SCULLION

A boy, captured by confused trolls, leads his captors on a daring adventure.

In the medieval town of Timberwood lives Darlis—a scullion in the kitchen of his idol, the Great Warrior Riqa—where he dreams of being a royal baker. Troll siblings Grubble and Petey have come across the bridge into town with schemes to get rich. In a slapstick case of mistaken identity, they confuse a harried Darlis for Riqa and kidnap him for ransom. When Mae, Darlis’ new friend and co-worker, makes her way to the forest where he is being held in an effort to rescue him, the trolls capture her as well. Meanwhile, the betrothed Riqa sneaks out of the castle—where she’s been sequestered during the royal wedding weekend—in search of her prince. With Timberwood in a tizzy over the uncertain outcome of the wedding, our heroes must fight to escape from the forest. The two storylines converge, and shenanigans ensue. Readers looking for a light adventure may enjoy this story with an intrepid male character who looks up to a woman warrior. Greene uses a bright palette of reds, purples, and greens, deepening the shades to emphasize the more suspenseful scenes. The light line strokes work well with the amusing tone. Darlis is white while Riqa and Mae have tan skin and purple and orange hair, respectively; the prince is black.

A pleasant fantasy.