Gregor the Overlander

This is the second YA book I've read since my promotion. I'm sure there are many more books to come. I figure if I review them as I read them, I can refer back to them and remember them better down the line in case I have to do a book talk or recommend them to a patron. Also, fame and fortune may come my way.

I think Gregor the Overlander is a great series for younger Harry Potter fans. It's kind of a mix of Harry Potter, the Chronicles of Narnia, the Hobbit, and The Rats of Nimh.

11 year-old Gregor knows when he was last happy, "Exactly two years, seven months, and thirteen days". That's when he last saw his father, who disappeared, leaving his mother to care for him, his baby sisters, Boots and Lizzie, and his grandmother. While Lizzie gets to go to summer camp, Gregor has to stay and look after Boots and his grandmother in the summer heat of their New York apartment while his mother is out at work.

But while doing the laundry in the basement of the apartment building, Gregor loses 2 year-old Boots, who has fallen into a hole behind a grate. Gregor chases her and finds himself falling into a deep cave. When they miraculously land in one piece, they encounter some giant roaches, who can talk.

Gregor soon discovers an world where humans have fashioned an underground kingdom and live side by side with giant bats. Other realms consist of the roaches, along with giant spiders and giant evil rats.

With the rats intent on destroying the humans, Gregor finds himself mistaken as the hero of a cryptic prophecy that may save the humans from destruction. Gregor plays along in order to try to get home. But Gregor soon finds he's already in too deep, and that he must make some difficult choices to save himself, his family, and the entire Underland.

The best part of this book is the world that has been created. The relationships between the species have been well conceived. It's full of action and the plot moves quickly. Perhaps some of the predicaments are too easily resolved, but it is the first book in the series, and I have a feeling some plot twists and characters have been set up that may make for some interesting reading farther on down the line.

I don't think it will attract the range of ages that the Harry Potter books reached, but it is an excellent fantasy-adventure that will appeal to boys especially, from age 8 to younger teens. I also enjoy the modern urban setting of Gregor's home life, which seems to be a little different from other stories in the genre.