A Gaggle of Goblins

The Unseen World of Poppy Malone #1

by Suzanne Harper

Nine-year-old Poppy's parents are paranormal investigators who have never actually found anything, but that may change when they move to Austin, Texas, and Poppy meets a goblin in the attic of their new house.

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Childrens

300 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2011

About the author

Suzanne Harper has published two young adult novels, The Secret Life of Sparrow Delaney and The Juliet Club. She is currently working on a third young adult novel and a middle-grade series.

She has also written three original novels based on the Hannah Montana TV series (Rock the Waves, In the Loop, and Swept Up) and a number of novels (under the pen name N. B. Grace) based on High School Musical.

Her nonfiction books include: Boitano’s Edge: Inside the Real World of Figure Skating (with Olympic gold medalist Brian Boitano), The Real Spy's Guide to Becoming a Spy (with Peter Earnest, executive director of the International Spy Museum), Terrorists, Tornados,and Tsunamis: How to Prepare for Life’s Danger Zones (with Lt. Col. John C. Orndorff), and Hands On! 33 More Things Every Girl Should Know: Skills for Living Your Life from 33 Extraordinary Women.

She earned bachelor's degrees in journalism and English from the University of Texas-Austin and a master's degree in creative writing from the University of Southern California. She now lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Teri-K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice enough middle grade fantasy, though the story ending was kind of weak. All of sudden she figured it all out, with no signs to give the reader the idea she was capable of that.

[Brenda · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story centers on Poppy who wants to be normal but living in a house with parents who study the paranormal makes things a little complicated. When Poppy crosses paths with a Goblin she is determined to find scientific proof of their existence, being the logical one in the family. I like the character of Poppy. She is smart and pretty resourceful. I just found that the book seemed to lag in explaining the parents paranormal exploits and in setting up the "accidents" that occur around the house due to the Goblin. It isn't until about half way through the book that the true plot of the story is revealed and then wrapped up pretty quickly after that.

[Scottsdale Public Library]

Poppy Malone is a scientist by nature and usually the one person showing the logical explanation for her parents crazy paranormal sightings. However, now Poppy is seeing things that shouldn't be and her baby brother has changed drastically. Come along for the zany ride that is the Malone family's everyday life and see if Poppy can save her sanity and the day. This is an adventure that will have kids looking for more and trying to find the goblins in their own house.

-Jen K.-

[E. Adrian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spoilers:
My biggest issue is that Poppy is so secretive. In most books like this, the parents don't believe in the fantastical so that's why the child is "alone". However in this scenario Poppy's parents thrive in the fantastical so who better to talk to than them? The parents' guest character was random and didn't lend to the story at all. What happened to Blot? They just return and there's no mention of kicking him out or anything. A for effort, not so much for execution.

[Ellen Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two words: Loved it!!!

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

the effect that this book had on first grade me is still being felt to this day

[Joey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review was originally posted at http://3kidsreviews.com/?p=162 book reviews by kids for kids by Rosie age 6.

This is the biggest book I have ever read but it was a good one. The book starts off slow with Poppy and her family moving into a new house. Poppy’s parents are ghost hunters but Poppy doesn’t believe in supernatural stuff. Poppy wants to be a scientist and only believes in things that can be proven. Poppy’s older sister doesn’t pay much attention to her and her brother is boring. Her little brother, Rolly, is a real handful until one day he follows the older kids into the woods and when they return he is suddenly quiet and well behaved. Poppy knows that something is wrong and is determined to figure out what has happened to her little brother. She goes into the woods and discovers goblins. She records information about them to prove that they are real. Finding out what happens to Rolly is very exciting. There are funny parts in the book and I really like Poppy. She is very adventurous, smart and interesting. There are few hard words in this book but not too many. My mom says there are other Poppy books and I plan to read them all. Look for my reviews to come.

Love Rosie (age 6)

AR Points 8.0 Lexile level 860

[The Library Lady · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing isn't bad here. I kind of liked the goblins.But the fact that the family are the "Malones" may or may not be intentional at pointing a reader towards Madeline L'Engle but some of the characters here are derivative of L'Engle's work and a thousand others like it. You've got:

1)Genius (or at least precocious) little brother
2)Vain shallow sister
3)Mellow older brother
4)Sister who feels a bit out of place, is practical and of COURSE is the one to fall into a magical adventure.

Then Harper mixes in my least favorite stereotype of kids fiction--parents who are clueless. In fact, the Malone parents are total airheads and irritating as hell. Yes, I know kids like to believe their parents are dumb (and from my dealings, a lot of them ARE), but it's an easy out.

This is apparently number 1 in a series. But somehow I doubt if I'll be buying number 2.

[LandOLakes Library · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poppy Malone is a skeptic in a family of paranormal scientists. For Poppy nothing is real without proof. So when she sees a goblin in the attic one day she sets out to document and prove what she has seen. Unfortunately, goblins are tricky creatures and Poppy can't quite get her proof. However, when her little brother starts acting strange Poppy realizes that she has to try and convince her siblings that he has been kidnapped by the goblins before it's too late. This was a cute and entertaining book. Good for fans of the "Spiderwick Chronicles" who want something a little longer. It is the first in a series so kids can continue their adventures with Poppy in the next book "A Gust of Ghosts."

[Terry]

Despite some of the time-worn imagery (garlic to fight vampires), there are some great laugh-out-loud moments! Poppy is a fun character, in part, because she's struggling with being a "real scientist" and having to deal with pesky goblins that no one believes exists. This would be a great group read aloud.

To read our full review, go to The Reading Tub®.

[Bookslut · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book, in a word, sucked. Along with trashing all the beloved childhood myths that we hold dear (and I find this particularly unforgiveable in a novel with a 9 year old as the heroine), it was also long-winded, difficult to read aloud, and not as fun as the illustrations and title lead me to believe. My new personal vendetta against this author will prevent me from ever reading any of her other books, which is too bad because Poppy Malone is rumored to next discover both mermaids and ghosts.

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not exactly read all of it because sometimes it talked about ghosts and stuff and it scared me.


EDIT: The first time I read this I was about 7, and I was reading it late at night when I was suppose to be asleep, and it scared me so much I didn't finish it. Since then, I've read it again, and I enjoy it quite a bit now.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The distracted parents in this book are paranormal researchers, and they have a colleague who reminded me of Indiana Jones. The kids in the family spend a lot of time trying to avoid participating in their parents' research. Not really scary, and will appeal to readers who like fiction with mischief and mayhem .

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my type of book exactly....
The 9 year old knew more words than a teen would know. I just think that the vocabulary a kid has has to match their age. The 5 year old was a GENIUS!!! This topic really irks me.
Just my luck that there wasn't any romance- not even one itsy bitsy crush!!!

[Tracie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poppy's parents are paranormal explorers but Poppy believes in logic and science. All that changes when the family moves (again!) to a house in Texas and she sees a goblin. Have Poppy's parents been right all along? Why is her younger brother acting so weird? Is Poppy going crazy?

[Liz]

Very cute. I know several of my students who will enjoy this.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read that I think many students will enjoy

[Kate Hastings]

RL 860

[RogueHireling · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disliked all the characters in this book. Even the ending doesn't manage to be satisfying.

Lesson on how not to parent. Ugh these parents are horrible and not funny.

[Sydney · Rating 5 out of 5]

i like the part from poppy, franny and will save their brother from goblins.

[Lee Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not too complicated and just about enough fun.

[Kim Gontarz]

How would you like to have parents who are paranormal investigators? Life is always strange, you move frequently, and friends are hard to make.