So sad that this is probably the last of these. ( )

Hilda and "Baba" the baby troll have swapped places: Hilda searches for a way to return to her true self and escape the mountain, and her mum searches for her, together with the Nisse and Twig. Hilda's troll mother tells her the story of the Mountain King and the giant troll mother sleeping underneath Trolberg; Hilda accidentally frees the Mountain King, who wants to wake the sleeping giant and destroy Trolberg, so now Hilda has to avert that catastrophe by stopping the fighting on both sides ("This is war, little girl." "IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE!"). ( )

Adventurous Hilda finally gets her come-uppance in this latest installment of her escapades, when she is turned into a mountain troll and swapped for the troll-mother’s child, who is too “soft” to be a troll and would apparently do better as a human child. As much as Hilda likes her adventures and wilderness, the troll life isn’t all it’s chalked up to be, and she immediately sets out on a quest to find a way to turn herself back into a human. In typical Hilda fashion, though, the story is not simply about her own personal challenges, as we meet a mysterious troll who has been trapped in a cave lined with bells (a troll’s worst nightmare) and discover more about the trolls who live in the mountains which surround Hilda’s home. In her quest to regain her humanity, Hilda helps this giant troll escape from his prison only to discover that he wants to attack the nearby city of Trollberg, which predictably causes chaos for the humans who have worked for years to keep the trolls out of the city. Little did the humans know, they actually built their city over top of the trolls’ mother (the biggest troll of all), who has been sleeping peacefully for years and speaks silently to her troll children - which explains why they always want to get into the city to hear her quiet voice better. The mood is tense as the troll and human conflict reaches its height, but all is resolved through Hilda’s mediation, which she is able to accomplish by being able to speak both human and troll (she gained the ability after her magical transformation). By the conclusion of the story we see the humans and trolls living in harmony, modeling a more peaceful society and way of cooperation when we consider the impacts of colonialism, expansion, and settlement. ( )

** spoiler alert ** I truly love Hilda. This one hit personally close for me. The central theme of this story revolves around mothers, and as a mother my self i understood and really felt and connected with the feelings and emotions that all the mothers were faced with. I love Hildas mother so much, she cares so deeply for her daughter and seeing her fall apart trying to get her daughter back was rough for me. I also completely understood the Troll mothers point of view of her actions in swapping their daughters, but I am glad the regret was written in as she faced what she truly did.
Then it ended with the Mother of all Trolls and that was just beautiful and heartbreaking all at the same time.
Aside from the Hilda series being one of the most beautiful stories I have read, this one takes the cake, it was beautiful in every way. ( )

I just adore how imaginative the world of Hilda is. A lovely ending. ( )