Gregor the Overlander

[calzephyr]

Usually when Kobo has book specials, they're all lame books. The system swings wildly between offerings, possibly puzzled by not being able to pin down age and gender through my purchases.

Anyway, up popped the first book in a series for older children called Gregor the Overlander from 2010 by Suzanne Collins. Usually I snap up books by authors I like right away, but I guess I was too preoccupied with supernatural romance there for a while ;) The reading level is a touch lower than most YA books and is on the pre-teen end of the spectrum.

Gregor us a young boy who lives with his mother, grandmother and two younger sisters in New York City. One day while doing laundry in the apartment basement, he stumbles into the Underland, which is populated by pale humans and giant, talking animals. Cockroaches, spiders, bats and rats are just a few of the inhabitants. Gregor soon finds that he must fulfill a prophecy before he and his littlest sister can return to the surface.

It took a while for the action to get going, but once it did, it was really good. Adult readers will find it predictable, perhaps a little too simple and a little too right out of Joseph Campbell, but younger readers, especially boys, will enjoy it. Gregor as a male character is rare in fiction - he's just an average boy, but his virtuous and honest nature is compelling.

Comments

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

I like movies which are strongly situated in a city I know. Does this book refer a lot to NYC, or could the story have just as easily been picked up and plopped down in say, Quebec? The story isn't sounding that interesting to me, but if it's very New York-y I might give it a shot anyway.

[calzephyr77.livejournal.com]

Most of the action takes place underground and the rest isn't specific to New York at all.