By Nancy Farmer

Do you like fantasy? Do you like medieval history? Do you like England? Do you like really funny characters? Then this is the book for you!

The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer follows the young Anglo-Saxon apprentice bard Jack and his sister Lucy as they are kidnapped by Vikings and taken to Scandinavia. Soon after they arrive, Jack finds himself on a quest seeking the fabled Mimir’s Well. If he succeeds, he will earn his freedom and save his sister’s life. If he fails…well, things won’t turn out so well for everyone involved. With him, he brings the enormous captain Olaf, the voiceless skald Rune, and the surly shield maiden Thorgil. Along the way, they encounter a plethora of creatures and figures that will be familiar to avid readers of Norse mythology.

Why should you read this book?

There is a lot of character growth. Most of the main characters experience dramatic shifts in who they are from the beginning of the book to the end which is always fun to read.

The characters are witty. My favorite line in the book was “Just say no to pillaging”. You’ll find yourself laughing over plenty of funny parts.

Though this is a fun adventure story, a lot of deeper themes are explored. Notably, Jack struggles to define people as good and evil and grows to understand that people are nuanced. He also faces the tension between his own Christian beliefs, the Norse gods, and the Bard’s magic. Both of these areas of tension continues throughout the series and at times they force you, the reader, to think about and struggle with the same questions.

Who should read this book?

There’s nothing extremely objectional about it but it does deal with violence and its aftermath. There is no gore or gruesome scenes, but remember, the Vikings were a violent society who killed a lot of people, and this is a book that heavily features them and their culture. Different religions/worldviews play a large role in the story. There is no romance.

I would say that this is a 6th grade and above level book because of the role violence plays in the story. The text itself isn’t difficult, there are just some themes that are better for older readers. It’s possible that a mature 5th grader would be ok with it, as long as they were used to reading books that dealt with similar themes.

General Stats:

• Genre: Historical Fantasy (by this I mean that while it technically takes place in 793 AD and you can recognize a lot of historical facts, magic, trolls, and Viking gods are all real).
• It’s part of a series! There are three books total and each one is over 400 pages (but the font is large) so you’ll be busy for a while.
• Level: 6th grade and above.
• My rating: ★★★★☆

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8507885771