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The Boggart #2
The Boggart and the Monster
When the Scottish owner of Castle Keep died, the ancient castle went to his Canadian great-nephew, Robert Volnik. There was no way the Volniks could keep the castle, so it was sold to an Edinburgh lawyer, Mr. Maconochie. Two years later, Emily Volnik and her younger brohter Jessup return to the castle for a visit. To their delight, the Boggart, a mischievous shape-shifting spirit who has lived in the castle for centures, playing tricks on the owners, is still there, making Mr. Mac coubt his won sanity as strange things happen.
At Jessup's urging, Mr. Mac takes them and Tommy Cameron, a local friend, on a comping trip to Loch Ness, Where a new expedition with advanced underwater equipment is planning another search for the Loch Ness Monster. The boggart comes along, and, on thier first night there, he is entranced to rediscover Nessie, a boggart cousin who has long forgotten how to change shape and remains in the prehistoric-monster form he long ago adopted.
Beautifully imagined and beautifully written, this is an unforgettable adventure, filled with humor, suspense, and wonderful characters. It is a stunning companion to Susan Cooper's earlier book, The Boggart.
At Jessup's urging, Mr. Mac takes them and Tommy Cameron, a local friend, on a comping trip to Loch Ness, Where a new expedition with advanced underwater equipment is planning another search for the Loch Ness Monster. The boggart comes along, and, on thier first night there, he is entranced to rediscover Nessie, a boggart cousin who has long forgotten how to change shape and remains in the prehistoric-monster form he long ago adopted.
Beautifully imagined and beautifully written, this is an unforgettable adventure, filled with humor, suspense, and wonderful characters. It is a stunning companion to Susan Cooper's earlier book, The Boggart.
185 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 1997
13 people are currently reading
548 people want to read
About the author
Susan Cooper
173 books2,462 followersSusan Cooper's latest book is the YA novel "Ghost Hawk" (2013)
Susan Cooper was born in 1935, and grew up in England's Buckinghamshire, an area that was green countryside then but has since become part of Greater London. As a child, she loved to read, as did her younger brother, who also became a writer. After attending Oxford, where she became the first woman to ever edit that university's newspaper, Cooper worked as a reporter and feature writer for London's Sunday Times; her first boss was James Bond creator Ian Fleming.
Cooper wrote her first book for young readers in response to a publishing house competition; "Over Sea, Under Stone" would later form the basis for her critically acclaimed five-book fantasy sequence, "The Dark Is Rising." The fourth book in the series, "The Grey King," won the Newbery Medal in 1976. By that time, Susan Cooper had been living in America for 13 years, having moved to marry her first husband, an American professor, and was stepmother to three children and the mother of two.
Cooper went on to write other well-received novels, including "The Boggart" (and its sequel "The Boggart and the Monster"), "King of Shadows", and "Victory," as well as several picture books for young readers with illustrators such as Ashley Bryan and Warwick Hutton. She has also written books for adults, as well as plays and Emmy-nominated screenplays, many in collaboration with the actor Hume Cronyn, whom she married in 1996. Hume Cronyn died in 2003 and Ms. Cooper now lives in Marshfield MA. When Cooper is not working, she enjoys playing piano, gardening, and traveling.
Recent books include the collaborative project "The Exquisite Corpse Adventure" and her biography of Jack Langstaff titled "The Magic Maker." Her newest book is "Ghost Hawk."
Visit her Facebook pages: www.facebook.com/SusanCooperFanPage
www.facebook.com/GhostHawkBySusanCooper
Susan Cooper was born in 1935, and grew up in England's Buckinghamshire, an area that was green countryside then but has since become part of Greater London. As a child, she loved to read, as did her younger brother, who also became a writer. After attending Oxford, where she became the first woman to ever edit that university's newspaper, Cooper worked as a reporter and feature writer for London's Sunday Times; her first boss was James Bond creator Ian Fleming.
Cooper wrote her first book for young readers in response to a publishing house competition; "Over Sea, Under Stone" would later form the basis for her critically acclaimed five-book fantasy sequence, "The Dark Is Rising." The fourth book in the series, "The Grey King," won the Newbery Medal in 1976. By that time, Susan Cooper had been living in America for 13 years, having moved to marry her first husband, an American professor, and was stepmother to three children and the mother of two.
Cooper went on to write other well-received novels, including "The Boggart" (and its sequel "The Boggart and the Monster"), "King of Shadows", and "Victory," as well as several picture books for young readers with illustrators such as Ashley Bryan and Warwick Hutton. She has also written books for adults, as well as plays and Emmy-nominated screenplays, many in collaboration with the actor Hume Cronyn, whom she married in 1996. Hume Cronyn died in 2003 and Ms. Cooper now lives in Marshfield MA. When Cooper is not working, she enjoys playing piano, gardening, and traveling.
Recent books include the collaborative project "The Exquisite Corpse Adventure" and her biography of Jack Langstaff titled "The Magic Maker." Her newest book is "Ghost Hawk."
Visit her Facebook pages: www.facebook.com/SusanCooperFanPage
www.facebook.com/GhostHawkBySusanCooper
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
December 7, 2024
The Boggart of Castle Keep returns in this follow-up to his first fantastical adventure—chronicled in the eponymous
The Boggart
—this time reuniting with a long-lost relative. Emily and Jessup Volnik, with whom the Boggart lived in Canada for a time, return to Scotland, and are reunited with their magical friend, as well as Tommy Cameron and Mr. Maconochie, the lawyer who purchased their ancestral home (and home of the Boggart). A camping trip to Loch Ness soon involves the four of them in an unexpected reunion, as the Boggart (tagging along) discovers that his long-forgotten but once beloved cousin, Nessie, has descended into a sleepy existence in the loch, no longer able to shape shift as he once did, and trapped in a monstrous shape. Can the Boggart, with the help of human friends, save Nessie from his lonely existence? Will the teams searching for the Loch Ness Monster get in the way?
Although not quite the equal of its predecessor, which had a sharp poignancy and deeper emotional pull, due to its eponymous character's displacement and eventual homesickness in a foreign human-dominated world, I do think The Boggart and the Monster makes for an appealing fantasy. I enjoyed the story, and was rooting for Nessie to make a recovery, and shake off the centuries of lethargy which had settled upon him, after the loss of his human Urquhart family and his subsequent grief. I also appreciated getting to visit with the human characters again, and found the incipient romance between Emily and Tommy—handled by Susan Cooper with a light touch—quite charming. The sub-plot with the Nessie-hunters was also fun, and I particularly liked the sub-plot involving Tommy's report father, whose deepest wish was granted. As someone who dreams of flight as a child (some of the few dreams I can ever recall having), I sympathized with his resultant delight a great deal. Recommended to anyone who has read and enjoyed the first Boggart book.
Although not quite the equal of its predecessor, which had a sharp poignancy and deeper emotional pull, due to its eponymous character's displacement and eventual homesickness in a foreign human-dominated world, I do think The Boggart and the Monster makes for an appealing fantasy. I enjoyed the story, and was rooting for Nessie to make a recovery, and shake off the centuries of lethargy which had settled upon him, after the loss of his human Urquhart family and his subsequent grief. I also appreciated getting to visit with the human characters again, and found the incipient romance between Emily and Tommy—handled by Susan Cooper with a light touch—quite charming. The sub-plot with the Nessie-hunters was also fun, and I particularly liked the sub-plot involving Tommy's report father, whose deepest wish was granted. As someone who dreams of flight as a child (some of the few dreams I can ever recall having), I sympathized with his resultant delight a great deal. Recommended to anyone who has read and enjoyed the first Boggart book.
January 12, 2020
A fun sequel about the Scottish trickster spirit, Canadian siblings, and the Loch Ness monster. This book, like the first, is best for pre-teens, but was still an enjoyable read.
Perhaps the best part were the adults who know about the Boggart. In the first book, just the late owner of the castle. Here, we find out more about his life and the Boggart's also. The only minor quibble I have is the change in history - multiple documented photos of the famous beasty.
There is a third book, written 20 years after this one, and I will add it to my list. I would recommend the first two as read-aloud books to most parents, though this is the better of the two.
Perhaps the best part were the adults who know about the Boggart. In the first book, just the late owner of the castle. Here, we find out more about his life and the Boggart's also. The only minor quibble I have is the change in history - multiple documented photos of the famous beasty.
There is a third book, written 20 years after this one, and I will add it to my list. I would recommend the first two as read-aloud books to most parents, though this is the better of the two.
May 14, 2018
Since I actually own this copy of the book, I read this one first even though it is the second book in the series. This one is just delightful. A little bit of tension, a lot of magic and delightful behavior. Even the bad guys aren't particularly bad. And the boggart is up to his usual tricks and games but also manages to rescue his coz (cousin) from the shape he had been in for far too long for a boggart. I can see why it didn't win the Newbery, but what a really delightful book! No real lesson to take home, just pure fun.
Addendum: Still need to look for this book. Read a library copy this time around. Loved it just as much. Actually, it does have lessons to take home: the pull of loyalty to family; the love of things as they are/fear that things could get worse in a change, even if they are bad now; the importance of friends. Update: found the book, a paperback.
Addendum: Still need to look for this book. Read a library copy this time around. Loved it just as much. Actually, it does have lessons to take home: the pull of loyalty to family; the love of things as they are/fear that things could get worse in a change, even if they are bad now; the importance of friends. Update: found the book, a paperback.
March 6, 2012
"The Boggart and the Monster" by Susan Cooper is a fun romp which I found to be even better than its predecessor "The Boggart". In TB&TM, several years have gone by since Canadian siblings Emily and Jessup managed to send the wayward boggart back to his ancestral home in Scotland. As Emily, Jessup, and their parents head back to Scotland for a visit, they encounter a visiting scientist on his way to explore the mystery of Loch Ness.
The Loch Ness Monster, as it turns out, is a long-lost cousin of the boggart. Centuries earlier, Nessie got stuck in monster form and, depressed, has been sleeping in the muddy bottom of the loch, only wanting to be left alone. With help from Emily, Jessup, and their pal Tommy, the boggart must raise Nessie from the depths and convince him to reclaim his true boggart nature before the scientists and their underwater cameras invade the loch and destroy Nessie's peace forever.
My 9-year-old and I read this together, and found it fast-paced, funny, and exciting. The reading level is appropriate for middle grade readers, either as independent reading or as a read-aloud story. The plot zips right along, yet takes the time to establish the mythology of boggarts and old spirits of the highlands, as well as setting the scene with lovely descriptions of the loch and the surrounding area.
A key problem for me with the first book was the emphasis on gee-whiz admiration of the boys' computers. Given that the book was written quite a while ago, all the technology references were so outdated that they disrupted the flow of the story. ("Mom, what's a floppy disk?"!!!) TB&TM by and large avoids this problem by sticking to the story of the children and their adventure, and is a much better book as a result.
I would recommend this to anyone looking for a fun adventure story to enjoy with children.
The Loch Ness Monster, as it turns out, is a long-lost cousin of the boggart. Centuries earlier, Nessie got stuck in monster form and, depressed, has been sleeping in the muddy bottom of the loch, only wanting to be left alone. With help from Emily, Jessup, and their pal Tommy, the boggart must raise Nessie from the depths and convince him to reclaim his true boggart nature before the scientists and their underwater cameras invade the loch and destroy Nessie's peace forever.
My 9-year-old and I read this together, and found it fast-paced, funny, and exciting. The reading level is appropriate for middle grade readers, either as independent reading or as a read-aloud story. The plot zips right along, yet takes the time to establish the mythology of boggarts and old spirits of the highlands, as well as setting the scene with lovely descriptions of the loch and the surrounding area.
A key problem for me with the first book was the emphasis on gee-whiz admiration of the boys' computers. Given that the book was written quite a while ago, all the technology references were so outdated that they disrupted the flow of the story. ("Mom, what's a floppy disk?"!!!) TB&TM by and large avoids this problem by sticking to the story of the children and their adventure, and is a much better book as a result.
I would recommend this to anyone looking for a fun adventure story to enjoy with children.
October 9, 2020
Re-read October 2020
So much fun! ^_^
First read March 2014
I loved this book so much that the same day I finished reading it I started reading it all over again to my younger siblings and we read the whole thing in one day.
Emily, Jessup, Mr. Maconochie, Tommy, and of course the Boggart are back, as we return to Castle Keep and the enchanting hills and lochs of Scotland, in a PERFECT sequel to "The Boggart", which is one of my absolute favorites even though I only discovered it last year.
When I found out (from Goodreads--yay for lists of books in series!) that there was a sequel I eagerly snapped it up. I had some trepidation when I started it, worried that it could not stand up to its predecessor... I need not have feared.
I loved this story! It was perfection. <3 Scotland! Humor! Loch Ness Monster! Fun! Fantasy! I absolutely adored it.
And now we know the true story of the Loch Ness Monster. ;)
(Tommy Cameron is the best. That is all.)
So much fun! ^_^
First read March 2014
I loved this book so much that the same day I finished reading it I started reading it all over again to my younger siblings and we read the whole thing in one day.
Emily, Jessup, Mr. Maconochie, Tommy, and of course the Boggart are back, as we return to Castle Keep and the enchanting hills and lochs of Scotland, in a PERFECT sequel to "The Boggart", which is one of my absolute favorites even though I only discovered it last year.
When I found out (from Goodreads--yay for lists of books in series!) that there was a sequel I eagerly snapped it up. I had some trepidation when I started it, worried that it could not stand up to its predecessor... I need not have feared.
I loved this story! It was perfection. <3 Scotland! Humor! Loch Ness Monster! Fun! Fantasy! I absolutely adored it.
And now we know the true story of the Loch Ness Monster. ;)
(Tommy Cameron is the best. That is all.)
June 11, 2020
And not just any monster, it’s Scotland’s most famous monster. Much, much bigger than Bigfoot or a platoon of yetis, slumbering at the bottom of Loch Ness in a despondent mood, it’s Nessie. Nessie, revealed in the initial book in Cooper’s Boggart Series to be a boggart, a mischievous, shape shifting, house spirit formerly the resident of nearby Urquhart Castle. Nessie’s been sulking at the bottom of the Loch since the castle was blown up by departing loyalist troops in 1690, lest it fall into the hands of rebellious Jacobite forces.
When the vacationing Volniks, Jessup and Emily, arrive back in their ancestral home, Castle Keep, in the Inner Hebrides they are reunited with their Scots friend Tommy Cameron and Castle Keep’s new owner, Mr. Maconochie. Recently Maconochie has started to suspect that his new retirement home has another resident, a supernatural one fond of practical jokes. He’s worried about his sanity until Tommy, Emily and Jessup assure him that the boggart is very real, and that they’ve known him and his tricks for some time.
Relieved, Maconochie suggests a camping and sightseeing trip south to Loch Ness. Jessup is particularly delighted, because on the flight over from Canada to Scotland, he met Professor Harold Prindle, the leader of a new scientific expedition to Loch Ness. Equipped with the latest technology, including a pair of computer controlled robot submersibles equipped with sonar, he’s going to prove that the Loch Ness Monster is actually a plesiosaur or a family of plesiosaurs that survived the great extinction of 66 million years ago. Needless to say, the Maconochie party including the Castle Keep boggart, Doctor Prindle’s expedition, the media, and quite a few other tourists and merchants all descend on Nessie at once, and the fun and excitement begins.
When the vacationing Volniks, Jessup and Emily, arrive back in their ancestral home, Castle Keep, in the Inner Hebrides they are reunited with their Scots friend Tommy Cameron and Castle Keep’s new owner, Mr. Maconochie. Recently Maconochie has started to suspect that his new retirement home has another resident, a supernatural one fond of practical jokes. He’s worried about his sanity until Tommy, Emily and Jessup assure him that the boggart is very real, and that they’ve known him and his tricks for some time.
Relieved, Maconochie suggests a camping and sightseeing trip south to Loch Ness. Jessup is particularly delighted, because on the flight over from Canada to Scotland, he met Professor Harold Prindle, the leader of a new scientific expedition to Loch Ness. Equipped with the latest technology, including a pair of computer controlled robot submersibles equipped with sonar, he’s going to prove that the Loch Ness Monster is actually a plesiosaur or a family of plesiosaurs that survived the great extinction of 66 million years ago. Needless to say, the Maconochie party including the Castle Keep boggart, Doctor Prindle’s expedition, the media, and quite a few other tourists and merchants all descend on Nessie at once, and the fun and excitement begins.
April 21, 2018
The main characters of "The Boggart" return in this sequel for a trip to Loch Ness to meet the famous monster (whom, it transpires, is actually a boggart shape-shifter that has become stuck in a single guise). They must help Nessie shift his shape before a determined, hi-tech scientist and his team can find the monster. It's another "old world" folklore and magic meets modern technology story. Although the plot is a bit thin in this book (relying largely on Nessie's internal conflict), compared to its predecessor, Cooper creates likeable and believable characters who hold readers' attention and carry the story. There's even enough of a hint of romance between two of the characters to charm tween readers. Cooper's sprinkling of Gaelic language throughout the book (on the rare occasions when the Boggart speaks to humans, it uses Gaelic, naturally) lends the Scottish setting a sense of authenticity. Recommended for those who enjoyed the first book in the series.
October 19, 2023
This was more fun than The Boggart, though maybe I don't remember my first reading of that.
Jess and Emily are back in Scotland at Castel Keep visiting Mr Maconochie, their friend, Tommy, and the Boggart. On the flight to Scotland, Jess makes friends with Harold Pindle, research scientist on a mission to find the Loch Ness Monster who he believes is a plesiosaur.
When the group takes a trip to Loch Ness to watch the scientists launch the submarines and sonar equipment, the Boggart tags along and soon realizes that Nessie is his boggart cousin who once took the massive shape and got stuck in it when the castle he lived in got blown up and his family moved away. Nessie has been sleeping at the bottom of Loch Ness for hundreds of years. The Boggart wants to get Nessie to change back and come home with him before he is caught in the grip of the scientists and, with the help of his human friends, he attempts to do just that.
Jess and Emily are back in Scotland at Castel Keep visiting Mr Maconochie, their friend, Tommy, and the Boggart. On the flight to Scotland, Jess makes friends with Harold Pindle, research scientist on a mission to find the Loch Ness Monster who he believes is a plesiosaur.
When the group takes a trip to Loch Ness to watch the scientists launch the submarines and sonar equipment, the Boggart tags along and soon realizes that Nessie is his boggart cousin who once took the massive shape and got stuck in it when the castle he lived in got blown up and his family moved away. Nessie has been sleeping at the bottom of Loch Ness for hundreds of years. The Boggart wants to get Nessie to change back and come home with him before he is caught in the grip of the scientists and, with the help of his human friends, he attempts to do just that.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 26, 2017
This is a sequel to The Boggart - I wish I could have found a copy and read it first. The children who met the Boggart in the first book are back in Scotland, staying at the castle. The castle was inherited by their father, who sold it to Mr. Maconochie, who has invited them to stay with him. He has just discovered the existence of their boggart in his castle. They meet Harold Pindle on the plane, who tells them about his project to find the Loch Ness monster using submersibles and sonar. Eventually they learn what the monster really is, and Harold's plans begin to go awry, with the boggart's help. This was a cute book and a quick easy read - I enjoyed it, but probably won't reread it for a while. It shows ages 8-12, although teens and even adults who like fantasy can enjoy it as well.
Read
June 3, 2024In the follow-up to The Boggart, Emily and Jessup return to Scotland. While their parents are off doing artsy things, they go on a camping trip to Loch Ness with family lawyer and new castle owner Mr Maconochie. The Boggart tags along and soon realises that the Loch Ness Monster is in fact a Boggart cousin who's been stuck in monster-shape for centuries. Meanwhile an enthusiastic and well-meaning scientist is trying to find Nessie too…
This was fun. It was good seeing Emily and Jessup with Tommy again, and Mc Maconochie is a DELIGHT, he is a man who enjoys buying things for camping trips as much as camping itself, just a very nice man who likes gardening and cooking and his castle. And it was interesting seeing the Boggart in a different context, having to put aside pranking and try to get his sooky cousin to get out of the mud (literal) and get a hold of himself.
This was fun. It was good seeing Emily and Jessup with Tommy again, and Mc Maconochie is a DELIGHT, he is a man who enjoys buying things for camping trips as much as camping itself, just a very nice man who likes gardening and cooking and his castle. And it was interesting seeing the Boggart in a different context, having to put aside pranking and try to get his sooky cousin to get out of the mud (literal) and get a hold of himself.
July 15, 2019
Fun children's follow-up to The Boggart, but like its predecessor it doesn't match up to Cooper's absolutely fantastic The Dark is Rising series. Still, if it's fairly slight it's still likeable enough, and there's a really interesting take on the Loch Ness monster that I haven't seen before. I won't spoil it here, but the Boggart takes centre stage dealing with the monster, and develops into a far more communicative character than he was the last time around. I'm not entirely sure whether I prefer him this way or the last, though - giving the Boggart the power to speak goes some way to making him seem more accessible and human-like, but that necessarily means a loss of the magic and alien nature that made him appealing in the first place.
February 22, 2022
Susan Cooper spins imaginative, wondrous tales for children, with themes of grit and empathy. This second installment in the story of a sprite ("boggart") who haunts Castle Keep, set in Scotland has humor, hijinks, and life lessons. I enjoyed the interweaving of ancient lore in a modern setting, and Cooper's inventiveness as the boggart and his friend Nessie wreak havoc. Especially, I liked the connection between the children (and some adults) that help solve Nessie's problems.
November 10, 2020
I wish I'd found this back when I first read The Dark is Rising. The magic is here and it's beautiful but I have more trouble appreciating it now than I would have then. Still, the ending was well worth the time!
June 13, 2019
A perfect follow up to it's predecessor, The Boggart and the Monster is sweet, heart warming, wondrous and magical. I loved it ❤️
June 27, 2021
I loved the setting and the concept - another great read for kids. Minus one star for Nessie’s mopey, repetitive whining.
September 2, 2021
straight writing, no chaser
Authors don’t write like this anymore and it’s a shame. Susan Cooper knows how to Spin a tale and leave all the fluffy parts out.
Authors don’t write like this anymore and it’s a shame. Susan Cooper knows how to Spin a tale and leave all the fluffy parts out.
August 20, 2022
This one read a lot smoother than the first book. Still not perfect but it was fun going back to the Boggart and his little clan.
February 4, 2024
This mischievous take on the Loch Ness monster is almost more entertaining than its predecessor. Fun to watch Cooper weave together Scottish myths and contemporary technology.
February 4, 2025
An oldie but a goodie! My kids loved listening to this on our last road trip
February 11, 2025
First one in the series was a way better one.
June 4, 2025
Utterly delightful. Even better than the first one.
March 25, 2011
When left to my own devices, I have this uncanny knack for picking the second book of a series instead of the first. That said, The Boggart and the Monster by Susan Cooper, though the sequel to The Boggart is still a delightful read as a stand alone.
In The Boggart and the Monster Emily and Jess return to their ancestral home in Castle Keep near Loch Ness in Scotland. There's a new owner who isn't as chummy with the Boggart and it's up to the siblings to sort things out. In the process they end up solving the mystery of the Loch Ness monster and I have to admit that connection took me by surprise, despite the "monster" in the title.
The book is a good mixture of haunted atmosphere and lighthearted adventure. There's an interesting family legend tied into the story that connects the boggart to the children and the castle that made things all the more interesting.
I enjoyed the book enough to track down a copy of The Boggart. It's now sitting on my massive to be read pile.
In The Boggart and the Monster Emily and Jess return to their ancestral home in Castle Keep near Loch Ness in Scotland. There's a new owner who isn't as chummy with the Boggart and it's up to the siblings to sort things out. In the process they end up solving the mystery of the Loch Ness monster and I have to admit that connection took me by surprise, despite the "monster" in the title.
The book is a good mixture of haunted atmosphere and lighthearted adventure. There's an interesting family legend tied into the story that connects the boggart to the children and the castle that made things all the more interesting.
I enjoyed the book enough to track down a copy of The Boggart. It's now sitting on my massive to be read pile.
April 21, 2016
Yes, good job on the sequel to The Boggart and a nice twist on the Loch Ness monster, who is, it turns out, a cousin to The Boggart. Nessie just happens to have been in monster form for way too long and has forgotten how to get to back to his true Boggart form.
Enter Emily and Jess Volnik from Toronto, back in Scotland 2 years after their first visit and their first encounter with the Boggart. They're off to Loch Ness with their old friend, Tommy, adn Mr. Maconochie, the new owner of Castle Keep. The Boggart goes with them, of course. More mischief and havoc, but this time, can the Boggart help Nessie get back to his true form before discovery by the latest high-tech expedition to Loch Ness?
Well written, evocative, fun, with well-constructed characters and open ending. There is a life for these characters afterwards, whether or not Cooper writes Boggart 3 (please!).
Enter Emily and Jess Volnik from Toronto, back in Scotland 2 years after their first visit and their first encounter with the Boggart. They're off to Loch Ness with their old friend, Tommy, adn Mr. Maconochie, the new owner of Castle Keep. The Boggart goes with them, of course. More mischief and havoc, but this time, can the Boggart help Nessie get back to his true form before discovery by the latest high-tech expedition to Loch Ness?
Well written, evocative, fun, with well-constructed characters and open ending. There is a life for these characters afterwards, whether or not Cooper writes Boggart 3 (please!).
July 24, 2009
"The Boggart and the Monster" is the second book in "The Boggart" series. This book takes place in Loch Ness, Scotland. Some of the characters are Jessup, Emily, Tommy, Mr. Maconochie, the Boggart, and Nessie. In this book Emily, Jessup, Tommy, Mr. Maconochie, and the Boggart go to Loch Ness. But while they were there the Boggart senses the presence of his cousin Nessie. Nessie had gotten himself stuck in the shape of a monster. Now Emily, Jessup, Tommy, Mr. Maconochie, and the Boggart must help Nessie escape from his monster form and leave Loch Ness. I would recomend this book to anyone who likes a good fantasy. I chose this book because I loved the first book.
- William S.
- William S.
May 26, 2016
As predicted, my journey through the Harry Potter books ended for the second time half-way through book 3 when my 8 year old decided to go on without me (thanks, comrade!)
Since we had been reading about a boggart, I checked this one out of the library. I love Susan Cooper, but have not read this one (or the first book in the series).
Susan Cooper and JK Rowling surely must be friends. And anyone who has come of age after the bulk of Cooper's books, and loves HP should really read her books as well.
Since we had been reading about a boggart, I checked this one out of the library. I love Susan Cooper, but have not read this one (or the first book in the series).
Susan Cooper and JK Rowling surely must be friends. And anyone who has come of age after the bulk of Cooper's books, and loves HP should really read her books as well.
August 24, 2018
Fun, fun, fun. When you hear that the Loc Ness Monster is involved in this one, you may role your eyes. However, I enjoyed the interpretation of the monster. The technology used by the characters seems archaic to those of us living in 2011, so I just thought of it as historical fiction. :)
The Boggart has the same mischievous charm as in the first book. Do read the first book before this one, however, as it will add to your enjoyment of both.
The Boggart has the same mischievous charm as in the first book. Do read the first book before this one, however, as it will add to your enjoyment of both.
September 19, 2008
A surprisingly disappointing book from Cooper; in order to fill certain plot holes, she resorts to some first-person Boggart and making the Boggart speak, and as a result, the Boggart comes across as completely humanized. This completely contradicts her treatment of him in the original, and feels underhanded and sloppy.
August 26, 2009
For some reason, I have a hard time finding any of Susan Cooper's books other than the Dark Is Rising sequence. I saw this one in the library the other day and so I checked it out. Turns out it's a sequel, but whatever. It's pretty cute; I like Susan Cooper. It's not as good as the Dark Is Rising sequence so far (I'm almost halfway into it).
November 16, 2010
I love Susan Cooper's writing style. It makes me happy. This book was a great follow-up to the last book. I loved Cooper's spin on Loch Ness and it's monster. This simple tale was full of wonderful magic, the importance of family, and a tiny smidgen of romance. Perfect combination for a mid-grade book.
January 21, 2013
Cleaning out some things from my book shelves, including all my adolescent fiction! I mean, this book was ok, and I kind of liked the paranormal aspect of it, but it's kind of dated with its ancient computer references....I think that it would be tough for today's kids to relate to. And the ending was pretty unsatisfying.
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