure, loyalty, magic, and what can only be characterized as racial stereotypes. The races are not those of humans, but of mythical creatures, like trolls, fairies, pookahs. Still, behaviors and qualities like being rather stupid, being unable to lie, and so on, are repeatedly cited to explain the responses of characters in this story, part of the Rock and Troll books. This volume is intended for readers aged ten and over, has short chapters and large type. Jone Yolen has written hundreds of books of all kinds, for all ages, from the "How do dinosaurs..." series to historical novels for teens to investigations of real mysteries to heart-wrenching autobiographical poetry. She is a literary treasure.

[Daniel · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a very disappointing read from an author whose reputation suggests that this would be a top-notch book.

It is hard to describe just what the book is about, which is the main problem ... the book lacks focus. The story seems to try too hard to relate the fantsy world of trolls to the human world, showing that teenagers all have problems no matter what kind of creature that teenager is. It doesn't work, however, when one adds the element of magic. Rather than drawing the reader in by trying to point out similarities, the story puts up a wall to the reader, letting us view the story from the outside.

Not recommended.

[Julie Bowerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are thinking that Boots and the Seven Leaguers is a really good name for a rock band. You're right, but Jane Yolen thought of it first. This YA novel takes place in The Kingdom, a magical land, where trolls unfortunately are magic-challenged. Fortunately Gog's best friend the pookah has some and his little brother Magog seems to have more awareness than most. They must solve a mystery of missing children after Magog is kidnapped and a host of other mysteries that are tangled up in the mess. It was fun.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute fantasy novel about a young troll named Gog who is dying to go to a Boots and the Seven Leaguers concert. He takes his little brother, Magog, along on the hunt for tickets, but Magog is kidnapped and taken into the magic forest. Will Gog manage to rescue his brother in time to make it to the concert?

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun little book about a tough kid and his annoying know-it-all of a little brother, who are trying to find a way to sneak into a rock concert.

The twist is that they're trolls.

An inventive book, and one that is set in such a fleshed out world that I am wondering of Yolen is planning on doing more stories in this vein.

[Jared · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good tale of a troll, his brother, and his Pooka friend, who desperately want to get into a concert by the best troll band in the world. They attempt to trick their way into the concert, but it backfires when the troll's brother is kidnapped. He and the Pooka then have to go rescue the boy.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute little book about trolls, fairies, pookahs, and all of those other magical creatures. Gog's little brother, Magog, is kidnapped, and so Gog and his best friend, Pook, have to go into the magical forest to find him. They encounter many different creatures--some good and some bad--and have to go through many difficulties to find and rescue Magog. Written for ages 10 and up.

[Judy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book was alright, but it wasn't great. My son and I didn't finish reading it. It was a book from the school library, and we didn't also finish it because it was due back to school before we could get to the end.

[Cayenne · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great world and what a fun adventure. I love Yolan's stuff and this is just another example of her talent as a writer.

[Mohammad · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is interesting book filled with magic, and mythical characters. Such as goblins, trolls, and dragons. This is a typical fantasy book with a good story line.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why is Jane Yolen so awesome? :)
Entertaining, young YA type book.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

picked it up because it was free

found it fun and thought-provoking...what I expect from Jane Yolen's books for young people

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Instead of focusing on the band, Gog spends most of the story trying to find his brother who has been kidnapped.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The boys really enjoyed this.

[Melanti]

Too cutesy for my tastes.

Someone in the targeted age range (Middle grade/Tweens) would probably like it a lot more.