Troll Mill

What a baragain, i bought this book and Troll Fell for $5. This is the sequel Troll Fell and is just as exciting. You never know what sneaky creatures are lurking in the shadows of Troll Mill, waiting to jump out at you! With a piercing squeal - with an anguished wooden groan - with a roar of muffled waters - Troll Mill woke from its sleep. For three years, Troll Mill has stood empty, and Peer Ulfsson has found a home with his friend Hilde. But in the shadows of eerie Troll Fell, surrounded by sly and mischievous creatures, life doesn't remain peaceful for long! Returning from a hard day's fishing, and with a violent storm brewing, Peer watches horror-struck as his friend Kersten rushes to the shore - thrusting her young baby into his arms - and throws herself into the sea. Struggling home with the baby, Peer passes the old mill, once owned by his wicked uncles, and sees the millwheel turning! But it has been derelict for years! Who or what could be lurking in the shadows? This exciting, novel mixes adventure with folklore monsters to create a brilliantly creepy sequel to Troll Fell . ( )

I loved it! It's so strange that you can't get her books in stores-I spotted this trilogy at the library and they are so much fun! This is the second of the trilogy, and it takes place three years after Troll Fell. It starts off with Bjorn's wife Kersten rushing into the waves of the ocean, and disappearing. We then find out that she was a seal-woman who can turn into a human by taking off her fur coat, and turn back into a seal by putting her coat on. Really love the style of writing and fell in love with the characters--also this book is very exciting, kept me up to see what would happen! ( )

Awesome

Whew, Troll Mill really picks up on adventure and excitement! I think I might actually like it a teeny bit more than Troll Fell! In this continuing story, 3 years have passed and Peer and Hilde and now (dum dum dum!) teenagers! I haven’t been all that impressed with teen protagonists lately, but here, both characters capture the changes in behavior and feelings without being over-the-top or annoying. Very nice! And the sweet budding romance – perfect!Once again, a very engaging read! It seems like this story is a little more serious than its predecessor; older characters, a little more mature storyline – very cool! This may sound like an incredibly obvious observation, but I really like how Ms. Langrish tells her story: I mean, I like the progression it takes. You don’t feel frenzied or harried when you’re reading, but you don’t feel bored either. The plot progresses at a very nice pace, and that seems like a feat much harder than we would all think.So in a nutshell: very engaging story that ups the ante a little on the drama…a very smooth transition from the first bookIn addition to the two MCs, Peer and Hilde, Troll Mill offers a rich ensemble cast of very detailed and well-crafted characters. I can’t say enough how much I like the inclusion of parent figures in this story. In other books/movies, they’re usually either dead or totally useless. It was very refreshing, therefore, to see adult figures in leadership roles. I loved all the characters, even the wicked uncles! Can’t wait to see what happens to everybody in the final installment.Amelialand RatingV: I don’t really recall anythingS: A little (teeny weenie) bit of innuendo, but it’s in the context of a human-“magical creature” marriage, so nothing major by any means, and kids will most likely just read over itL: Once again, didn’t catch anything! *sighs in relief*Final Rating: 4.7/5. Yes, I know, 4.7 is a random number, but I liked this book a little more than Troll Fell, so I wanted to boost its rating a little. This series is highly recommended ( )

The is Langrish's second book in her "Troll" series...the third being the forthcoming Troll Blood. In Troll Mill we join Peer and the Eiriksson family several years after the events of the first book. Here Peer and Hilde are now 15 years old, there is a new baby in the house and a lot of romantic tension between Peer (who finds himself in love with Hilde) and Hilde (who has feelings for Bjorn's Brother)...and of course...trolls! This story gives equal time to two different storylines, the first is that of Peer who is happy to live with the Eiriksons but longs for a way to prove himself more of a man (and thus more attractive to Hilde) and which touches on his past with the mill and his uncles through a chrisis of identity. This time around we find Peer trying to establish himself in the world, returning to the mill and trying to make a go of it again on his own only to discover that it has been running at night...on its own. This initial storyline is engaging and exciting on its own and becomes even more intriguing when pared with the second storyline which focuses Bjorn and Kersten (the neighbors who helped so much in Troll Fell while Hilde's father was away). Kersten has just had a baby and one night while coming in from fishing with Bjorn, Peer finds himself being handed the young infant as Kersten runs off and jumps into the ocean. As the story progresses, we find that it has long been suspected that Kersten was a Selkie (sea-maiden)...as the fisherman and Hilde's father search the seas day after day for Kersten (and Bjorn becomes more and more distant, eventually not even coming to see the baby anymore), Peer and Hilde find themselves in the middle of two mysteries, both of which are threatening to tear these families and friends apart.

It is rare these days for a second book in series to be as good as or better than the first...but in the case of Troll Mill, Langrish has managed to pull it off spectacularly! I particularly liked that Granny Greenteeth, the Lubbers and the Nis got much bigger parts in Troll Mill, so we got to see more of them and learn more about what they are and how they live....and of course there are the trolls...it is Troll Mill after all, so they are also worked into the story this time around! I think Langrish does a fine job of aging and developing the characters from book to book and it's done in a way that is filled with suspense, interesting plot twists, and all manner of creatures, each out to get what they want while Peer and Hilde (and the rest of the family) try to figure out the mysteries before it's too late!

Overall, I give Troll Mill five stars. It is, in my opinion, as good as (if not better than) the first book. Langrish uses the same Scandanivian folklore/mythology as the first book in the series and build on it further...so you get trolls and get to experience the world of the selkie and the realm between humans and selkie all the while still being treated to a detailed look at the in's and out's of day to day life in the given time period. Troll Mill manages to do all of this and not drag or become mired in the detail...it manages to say fast paced and intense while providing a wealth of information. I'd recommend it for young readers interested in fantasy. I'm looking forward to seeing what she does with Troll Blood, the third book in the series (Troll Blood). ( )