SOLVED. YA Fantasy. A boy is kidnapped by Vikings only to travel to Jotenheim and learn magic. [s]

[Andrew]

The Sea of Trolls Trilogy: The Sea of Trolls; The Land of the Silver Apples; The Islands of the BlessedI read this book around 2013 so my memories of the title, cover, or author are completely gone. What i ca summon are plot details. A boy lives in a medieval village near the coast of England when vikings attack. The vikings drink a potion that allows them to go into a battle fury when they attack. The boy is captured and brought abord the ship. There he meets and starts to befriend a viking girl his age whose name is a feminized version of a Norse gods name. I believe her name was Thora after the god Thor but it may have been based on Tyr's name as foreshadowing for later events. The two of them at some point become lost in Jotunheimen. Here the boy makes a staff from the branch of an ash tree that may have been the world tree. The staff gives him access to more potent fire based abilities. They encounter a dragon nest where the biggest whelp kills its weaker siblings. The kids kill the baby dragon and one of them (I think Thora) licks the blood from her hand allowing her to understand the speech of birds which torments her. They eventually make it to the frost Giants fortress and almost melt the bridge in an attempt to escape something. The giants allow or help them to leave. Later they encounter a cave of monsters that I remember as bug like. Toward the end of the fight Thoras hand goes into a monsters mouth and it emerges paralyzed and silver. She is briefly devastated before taking pride in following in the footsteps of Tyr. At some point they meet an old wizard with an ash staff who probably helps teach the boy magic. There is a plot point around a magic silver bell with an ornate fish clapper that aids in magical travel. Someone close to one of the main character breaks the bell and clapper so that they can sell the silver. Towards the end of the book it is implied if not outright stated that the old man is the boy from the future.

Edit: The book Series was The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer

[Therese]

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

The sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer?
Is it this book?"

[Andrew]

Yes, you got it in one. Thank you!