The Legend of Greg

Gr 4–6—Greg has always thought of himself as an ordinary kid. Sure, he has a preternatural appetite for meat-based snacks and a dad who is perpetually traveling in search of esoteric ingredients for the all-natural soaps he makes and sells. But aside from a family history of bad luck, Greg has never encountered anything too peculiar. That is, until the day a larger-than-life man attacks Greg's family store and kidnaps his father. Greg finds out that he and his father are dwarves and the attacker was a troll, most likely summoned by the dwarves' natural enemies, elves. Apparently, there are countless dwarves and elves living mainstream lives in the world, many of whom do not even know they are not human. Greg is taken to the underground headquarters of the Chicago contingent of dwarves and begins combat and magic training for the seemingly inevitable war with the elves. Complicating matters is the revelation that Greg's best (and only) friend Edwin is the child of the political head of the elves. The dwarven world-building is charming; for instance, Greg is surprised to discover that the female dwarves considered the most attractive are the ones with the fullest facial hair. The story, however, is lacking in substance, and the cliff-hanger ending feels like the conclusion of a chapter, not the conclusion of a complete book.