Horn Book (Mon Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 1991)

When the Volnik family inherits a Scottish castle, one of the castle's more notable inconveniences, the boggart--an ancient, mischievous spirit--is inadvertently packed into a desk and arrives, upset and annoyed, at the Volnik's home in Canada upset and annoyed. Thrilled with the possibilities of electricity and other modern conveniences, the boggart plays both comic and dangerous tricks. Cooper's seamless fusion of the newest technology and one of the oldest forms of wild magic is most admirable.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

The Boggart, a Scottish spirit delighting in practical jokes, is one of the Old Things of the world'' and belongsto the cold separate heart of the Wild Magic.'' When the Volniks, a Canadian family, inherit the castle where the Boggart has lived for centuries, the shape-shifting mischief maker is accidentally transported to Toronto, where he discovers greater opportunities for trickery than he has ever imagined. Much gentle slapstick ensues when the ancient being visits Mrs. Volnik's antique shop and the theater run by Mr. Volnik. It falls to the Volnik children, Emily and Jessup, to befriend the prankster and send him home. Although far more lightheartedly, this boisterous romp draws upon the same powerful pre-Christian magic at the heart of Cooper's well-known Dark Is Rising sequence. Aside from all that is amusing and spooky, this tale offers a firmly grounded and utterly non-didactic introduction to some of the differences between the Old World and the New. Ages 9-12. (Feb.)

School Library Journal

Gr 4-7-- The Volnik family inherits a rundown old castle on an island off Scotland and visits their new property. After returning home, 12-year-old Emily and 10-year-old Jessup notice strange things happening. Their detective work eventually discloses the cause--a mischievous boggart has accidentally become trapped in a piece of furniture the family shipped home to Canada. Unfortunately, no adults believe them. The children claim innocence on Halloween night as pieces of furniture fly through the air and a bucket of water soaks their mother. Eventually, the boggart's pranks begin to cause serious problems; he becomes intrigued with the power of electricity, and causes a traffic accident that lands Emily in the hospital. Finally, he learns to communicate with the children by computer, causing the message-- ``I want to go to my own country''--to appear in Gaelic on Jessup's screen. When he gets trapped in a black hole in a computer space-adventure game, the youngsters devise a daring, risky, and ultimately successful plan to help the boggart return home. The novel is fleshed out with numerous, vividly realized secondary characters, including various actors at the Chervil Playhouse, where Mr. Volnik is artistic director, as well as the novel's true villain, Dr. Stigmore, a psychiatrist and a parapsychology scholar who insists that Emily is a troubled adolescent in need of hospitalization. The intelligently thought-out clash between the ancient folkloric creature and modern science guarantees a wide audience. A lively story, compelling from first page to last, and a good bet for a read-aloud. --Ellen Fader, Westport Public Library, CT

ALA Booklist (Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 CST 1993)

In this winning mixture of fantasy and reality, Cooper shows us that ancient magic and computers aren't as far apart as we might think. When 12-year-old Emily Volnik receives the desk she sent back to her Canadian home from Castle Keep, the Scottish castle her family inherited from a distant relative, she has no idea that opening it will loose the Boggart, a mischievous spirit who's lived in the castle for centuries. But liberate him she does, and his contact with the modern-day world and with Emily and her younger brother, Jess, leads to all kinds of humorous and dramatic consequences--not the least of which is unpleasant Dr. Stigmore's theory that the onset of Emily's puberty has caused her to become psychokinetic. Emily and Jess eventually endear themselves to us, but it's the Boggart--who loves peanut butter and ice cream and the joy of turning people's lives upside down--who's the real charmer here. Like a mischievous child, too young to realize the consequences of actions, the Boggart is maddening and endearing in the same breath, and when he returns to his castle home, readers will miss him every bit as much as Jess and Emily will. (Reviewed Jan. 15, 1993)