Gregor the Overlander (The Underland Chronicles, #1)

by Suzanne Collins

When eleven-year-old Gregor falls through a grate in the laundry room of his apartment building, he hurtles into the dark Underland, where spiders, rats and giant cockroaches coexist uneasily with humans. This world is on the brink of war, and Gregor's arrival is no accident. Gregor has a vital role to play in the Underlan's uncertain future. Gregor wants no part of it - until he realizes it's the only way to solve the mystery of his father's disappearance. Reluctantly, Gregor embarks on a dangerous adventure that will change both him and the Underland for ever.

• ISBN10: 1407121138
• ISBN13: 9781407121130
• Publish Date: 2 August 2010 (first published 1 September 2003)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 29 May 2013
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Scholastic
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 96
• Language: English

Reviews

[mbtc]

I thought I would give this story a try since I was so enthralled with the Hunger Games Series. I wasn't impressed with the first chapter, but loved the book from there. Suzanne really knows how to write charming characters and help you feel emotion for people, animals, and insects that you didn't think you would care for. I really enjoyed this book and plan to read the rest of the series.

[nannah]

I guess I can't REALLY judge this fairly because I'm starting to think MG just isn't my thing.



But this was an okay book. The climax and the ending really made it work for me. It came together very neatly and emotionally with just the right amount of tasty plot twists.



However, I wasn't so interested it in up till that point. I'm not so much a fan of passive heroes, especially not ones brought into the plot because of a prophecy. For me, it's the weakest plot device, especially how she used it, because the characters based all of their actions ON the prophecy. That means the prophecy is only being fulfilled because they decided to MAKE themselves follow it. Just not my thing.



Also, to me, the villains weren't all that convincing. And (SPOILER!) Henry's betrayal didn't convince me, either. I felt Collins could have worked that up a little bit more. I mean, I'm sure she meant it to be surprising, which it was, but it seemed random-surprising, in that I felt there was no way it WOULD have happened. She just added it to force a character twist into the book.



But anyways, it was okay. The portion of the book just after Henry's betrayal made it worthwhile.

[sstaley]

I really liked this book. I am excited to read the rest of the series. This is another good series to suggest to my students and my kids to read. It has a lot of action and good character interaction.