“Gregor twisted around in the air, trying to
position himself so he wouldn’t land on Boots when they hit the basement floor,
but no impact came. Then he remembered the laundry room was in the basement. So
what exactly had they fallen into?” -from Gregor the Overlander, Chapter
2, page 14.
Gregor is an ordinary kid who lives in a small
apartment in New York with his two sisters, Lizzie and Boots. His mother and his
grandma also live there. It is summer and Lizzie has gone off to camp. His
mother is at work almost constantly, his grandma is starting to have memory
problems, and he didn’t get to go to camp because he has to watch his sister
who’s a toddler and likes to get into things. The strange thing about his family
is that about a year ago, Gregor’s father disappeared. There were many frantic
calls to the police, but he could not be found.
One afternoon while he is washing clothes in the
laundry room of the apartment, his little sister falls in to a laundry grate so
he jumps in after her. Instead of landing in the basement, they end up in a
mysterious underground world where there are huge insects that talk. Soon, the
insects take Gregor to the humans that live there and Gregor learns that the
menace rats have his father here and are forcing him to help them create
weapons. Gregor is determined to find his father and take him back to the
Upperland no matter what the cost. His new friends help him and he embarks on
this epic quest.
In book two of the Underland Chronicles, Gregor must
go back to the Underland. This time another prophecy tells of a white rat known
as the Bane; this prophecy calls Gregor back to the shadowy realm. This new
adventure reunites Gregor with his old friends. Gregor must face the possibility
of his greatest loss yet, and make difficult decisions that will change the
Underland.
I thought both of these books were excellent. They
were written excellently and have a variety of imaginative characters. These
books are best suited for people above the age of 10. I hope Suzanne Collins
keeps on writing these marvelous books because she has great ideas.
~ Stelios Theophanous, grade 9,
Boardman High School
To
Top
