ALA Booklist (Mon May 01 00:00:00 CDT 2017)

A sixth-grader with a reputation for wildly imaginative daydreaming and rose-scented farts, Cody wants to interview a security guard for his biography-writing project. But when he shakes hands with the Ned the guard (Nettie the troll hag in disguise), the contact awakens Cody's inborn talents, such as his ability to converse with animals. Soon he and his allies (troll, brownie, and cat) take a perilous journey to the Enchanted Realms, where they attempt to rescue Cody's grandfather while helping a troll princess bring her heartrending love story to a satisfying conclusion. The narrative unfolds in a series of documents, including text messages, e-mails, reports, poems, memoirs, folktales, and personal journals, particularly Cody's and Nettie's. Readers familiar with Coville's Diary of a Mad Brownie (2015), later retitled Cursed, will enjoy meeting Angus and Alex again in Cody's story. For those new to the Enchanted Files series, this book stands on its own. Successfully combining elements of traditional lore with modern-day, this chapter book offers plenty of adventure, humor, and charm. The finished copies will be illustrated.

Kirkus Reviews

A biography-writing assignment takes a sixth-grader from the eerie depths of New York's Grand Central Terminal all the way to Troll Mountain.Being a troll isn't the only secret hulking Ned Thump, a night security guard at Grand Central, nurses…nor are young Cody's paternal grandparents both of Finnish—or even human—descent, as he's always been led to believe. So, hardly do the two come face to face before revelations and general weirdness start to flow: Cody is suddenly talking to cats; meeting an irascible brownie at his cousin Alexandra's (see Cursed, originally published as Diary of a Mad Brownie, 2015); and learning that there is an Enchanted Realm. There, both his long-absent grandpa and a certain troll's intended (sleeping, for the past century and a half, in a glass coffin) are in urgent need of rescue from the choleric king of the trolls. The airy tale jets along on frequent mention of farting, which not only is a sine qua non of troll poetry and, apparently, prophecy, but plays a crucial role in the climax. The narrative is delivered in Cody's and Ned's alternating diary entries, interspersed with email, handwritten letters, chat transcripts, folk tales, and trollish lore. Cody seems to present as white; Ned is depicted as green on the cover. Holy heckenlooper, as Cody is wont to put it—families can have strange secrets. (Fantasy. 9-11)

School Library Journal (Mon Feb 06 00:00:00 CST 2023)

Gr 4-6Imagine gazing up nine feet into the face of a horrifically ugly, wart-filled being who loves smelling his own foot odor and enjoys hearing and breathing putrid, thundering farts! Meet Ned, a trollcomplete with royal bloodlines to prove it. Unlike his kinfolk, Ned has been living among humans in the underground caverns of the New York City subway system for hundreds of years. A night watchman for Grand Central Station, he is befriended by Cody, his boss's son, who thinks that Ned is intriguing. As part of a school assignment, Cody interviews Ned and Ned's grandmother and quickly begins to discover unimaginable secrets while also learning more about himself. Cody's adventure takes him deep into Troll Mountain to defeat the troll king, save his great-grandfather, and find Ned's true love. This third volume in Coville's "Enchanted Files" series twists tradition to create a modern fairy tale. This book has parallels with others in the series, with the introduction of two new heroic outcasts for whom readers will cheer. Coville shifts perspectives between lonely but bighearted Ned and Cody, who seems to live in an imaginary world. The narrative, told through diary entries, letters, and emails, can be difficult to follow at times as it toggles between two different stories. However, the overlapping plots result in fireworks for careful readers, as new information is constantly uncovered, forcing them to ponder potential connections. VERDICT Science fiction master Coville combines classic tropes with ample humor and an inspired narrative for a magic yet realistic modern fairy tale. A strong purchase for any middle grade collection, especially where the other installments in the series have been popular.Mary-Brook J. Townsend, Episcopal Collegiate School, Little Rock, AR