Elliot and the Goblin War by Jennifer A. Nielsen

crown. Several oval jewels were set around the base with a fat ruby in the center. “Will you accept the job?”
    Elliot smiled and picked up the crown. It was too small for his head, so he held it between his fingers and nodded. “Yes, Mr. Willimaker. I am Elliot Penster, and as of today, I am king of the Brownies.”

Dear Reader, being the smart person you are to have read so far into this book, I’m certain that you enjoy every minute of your day at school. However, you might have one or two friends who sometimes complain that school is boring. You might tell them that even though they get bored at times, it happens to be much better than being carried away from school into the Goblin city of Flog, like Patches Willimaker was.
    Patches had spent the rest of her day in a very deep hole that was made of rock, so she could not tunnel through it. The hole had a dirt floor that was so hard she couldn’t write her will into it with her finger, and no windows, so the only thing to look at was rock. Although even if there were a window, it would still only show her more rock. Patches had tried to poof away several times, even though Grissel had ordered her not to. Since she was Grissel’s prisoner, she should have known poofing wouldn’t work.
    Patches also knew that at any minute the Goblins would come and try to get information about the human, but Patches had a plan. She wouldn’t help them hurt King Elliot, no matter what.
    Her stomach growled at her, which she thought was a little rude, because there was nothing she could do to get more food. Before she could ask her stomach to stop complaining, a rope ladder swung down. “It’s Grissel,” growled a voice from up on top of her hole. “If you want to live, then you’ll cooperate with me.”
    “Actually, you’d better cooperate with me,” Patches said. “I’ve got a big Flibberish test in school next week. If I’m not back to take the test, then my teacher will come here to give it to me, and trust me, you don’t want that. She’ll make you take it too.”
    Grissel was quiet for a moment, and Patches wondered if he’d gone away. Then he called down, “In that case, you’d better tell me what I need to know. I have a question for you.”
    “No, thanks,” Patches called up. “I’m pretty busy right now. Can you come back later?”
    “If you help me, I’ll let you go.”
    Patches shook her head. “You don’t have to let me go. I plan on escaping by myself.”
    “I have carrots,” Grissel said. “Fat, juicy carrots boiled in turnip juice.”
    Carrots. That changed everything.
    Anyone who’s ever eaten carrots boiled in turnip juice will understand why Patches’s mouth began watering. Close your eyes and imagine the yummiest dessert ever. Now pour turnip juice all over it and let the flavors blend together. Mmmmm. It was a good thing Patches already had a plan to help King Elliot, because who knows what she might have done otherwise.
    This wasn’t the first time turnip juice had been used to lure a Brownie. Hundreds of years ago, human mothers could leave a bucket of turnip juice outside with a large pile of laundry. By morning, the turnip juice was gone and the laundry was clean and hung to dry on the line. The mothers thought their plan was pretty clever, but the Brownies always knew they had the better end of the bargain.
    “Give me the carrot,” Patches said. The delicious smell was becoming too much for her. “I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
    Grissel sent the carrot down tied to a string, but it was just out of reach, even when Patches jumped for it. Her short, chubby legs were usually one of her prettiest features, but what a curse they were at this moment!
    “Okay, I give up. What’s your question?” Patches finally asked.
    “How can the Goblins defeat King Elliot?”
    Patches was quiet for a moment. Then she smiled. “You can’t,” she said. “Humans aren’t like Brownies. Humans don’t wait around for something