Goblins!: An UnderEarth Adventure, by Royce Buckingham
When Sam and PJ sneak out to investigate an alert along the Canadian border, they think they may stumble upon smuggler’s loot. Instead, they run into a monstrous creature. And there is a tunnel that leads down in the ground to a lair of goblins. A group of humans consider themselves Guardians and try to keep the humans and Goblin underground separate. But when Sam unwittingly drops a bag of fireworks, the Goblins may find a way to cause more destruction, while learning about explosives. This may give the goblins enough leverage to overtake humans for good.
Sam is captured by the goblins, and tries to outwit them. And in the process, finds a friend in the least obvious creature. Meanwhile, PJ teams up with the Guardians to take back the fireworks and rescue Sam.
This was a cute, very short read for middle readers. There are only a couple instances of non-graphic death, which may not be appropriate for kids under 10. It’s not completely light-hearted. There’s not a lot of content or depth, but it was written as pure entertainment for children. Young fantasy fans will certainly enjoy the action and adventure, as well as bits of humor.
Goblins and explosives? Sounds awesome!