A bombastic, super rich man who always gets his way and whose last name is a five letter word ending in T...does sound like anyone you know? Mr. Trout is a big businessman who has come to beautiful Scotland in order to build a new resort complete with golf courses a marina for yachts and so forth. The development will bring lots of jobs as well, or so he claims.Old Angus Cameron doesn't believe it and neither do his grandkids, Allie and Jay who are visiting from Canada. Granda is a stubborn old Scotsman who loves the land and doesn't want to see development just for the sake of it; he especially doesn't approve of Mr. Trout and his way of doing business.
Mr. Trout doesn't back down from anyone or anything as the children and Granda soon discover. The Boggart, an ancient friendly spirit, along with some of his friends are soon called in and the hijinks begin.
The Scottish countryside and Scottish mannerisms are well depicted, so well indeed that I had to double check to see if Cooper was Scottish (she isn't). I also liked the conservation theme that ran through the novel. Young ones are smarter than we give them credit for and will probably decipher that on their own.
Another takeaway for me was that as adults we sometimes (for good reason) lose sight of the innocence and wonder of childhood. Cooper conveys the wonder of both scientist father Tim and Granda upon realizing that the Boggart is back. This is actually the third book in the Boggart series. There are also The Boggart and The Boggart and the Monster. Some read alikes are Beyond the Kingdoms by Chris Colfer, Talons of Power by Tui Sutherland and Kelly Barnhill's awesome The Girl Who Drank the Moon.
