Wrestling Trolls: The Giant Rumble by Jim Eldridge

Ill. By Jan Bielecki. Hot Key Books, 2014. ISBN 9781471402630
Whilst I am not a wrestling fan, I am a fan of the idea that students can see their suggestions, as strange and interesting as they can be, combined into a funny story and published by a successful author. What a great way to promote reading and writing!
The Giant Rumble is the third book in the Wrestling Trolls series but, as a story, easily stands alone. Written in collaboration with students contributing through 'The Story Adventure' website, the wild combination of characters and events featuring throughout add to the fantasy.
The Wrestling Trolls team, Big Rock, The Masked Avenger and their support team, Milo, Jack, Meenu and the horse Robin, are tricked by the villainous Lord Veto into a Giant Rumble with his Wrestling Orcs. Unfortunately the challenge requires both teams to provide ten wrestlers each which is easy for Lord Veto to assemble but means the Trolls need to go on a road trip, in their trusty caravan pulled by Robin, to recruit more wrestlers.
A series of adventures follow as they travel around the country. There are troll hating Billy goats and villainous wrestlers, spiders whose bite is deadly to Trolls, piranhas, a very angry wrouse and an army of gnomes protecting Mediterranean Brussell Sprouts that scream on being picked.
Evil Lord Veto conspires with kings and others to keep them from attending the Big Rumble. However with a motley collection of taco eating, garden loving and bendy friends, not to mention the phoenix Blaze and shy Jack who when angry transforms into the giant troll Thud, the Trolls are just in time for the contest.
Whilst you are never quite sure what will happen next, the reader can be confident that the Trolls will triumph against their obviously evil, cheating opponents.
Sue Keane