The Trolls

Written by Polly Horvath in 1999, The Trolls is a child's novel based in the present time with stories told by Aunt Sally dating back twenty or so years ago. The Trolls was a National Book Award finalist, and is a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor book.

The books starts out with Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, parents of Melissa, Amanda and Pee Wee, having planned a trip to Paris, but the babysitter cancels last minute due to a development of bubonic plague requiring them to resort to the only available person left: Aunt Sally. Once Aunt Sally arrives and the children’s parents leave they are treated to many of Aunt Sally’s stories revolving around her life in Vancouver with her eccentric family.

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Tropes used in The Trolls include:

• An Aesop: While little ones crop up here and there in Aunt Sally's stories, perhaps the biggest message is also, interestingly, the stealthiest one: be nice to your siblings.
  • Don't feed your siblings to trolls
• Author Appeal: Polly Horvath lives in Vancouver and milks it for all it's worth.
• Black Magic: Subverted Trope. The Wiccan's only preform 'friendly' spells.
• Canada, Eh?: Aunt Sally both pokes fun at and provides true facts about Vancouver.
• Cool Aunt: Aunt Sally is for the kids.
  • Great-Uncle Louis thinks he's a Cool Uncle, but only Robbie really thinks he is.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Mad Maud.
• Dysfunctional Family: Aunt Sally's generation has become very dysfunctional after she and her siblings ditch Robbie on the beach with 'the trolls'
• Eccentric Mentor: Aunt Sally, under the guise of telling the kids interesting stories, is definitely still teaching the children a thing or two.
• Eccentric Townsfolk: The residence of Aunt Sally's hometown in Vancouver.
• Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Fat-Little-Mean-Girl is in fact a fat, little, mean girl.
• Excited Episode Title: All the chapters of the book end with an exclaimation point!
• Formally-Named Pet: Mrs. Gunderson.
  • And the new Mrs. Gunderson.
• Large Ham: Definitely Great-Uncle Louis, who came for two weeks and stayed for six years.
• Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Did the potion the Wiccans gave Aunt Sally and her sibling really work, or did Fat-Little-Mean-Girl just react to drinking something... weird.
  • Were there really Trolls that lived out in the caves on the beach?
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Fat-little-Mean-Girl.
• Overused Running Gag: Great-Uncle Louis, who came for two weeks and stayed for six years.
• Reformed but Rejected: Aunt Sally to her brother (and the kids' dad) Robbie.
• The Thing That Would Not Leave: Great-Uncle Louis, who came for two weeks and stayed for six years.
• What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?: In-Universe, Great-Uncle Louis and his State of the Union speeches.